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Politics is too serious to be left to politicians alone - Mozambique clerics
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
November 29, 2012

Revered Anglican Bishop, Salamao Senglani, and his Methodist counterpart, Bishop Matsola, have reiterated the Mozambican Church's commitment to solidarity with Zimbabwe, arguing that they will continue to play a role and urged Zimbabwe civics to do the same because "politics is too serious to be left to politicians alone".

These sentiments were shared at a meeting the Zimbabwean Civil Society Delegation held with the two bishops, at the residence of Bishop Sengulani in Maputo, yesterday, 28 November, 2012.

The delegation thanked the bishops for their on-going solidarity, and presented them with key messages that they asked the clerics to deliver to the Church and the government of Mozambique.

The issues mainly focused on SADC's role and need to persuade the regime in Harare to make sure of reforms ahead of elections based on the GPA and the agreed to electoral road map. The clergyman committed to doing so, and said as a neutral arbiter, who played a huge role in the conflict in Mozambique, they were prepared to engage with Zimbabweans and Mozambicans around how best to deal with the Zimbabwean situation.

"Continuous peace-making is the role of every Christian. As such, we will continue to pray for peace in Zimbabwe and engage our government in its role as SADC Chair to do what it can to persuade President Mugabe's government to be peaceful and have peaceful elections," said Bishop Sengulani.

Speaking on reports of continued violence, the Anglican Bishop who is credited with playing a huge role in Mozambique's peace process said;

"It is bad enough that we have violent speech. We cannot allow violence to be part of our lives. We need to deal with violence in the heart and the mind, before it gets to the hands."

Methodist Bishop, Matsola, who has monitored elections in Zimbabwe in the past, and was a witness to Operation Murambatsvina, added his weight by saying;

"Zimbabwe is not a foreign country. We are dealing with our brothers and sisters. There is legitimacy in involving Mozambique and Mozambicans in the Zimbabwe matter for the sake of the region and not just Zimbabwe. Mozambicans and the region should have a role in assisting Zimbabwe deal with its problems, not from a point of view of teaching, because we have so much to learn from Zimbabwe in spite of its challenges, but from the perspective of helping."

The two bishops stated their commitment to lobbying on behalf of Zimbabweans in their spaces, and also to assist with the staging of a Zimbabwe specific event in Maputo early next year 2013. They also committed to translating the briefing papers for further engagements with the state, the church and civil society

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