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Witnesses seek help to testify against the Bishop of Harare

by
02 November 2006

AN URGENT appeal for funds has come from the diocese of Harare in advance of the ecclesiastical court trial of the Rt Revd Nolbert Kunonga, Bishop of Harare, which begins on 18 July.

Many of the priests and other witnesses who want to give testimony against the Bishop have been forced to leave the diocese or the country, "allegedly as a result of the actions of the Bishop, and not of their own desire and free will", reports the Chancellor of the diocese, Robert Stumbles.

It is alleged that some have been accepted as refugees from Zimbabwe. The Anglican Church of Central Africa is under no obligation to pay for these witnesses, and the Primate, Dr Bernard Malango, has said he will not provide such funds.

Attempts are being made to reduce costs by requesting the judge and assessors of the court to permit evidence to be given by way of affidavit. In the absence of any response, however, Mr Stumbles and two other trustees have opened an account, "The Anglican Fund for Just Causes", to enable witnesses to attend the trial.

The fund will pay for transport, accommodation, and food, and, in the future, will be used for "just causes, mainly for or in respect of the Anglican diocese of Harare or for persons directly or indirectly associated with the diocese". Just causes are defined as "that which is fair or right or just or equitable or lawfully expedient".

A summary of evidence against Bishop Kunonga, an apologist for President Mugabe, will be submitted to a pre-trial conference on Monday.

The Bishop is alleged to have: "Publicly and deliberately maintained doctrines or opinions which are contrary to the teaching of the Church. To have wilfully contravened any enactment of the Provincial Synod, or the Diocesan Synod, or refused to obey any lawful command of his Ecclesiastical Superior. To have refused or deliberately neglected to use in public prayer and in the administration of the sacraments and other Holy offices the forms authorised under the Canons of the Church of the Province of Central Africa. To have conducted himself in such a manner as to give cause for scandal or offence, or otherwise unbecoming a clergyman."

It has taken almost two years to bring the Bishop to court ( News, 13 May, 3 December). The hearing is scheduled to take place in public at St Mary and All Saints' Cathedral, Harare, though there is pressure to move it to a venue away from the precincts, which are controlled by the Bishop. He will be represented at his trial by the Registrar of the diocese, James Mutizwa, and prosecuted by Advocate Jeremy Lewis.

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