Zimbabwe Report
archbishop Pius Ncube meets Prisoner of conscience, Roy Bennett
by Sokwanele, Justice for agriculture
Friday, February 11, 2005
On Saturday 5th February, far beyond the reach of any reporters or the probing lens of any cameras, an event of major significance took place. In the prison compound at Mutoko, some 140 kilometers north-east of Harare, one of Zimbabwe's leading clerics and outspoken critic of the Mugabe regime, met and talked with a prominent member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), now a prisoner of conscience incarcerated by that regime. archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo met Roy Bennett the imprisoned opposition MDC member of parliament for the Chimanimani constituency.
Roy Bennett is serving out in the Mutoko prison the harsh and grossly disproportionate sentence imposed upon him by parliament. In October 2004 the ruling ZaNU (PF) party used their majority in parliament to slam a 12-month term of imprisonment with hard labour upon Bennett. The pretext for this blatantly racist attack upon an opposition legislator who happens to be white and massively popular with his constituents, was an altercation in parliament between Bennett and Patrick Chinamasa, the Minister of Justice. In response to provocative jibes from Chinamasa that his ancestors were "thieves and murderers", Bennett pushed Chinamasa to the floor. a minor scuffle that would have merited perhaps a reprimand from the Speaker in any normal democratic institution, (or a small fine if prosecuted in the criminal courts) was used as the occasion for ZaNU (PF) to vent its anger upon a former member of the party who had dared to switch his allegiance to the opposition when he saw how corrupt ZaNU (PF) had become. The unprecedented severity of the sentence was only the latest act of vengeance inflicted upon Bennett, who with his family and workers, has been the target of a sustained campaign of persecution over the last several years.
"They were acting out of spitefulness and hatred", said the plain-speaking archbishop in an interview with our reporter. "They are jealous of this man succeeding. They are hateful because he joined the opposition". Not that the archbishop wished to condone Bennett's behaviour in parliament. "That was wrong", he said, "but the sentence was way beyond what was appropriate. They (the ZaNU (PF) members of parliament) disregarded the extenuating circumstances and his apology. Instead the regime capitalized on this unfortunate incident. They are fixing him. It is just vengeance".
So why was a busy archbishop taking the best part of a whole day to travel from Bulawayo to the other side of the country in order to see Bennett ? "Out of sympathy", declared the prelate without a moment's hesitation. "This is my stand against injustice". The archbishop was well briefed too. During the interview he paged through a dossier on his desk, listing the gross abuses to which Roy Bennett and his family and workers had been subjected by a violent and unforgiving regime--from the violent and unlawful seizure of his Charleswood Estate in Chimanimani to the arrests, beatings, torture and rape of his workers by the CIO, militia and agents acting for the State.
The archbishop traveled from Harare to Mutoko in the company of Roy Bennett's wife, Heather and a family friend. a visitor to one of Zimbabwe's high security prisons can never be sure what kind of reception awaits him these days--and the more so if the person visited is a high-profile prisoner of the stature of Roy Bennett. Visits are limited and strictly controlled.
Heather Bennett can only see her husband once a fortnight and on the most stringent terms. Other would-be visitors have been turned away at the prison doors. So how would the archbishop be received, even given that he was accompanying the prisoner's wife during one of her fortnightly visits ?
In this event he was courteously received and the visit was permitted to continue for the (unusually long) period of 45 to 50 minutes, albeit under the watchful gaze of two prison guards and with the prisoner (as ever) on the other side of a strong mesh fence to his visitors.
asked how he found Bennett the archbishop said he was remarkably cheerful, confident and "very positive". The archbishop was able to tell Bennett that what he had done for his workers was appreciated. "He has assisted them and helped them to develop in a wonderful way", he explained to our reporter, "a man of the people".
Considering the abuses and injustices Bennett has suffered, archbishop Pius was amazed at his readiness to forgive his tormentors. "He told me", said the man of God, "that he had learnt that to harbour bitterness was only to hurt oneself. He reads his Bible every day".
and for the future ? It was during the course of this interview that Bennett confirmed that he wished to stand as a candidate in the March parliamentary elections. Had he not already suffered enough in his bid to win freedom for Zimbabwe? On the contrary, came his reply: "We have sacrificed too much to stop now. We must go forward". at which point the archbishop spoke of his Christian conviction that the journey to freedom is never painless, but that somehow God uses that pain to bring out the best in his children.
The 45-minute interview was soon over. The small quantities of high protein food and other limited range of toiletries permitted by the prison authorities, were duly handed over, to be inspected by the prison guard and approved. (Bennett has always made a point of sharing such small benefits as he receives with those who share his cramped prison cell with him, so not all the treats were for him personally).
a moving farewell. Heather Bennett will not be able to see her husband again for another fortnight. The archbishop tells Roy, "Don't lose heart. Be courageous. We are praying
for you".
The visit is over, but no doubt the strengthening words of archbishop Pius Ncube will remain with Roy Bennett for many days and weeks to come. and who doubts the archbishop was speaking for many, many thousands of Zimbabweans, not to mention the countless supporters and well-wishers around the world, of Zimbabwe's currently most famous prisoner of conscience.
Message of hope arrived in ZimbabweZimbabwe's loneliest prisoner
FreeRoyBennett.com.
