ANGLICAN-INFORMATION
‘A voice for the voiceless'

Anglican Province of Central Africa – Good news and bad

Good news: ‘Archbishop’ Nolbert Kunonga excommunicated: At last after considerable prodding and pushing by various individual and organisations such as our own, acting Dean of the Anglican Province of Central Africa, the Rt Rev’d Albet Chama, Bishop of Northern Zambia has taken personal action against Kungona of Harare, Zimbabwe.

Bishop Chama has announced that he pronounces upon Kunonga “and all those who support him the sentence of Greater Exommunication, thereby separating them from the Church of the Province of Central Africa and the Anglican Communion, by the actions taken of withdrawing from the Province of Central Africa, forming another Church and casting aside the Constitution and Canons of the Church of the Province of Central Africa”.

ANGLICAN-INFORMATION comments: – and about time! - the old friendship between Kunonga and Chama has delayed this action until now. It has finally been conceded to the chorus of voices protesting Kunonga’s increasingly brutal use of Zimbabwe President Mugabe regime’s forces against worshipping Anglicans loyal to Bishop Sebastian Bakare. Bakare replaced Kunonga as the legitimate Bishop of Harare in December 2007.

Bishop Bakare has said, “Our people have been spiritually wounded and we can only hope and pray that God’s Grace will sustain and heal us – the present persecution will not destroy us at all.” Whilst Dean Chama has prevaricated in the lead up to Kunonga’s excommunication Bishop Bakare has been in the front line bravely defending the diocese.

The announcement of the excommunication does not include a condemnation of the Mugabe regime itself, nor does it equate how previous Archbishop of the Central African Province, Bernard Malango absolved ‘for ever’ Kunonga of the serious court case brought against him in December 2005, which included charges of incitement to murder. Further, it is not clear exactly who has been excommunicated as, for example, Bishop Elson Jakazi of Manicaland, Kunonga’s fellow breakaway bishop is not named, nor are any other of Kunonga’s supporters. Importantly, given Bishop Bernard Malango’s close (and never disclaimed) association with Kunonga, presumably he has been excommunicated too? Clarification needs to be forthcoming especially regarding Malango who has been so closely identified with Kunonga in the past.

ANGLICAN-INFORMATION observes that the truth is that due to Chama’s reluctance this excommunication is too little and too late, it should have come during the recent elections to encourage the beleaguered electorate. In reality, excommunicated or not, Kunonga will remain in power until the Mugabe regime itself falls.

ANGLICAN-INFORMATION says: The disastrous consequences of the Zimbabwe regime are now beginning to filter out into surrounding countries as recent murderous events in South Africa have shown. The potential for serious political instability in the region grows by the day.

And the bad news from Malawi: Bishop James Tengatenga, Bishop of Southern Malawi has announced the withholding of all episcopal sacramental rites such as confirmation from the dioceses of Lake Malawi and Upper Shire. This is by way of some kind of ‘punishment’ of the people for their insisting on having their own properly elected bishops and not accepting the House of Bishops imposed candidates.

It is not clear by whose authority Tengatenga is able to make such announcement and in any case it is an absolute scandal that a bishop should propose withholding sacramental rites from the people in such a fashion. It is a clear and shocking abrogation of episcopal duties, unprecedented in the modern Anglican Communion, and will be reported by us to Lambeth Palace and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Amidst all his troubles this is one that he should attend to immediately.

The only slight amelioration to this dreadful state of affairs is that it is reported that not all the Provincial Bishops are happy with what Tengatenga is doing, but they ‘don’t want to interfere’ in Malawi.

‘Don’t want to interfere’ has become a watchword for many of the troubles in Africa and certainly Tengatenga should be challenged for his politicising of episcopal obligations in a fashion reminiscent of Nolbert Kunonga himself!

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‘A voice for the voiceless’
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