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Govt must apologise to Catholics over Munkombwe’s remarks – Mwiimbu

Govt must apologise to Catholics over Munkombwe’s remarks – Mwiimbu
Written by Lambwe Kachali and Masuzyo Chakwe

GOVERNMENT must apologise to the Catholic Church over Daniel Munkombwe's
irresponsible remarks that the church leaders are being arrested for being political agents of genocide, Monze Central UPND member of parliament Jack Mwiimbu has demanded.

And the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) has said suggesting that the Catholic Church and the media in Rwanda were responsible for the tragic genocide in that country is tantamount to deliberately distorting history.

Commenting on Southern Province minister Munkombwe's statement that church leaders were being arrested because they were becoming agents of political genocide, Mwiimbu charged that it was foolish and irresponsible for Munkombwe to allege that the Catholic Church could cause genocide in Zambia.

Mwiimbu demanded that the government should apologise for what he termed as Munkombwe's reckless statement against the Catholic Church.

Mwiimbu said if it were not for the Catholic Church, most educated people like Munkombwe and others would not have been serving in government.

He said the Catholic Church had contributed a lot to the development of Zambia and that it deserved to be respected by all citizens.

"To be frank, it is utterly foolish and irresponsible for Munkombwe to say such a statement against the Catholic Church. Any sane leader cannot allow such a statement to escape off his lips. The Catholic Church is a partner and champion of democracy and cannot be an agent of genocide. If it wasn't for the Catholic, most educated Zambians would not be making such careless statements," Mwiimbu said.

He urged President Rupiah Banda's administration to support the church and all organisations that were helping the underprivileged in society.

"In fact, the Catholic did not endorse any candidate during the last presidential election. They only issued a pastoral statement after election, in which they raised and observed important issues which should not be ignored," he said.

Mwiimbu urged Munkombwe and other government officials not to blame the church over the disputed election.

"Politicians should learn to support the church in its endeavour to provide for the needy. No amount of intimidation from MMD government will stop the Catholic Church from speaking for the voiceless in this country," Mwiimbu said.

And ZEC spokesperson Fr Paul Samasumo dispelled suggestions by some members of parliament that the church's leadership were inciting people to engage in activities that could lead the country to genocide.

Fr Samasumo said the Zambian people would have no better development partner than the Catholic Church.

He said the church was found in the most deprived areas of the country providing health and education to all.

"To suggest that the Catholic Church and the media in Rwanda were responsible for the tragic genocide in that country is to deliberately distort history. While some individual Catholic personnel have been indicted in Rwanda, one cannot deduce that the whole Catholic Church as an institution entertains such acts," Fr Samasumo said. "It is also wrong to equate the Zambian situation to any other country because of the peace that has prevailed in this country. The peace-loving Zambians have always resorted to reconciliation whenever any misunderstandings have surfaced."

He said in the recent pastoral statement this month, the Bishops urged Zambians to continue being calm and peaceful.

"They emphasised that the rule of law should always take precedence to guarantee peace in the nation. In the same pastoral statement, the Bishops reiterated that they were committed to playing a non-partisan role in the country. The Bishops wish this country nothing but peace and love," Fr Samasumo said.

Meanwhile, Independent Churches of Zambia (ICOZ) chairperson Reverend David Masupa said it was unholy to denounce the clergy by saying they were becoming agents of genocide.

Rev Masupa advised Munkombwe to respect the clergy.

He said the church was trying to make peace with politicians in the country and it was therefore unholy for Munkombwe to make those statements.

"Let us respect each other and we condemn this name-calling in the country. This is not healthy," he said.

Rev Masupa appealed to the government especially the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to allow freedom of expression and association.

He said in every democracy, freedom of expression and association were the fundamentals of any democratic society.

"How can you call yourself democratic if people can't express themselves freely? We are not for violence but we want to air our views through allowing us to exercise our rights through expression. We have large constituencies through the congregations, people come and express their problems and we in turn express their views through the media," said Rev Masupa. "But this right is being forfeited by what we have seen through the arrest, I don't think Fr Frank Bwalya was promoting anarchy in the country or inciting people to act on violence because the Church always preached unity."

On Friday, Munkombwe told Parliament in apparent reference to the recent arrest of Radio Icengelo station manager Fr Bwalya that some churches had become more political. Fr Bwalya was arrested for conducting a post-election programme on Radio Icengelo last Wednesday. Fr Bwalya was charged with publishing materials that can cause division in the community and will appear in court on November 27.

Labels: DANIEL MUNKOMBWE, ZEC

posted by MrK @ 6:37 AM