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Zimbabwe's churches to defy authorities on first anniversary of Operation Clean Up
Ekklesia (UK)
May 19, 2006

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In an act of defiance, churches across Zimbabwe are preparing to mark the first anniversary of Operation Clean Up that left hundreds of thousands homeless. At the same time Zimbabweans in some parts of the country are having their meagre garden plots seized by the military. Churches in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, will hold commemorative services on Saturday 20 May and are planning to hold a procession in the city despite being banned. The churches leaders received permission for the procession on 8 May; however after an intensive meeting with the police, army and the security services on 16 May that permission was rescinded. "They told us they would not have the manpower to deal with such an event," said Rev. Promise Mnceda. "We are worried that the likelihood of arrests and beatings is very high." The churches which have organised the prayer procession are all members of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance. A similar event is scheduled to take place in Chitungwiza, outside the capital Harare. "We would rather obey God than men," said Jonah Gokova, coordinator Christian Aid's partner, the Ecumenical Support Services. "As Christian leaders we have an obligation to witness the truth of Christ in ways that inspire hope to the hopeless."

Operation Murambatsvina was launched last year to 'clean-up' the cities. The government said it wanted to clear out illegal settlements but houses and stores were brutally destroyed with little regard to their legal status. A report prepared by the UN said 700,000 people had lost their homes with another 2.4 million people being indirectly affected. A year later it is still difficult to have precise numbers but it is hard to find a family not somehow affected through loss of housing or income. In the immediate aftermath of Operation Murambatsvina, Christian Aid partners provided emergency help - shelter, clothing, blankets and food - at church centres and transit camps around the main cities. Since then, many families who were forced to flee to rural areas were given assistance. During the worst months of hunger school feeding schemes provided a daily meal for 38,000 children. With funds raised from the emergency appeal Christian Aid is also supporting a project to help small businesses across the country to re-open. While hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans are still without homes or livelihoods, the military has taken control of food production by small-scale farmers in Matebeleland. Operation Taguta/Sisuthi or 'Eat Well' was launched last year by the government claiming it would revive the agricultural sector. Instead church leaders say the soldiers have been taking maize and other crops from villagers. Irrigation schemes which support market gardens have been destroyed and the military is using plot holders as forced labour.

Christian Aid has spoken with many of the people most affected. The army came to one village in Matabeleland and ploughed up all the plots which were planted with vegetables and other crops. The villagers were then forced to plant maize seeds and told to work seven days a week from 08:00 to 16:00 with only two short breaks. Many sick and elderly people have been unable to comply and have given up their plots. There are reports of people being beaten in the fields for resting. A pastor in Bulawayo has had a plot for many years; he had procured his own seed and fertiliser. The army would not allow him to plant his own seed nor would it grant him time to perform his duties as a pastor. Forced to choose between his land or his flock he has now lost his plot and is unlikely to get it back. "The farmers say the soldiers are to stay for two years," said Judith Melby, Christian Aid's Africa specialist. "With inflation now at the dizzy heights of 1,000 per cent, making people to work seven days a week for practically nothing is tantamount to slave labour."

Christian Aid applauds the brave stance of church leaders in calling for justice and democracy in their country and calls on the churches in the UK to show their solidarity with the churches in Zimbabwe. Churches in Bulawayo sheltered over 2,000 families at the peak of Murambatsvina and continue to provide food assistance, medical help and the payment of school fees for displaced children. "We also call on the UN to follow up on its report on Operation Murambatsvina," said Judith Melby. 'It was an excellent report which exposes the contempt with which the government treats its people. But we have heard nothing more since it was released last July." The clean-up operation appears in clear violation of several international agreements which the Government of Zimbabwe has ratified. Article 11 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and Article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights guarantees the right of all children to education. Article 5 of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Treaty listed poverty alleviation and support for the socially disadvantaged as one of SADC's main objectives. But the evictions further impoverished Zimbabweans.

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