Archbishop in political turmoil accused of affair

The rift between the Zimbabwean government and its outspoken critic, Archbishop Plus Ncube, became more pronounced in late July when state TV aired footage of a woman "confessing" to an affair she said she has been having with Zimbabwe's leading Catholic cleric.

The footage was included in a televised report about Onesimus Sibanda suing Ncube for an alleged affair with his wife, Rosemary Sibanda. Mr. Sibanda, identified in court papers as a state-employed railway technician, is seeking $160,000 in damages from the archbishop.

Mrs. Sibanda was a secretary in an urban parish in Bulawayo, the see of Ncube's archdiocese.

Ncube's supporters have vehemently denied the allegations, but the archbishop has refused to speak about the issue. On his cathedral steps July 16, the archbishop, who is 60, told reporters he would not talk about his private life but would let the courts "do their job."

Ncube's lawyer, Nicholas Mathonsi, told Catholic News Service that his client will deny in court allegations of the affair. He said the lawsuit is part of a "well-orchestrated campaign" to discredit the archbishop. He also said he is worried that the publicity surrounding the case will deny the archbishop a fair trial.

The scandal has dominated Zimbabwe's state-owned television and radio news. State-run newspapers published photos they said were of Ncube and a woman, taken with a concealed camera placed in the archbishop's bedroom by a private investigator hired by Mr. Sibanda.

State media has in the past claimed Ncube has a love child, but this has yet to be proved. The archbishop's supporters maintain he is being vilified by the state media and ruling party officials for his stance against the regime.

Court dates for the lawsuit hearing are yet to be set.

The latest accusations against Ncube come a week after he traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa, to present a report to the Solidarity Peace Trust on human rights abuses and the torture of political opponents by state security agents. The trust is an ecumenical coalition of church leaders from nations of southern Africa that advocate for human rights, freedom and democracy in the region. Ncube chairs the trust.

President Robert Mugabe has been Zimbabwe's only ruler since 1980 after Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain. Ncube has emerged as his harshest critic.

For years Mugabe, 83, has singled out Ncube for condemnation, but the president extended his antagonism toward the nation's Catholic bishops after they issued an Easter pastoral letter that said the country was in "deep crisis" and "extreme danger" because of its "overtly corrupt" leadership.

Zimbabwe is crippled by the highest rate of inflation in the world, unemployment of more than 80 percent, and shortages of foreign currency and fuel. Food shortages are acute, large numbers of people are migrating to the neighboring countries of South Africa and Botswana, and, with elections scheduled for March, political violence has intensified.

By NCR CORRESPONDENT Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

[Material from Catholic News Service was used in this report.]

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