Archbishop questioned after criticising government

Zimbabwe intelligence officers have questioned a Roman Catholic archbishop after he criticised the government in an open letter, press reports said on Wednesday.

In a strongly worded letter published on Monday in the independent ‘Daily News’ and entitled “A prayer of hope for Zimbabwe,” Archbishop Pius Ncube condemned the widespread government-backed invasions of white-owned commercial farms begun in February.

“We strongly deplore the lawless invasion of the farms, sometimes by villagers who are being forced against their will to settle on the farms,” Ncube wrote.

He also criticised the government of President Robert Mugabe for stoking the fires of racism: “We condemn in the strongest terms all racism and incitement of hatred among the races through extreme remarks by political leaders.”

Ncube was quoted by the ‘Daily News’ as saying that his “interrogation” had been “amicable” and that the agents had not harassed him in any way. But he said he was certain his church services were being watched.

“They attend church to hear what I say or they have agents who feed them with some of the things I say,” Ncube said.