Open letter to President Robert Mugabe and the Christian Church in Zimbabwe
Dear Mr President,
In The Sunday Mail of the 16th October 1994 you were quoted as saying the following at the Presidential prayer breakfast jointly organised by the Harare and Chitungwiza for Jesus Mission and Africa Enterprise of South Africa:
“the ship of State looks to you (church leaders) for moral and spiritual direction. It is you who have been entrusted with the message of light. Do not be afraid to deliver it as you are in the driver’s seat and for once we are the passengers…….. in that way we will go ahead”
I would like to respond to your challenge. I am writing this letter as an open letter through the press for two reasons: firstly, from previous experience I believe that there is a better chance that you will read this letter if it appears in the press than if it is sent via your secretariat and, secondly, the letter is also meant for the wider church. With a few exceptions there has generally been a deafening silence from the Church over the last 30 years regarding serious human rights abuses in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. In short the Church has often failed to stand up and expose moral decay in society. Two weeks have gone by for the Church to take up your challenge on a number of pressing issues which are facing our country at present but the Church appears to have been mute. For a number of years now I have been increasingly worried about the direction the ship of state has been taking. Time and space do not permit me to detail all my concerns; here are the chief issues which I believe the Church should be raising with you.
1.Corruption/bribery