Mugabe Attacks his Church Critics

In an astonishing rant the President of Zimbabwe, President Mugabe poured scorn on church leaders, the UK and America all at once. Mugabe criticised church leaders for turning towards his opponents instead of seeking dialogue with his government. The attack came at a ceremony to mark the installation of the new Roman Catholic Archbishop of Harare. State television showed Mugabe rebuking Pius Ncube, the well-known government critic and Archbishop of Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayo, for not conversing with the government.

The ceremony was attended by thousands of Catholics who witnessed Mugabe saying, "What are we expected to do, and how are we expected to judge you when you act behind our backs and go and report outside?"

Archbishop of Bulawayo, Ncube had accused the government of hiding the true levels of food shortages present in the country. Aid agencies have blamed the food shortages on droughts and the controversial land reform programme set up by Mugabe’s government. In Ncube’s accusations he warned that the current situation could result in the deaths of many Zimbabweans.

President Mugabe retorted by saying Ncube was “going to those who yesterday denied us rights here," by which he was referring to Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush.

Tony Blair and George Bush were then labelled by Mugabe as “the liars of the international community”, as the Zimbabwean President reacted to the criticism he has received from the two leaders. The British and American leaders have particularly angered Mugabe as they have stood firm in speaking out against him and have imposed targeted sanctions on him and his associates for alleged rights abuses.

Official Bulawayo city council figures have indicated that more than 60 deaths have resulted from famine over the past few months; however Mugabe and his government simply dismissed the figures.

The situation in the country seems to becoming desperate now, and earlier this month an American-funded aid agency reported that 2.2 million Zimbabweans would run our of food during the period up to November. But again the government dismissed these figures and stated that it has sufficient food supplies to feed the country.

In his address, Mugabe said if that if Zimbabwe's church leaders reported the country's affairs to Blair and Bush then "we band you together with them, damn you together with them, and don't blame us when we do that."