A new group of church leaders calling itself the Christian Alliance was formed to give Christians in Zimbabwe a common leadership and goal.
Some of the leaders of the new group were Bishop Levee Kadenge of the Methodist Church, Pastor Ray Motsi of the Bulawayo Baptist Church and Pastor Vimbai Mugwidi of the Methodist Church.
The Alliance claimed to have the “mandate of the poor people” and claimed to have deeper ties to the grassroots than their largely discredited traditional leaders.
It also said it was the body with the moral standing to bring together the warring factions of the Movement for Democratic Change.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 06HARARE1056, NEW RELIGIOUS GROUP OFFERS WAY FORWARD
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO6120
RR RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #1056/01 2411413
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 291413Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0528
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 1301
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 1151
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1305
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0066
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0566
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 0931
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1359
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 3733
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1128
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 1770
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUFGNOA/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1516
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001056
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR S. HILL
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/29/2015
SUBJECT: NEW RELIGIOUS GROUP OFFERS WAY FORWARD
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell for reasons 1.5 b/d
——-
Summary
——-
¶1. (SBU) During their visit to Harare, staffdel visitors met
with the religious leaders spearheading the Christian
Alliance (CA), a new opposition grouping that seeks to unite
all anti-GOZ forces. Born out of the Church’s efforts last
year to help those affected by Operation Restore Order, the
religious leaders said the CA was a grassroots organization
that was more responsive to the needs of the people than the
GOZ-appointed heads of denomination. According to the
leaders, the CA is a neutral grouping of forces working for
democratic reform and was already showing results with a
successful conference in late July that brought together the
leaders of the two MDC factions. End Summary.
———————————–
Congressional Staffers Visit Harare
———————————–
¶2. (U) On a mission to assess the unfolding political and
economic crisis in Zimbabwe, Majority Staffer Gregory
Simpkins and Minority Staffer Pearl-Alice Marsh from the
House of Representatives International Relations Committee
and Minority Staffer Heather Flynn from the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee visited Harare August 22-25. In addition
to meeting with religious leaders, the staffdel met civil
society leaders, labor union representatives, businesspeople,
and government officials (Septels).
—————————
New Church Alliance Emerges
—————————
¶3. (SBU) Methodist Church Bishop Levee Kadenge told the
staffdel that the CA was a loose grouping of Church leaders
across the country that had come together to give Christians
in Zimbabwe a common leadership and goal. Kadenge, who is
also the CA’s informal leader, said that Zimbabwean
Christians from all denominations saw themselves as a
catalyst for democratic change. Bulawayo Baptist Church
Pastor Ray Motsi added that CA was born out the Church’s
collective support of those affected by Operation Restore
Order. According to Methodist Church Pastor Vimbai Mugwidi,
the group’s success was in part due to the power of prayer,
which in addition to being a means of communicating with God
was also a useful mobilization and lobbying tool.
¶4. (SBU) Asked by the staffdel how the CA related to the
GOZ-appointed denomination heads, Motsi said that the new
grouping had deeper ties to the grassroots as opposed to the
largely discredited traditional leaders. Motsi commented
that the CA had the “mandate of the poor people.” Church
members were not fooled and recognized that the traditional
religious leaders had been co-opted by ZANU-PF. In fact,
Mosti said that many denomination heads were likely to be
removed from office later this year by Church members unhappy
with the leadership’s overtures to government. Nonetheless,
the government was pressuring the CA to work with pro-GOZ
Church leaders and was intimidating those religious leaders
who refused.
———————————————
Offers New Approach, Neutral Opposition Venue
———————————————
¶5. (SBU) Motsi said the CA offered a new approach to bring
Church members together in a common voice. Although the CA
HARARE 00001056 002 OF 002
was concerned by political conditions, the grouping had no
political agenda and only sought to address the needs of
average Church goers. It was therefore a neutral force
within the country’s otherwise polarized opposition politics.
¶6. (SBU) Kadenge said that the CA had scored a major victory
with the successful “Save Zimbabwe” Convention on July 29
that was attended by most of civic society and all of the
opposition parties. Organizers initially planned for 300
attendees, but were quickly overwhelmed when 500 participants
arrived. Kadenge told the staffers that only the Church had
the moral standing required to bring together MDC faction
leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara at the same
podium and produce the now famous photograph of the handshake.
¶7. (SBU) Commenting on the CA’s next steps, the group’s
strategist Jonah Gokova said the Church leaders needed to
take risks in order to change the impression of Zimbabweans
as a passive people. Youth Pastor Useni Sibanda noted that
participants in the CA march in Bulawayo in May carried
Bibles, which offered them some protection from the usually
intimidating police. Gokova said that the CA sought to
mobilize the diaspora as both a source of funding and as
another pro-reform voice. The group also had to confront
regional perceptions of the conflict in Zimbabwe being purely
a racial issue. The current image of Mugabe as a liberation
war hero was misplaced, according to Gokova, as black
Zimbabweans bore the brunt of the GOZ’s abusive policies.
——-
Comment
——-
¶8. (C) Against the backdrop of a fractured and
inward-looking political opposition and a largely ineffectual
civil society, the emergence of the Christian Alliance is a
potentially significant political development. It is
becoming an increasingly powerful voice for unity, reform,
and – most importantly – action, whose reach and strength
will be tested in the coming months.
¶9. (U) The staffdel did not have an opportunity to clear
this cable before leaving Harare.
DELL
(55 VIEWS)
