CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

MDC 10th Anniversary Celebrations - Solidarity Message

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe and President of MDC, honourable Morgan Tsvangirai; Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President honourable Ms Thokozani Khupe; the Speaker of Parliament and National Chairman honourable Lovemore Moyo; the Finance Minister and Secretary General, honourable Tendai Biti; all Ministers here present, all Senators, members of the Standing Committee, members of the National Committee, and all those who are in leadership structures and all the invited guests to the tenth (10th) anniversary celebrations; I extend congratulations from Christian Alliance CA, Save Zimbabwe Campaign SZC and myself as we join you celebrate the achievements and successes you have scored thus far.

The above organizations I represent are non partisan. We committed ourselves to support all democratic forces that were fighting and continue to fight for justice and freedom of all Zimbabweans.

This anniversary comes at a time when MDC is now part of the Inclusive Government which we all welcome as the first step toward setting the structures of a truly democratic society.

It is my hope and prayer that, this phase will enable all peace loving Zimbabweans to fully participate in the second step of the processes that will give birth to the Zimbabwe we want. I am personally convinced that the vision of a democratic Zimbabwe is now in our reach.

Let me, however extend a word of warning to you my sisters and brothers; that as you enter into government, there is a lot that the Nation expects from you. Psalm 124 has to be your motto in the journey toward realizing your dreams/vision for better Zimbabwe. Don’t forget those who inspired you this far. Don’t forget those who lost their lives for this cause.

In 1997 the Church through ZCC discovered that its project on the advocacy for the new constitution was also being looked at by the Trade Union movement who’s General Secretary then was Morgan Tsvangirai. At a joint meeting with the Trade Union movement and other stake holders the Church agreed to the election of Mr Tsvangirai as the first chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly NCA. I take this personally as an approval by the Body of Christ. Some would look to this as an anointing to leadership by the Church. Now Mr Tsvangirai is the newly appointed Prime Minister. We congratulate him for that.

One incident we will not forget in our history is the 11 March 2007 when your leaders were beaten for wanting to attend a prayer meeting we had arranged in Highfield. When the beatings were shown all over the world (courtesy to the world media which was incidentally banned) the president Mr Mugabe was summoned to an emergency AU meeting where Mr Thabo Mbeki was chosen to mediate between the rival leaders in Zimbabwe. Yet as CA and SZC we had been asking our leaders to have round table talks. The response was the ‘never, never, never’ fame. The wise say never say never.

It is important to mention that many of us were demonized for asking our leaders to talk to each other. I was arrested five times for leading those who were propagating for talks. The security agents went to the extent of arresting me for stealing cattle which I never did. The previous government is known for coming up with trumped up charges just to demoralize and scare democratic agents. Many Zimbabwean have been arrested for treason including Mr Tsvangirai.

Two warnings which you should take heed of: As Christian leaders we will advise our follower not to vote for a party which denigrates others. Parties in this country use terms like ‘pasi na’…...meaning kill so and so. Why should we sink so low in order to win votes? If you resort to violence we will not vote for you. This is our message to all political parties.

The second warning is “Please do not revenge on your own.” The Lord advises us to leave revenge to him. African people are no strangers to God’s ways. A village in Mashonaland Central lost 13 of its members to cholera within a short space of time. One family in this village lost five members. When they were asked why they did not send their relatives to clinics the answer was very revealing. The elders in the family were reminded of the fact that some of their members in the family had killed people during the previous elections. Those responsible to take care of the sick surrendered to fate. They thought these deaths were being caused by the spirits of the dead.

CONGRATULATIONS! AMHLOPE! MAKOROKOTO!

Bishop Dr Levee Kadenge: CA convener and SZC chair.