Published by the government of Zimbabwe
21 January 2008
Harare — Rival Anglican Harare Diocese leaders Bishop Nolbert Kunonga and Bishop Sebastian Bakare yesterday clashed and exchanged harsh words at the pulpit in full view of parishioners at the Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints.
Police, who were monitoring the situation from a distance, had to call the two parties to a closed-door meeting as the battle for control of the diocese continues. Problems started when parishioners aligned to Bishop Bakare went into the church to start their service soon after those aligned to Bishop Kunonga had finished theirs.
Those aligned to Bishop Kunonga felt that their rival parishioners had ignored the 90-minute interval ordered by the High Court last Friday. In a judgment handed down last Friday, Judge President Justice Rita Makarau ordered that pending the finalisation of an earlier court case, the two church services should be held 90 minutes apart. But parishioners aligned to Bishop Bakare moved in before Bishop Kunonga's procession had moved out, leading to the stand-off. This prompted Bishop Kunonga to remain seated in his chair, while the parishioners aligned to Bishop Bakare burst into song.
About 40 minutes later, Bishop Bakare entered the cathedral and went straight to the pulpit. At that juncture, an enraged Bishop Kunonga told him off saying: "Sebastian, you are an intruder!"
Bishop Kunonga grabbed a prayer book and Bible from Bishop Bakare's hands and threw it onto the floor, telling him in no uncertain terms that he was not welcome. Police Officer Commanding Harare Central District Chief Superintendent Isaac Tayengwa, who had initially watched proceedings in silence, had to intervene. The police, the two bishops and their priests then went into the dean's office for a meeting. During the meeting, Bishop Kunonga made it clear that he derived his authority from the cathedral and as such he could not share it with another bishop.
"The cathedral is where my throne as bishop is. It cannot be shared, zvakafanana nechikuva, kune chikuva chababa," said Bishop Kunonga. Explaining how his diocese withdrew from the Anglican Church Province of Central Africa, Bishop Kunonga said the decision could not be attributed to him alone as it was a collective decision of the synod. "The synod is like Parliament, it's a legislative body. The people said we don't want to be associated with homosexuals and any person who is associated with homosexuals ceases to be an Anglican. In the diocese of Central Africa, there are bishops who are homosexuals and we can't accept that," said Bishop Kunonga, who announced last week that he had formed the Province of Zimbabwe.
"I cannot be singled out as the person that took the decision, it was collective. In 1954, we used to belong to the Province of Southern Africa and we left together with the church property to join the Province of Central Africa so the same thing should apply now." Bishop Bakare said since his colleague insisted on barring him from using the cathedral in violation of a court order, he had no option but to go back to the High Court.
"It's not true that I am an intruder. I have been appointed to head this diocese on an interim basis because my colleague (Bishop Kunonga) left the diocese. This diocese was declared vacant and it is not like I am looking for a job, but I am here on an interim basis. We will soon be approaching the High Court to have the issue of use and ownership of the cathedral determined," said Bishop Bakare.
"There is more to this case than what you are hearing. There is nobody who can accept homosexuality. I was asked to find out how many people want to remain in the Province of Central Africa and 98 percent of the people indicated they wanted to do so."
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