Dr Steve Kibble © Graham Freer/ Progressio

The resignation of Pius Ncube, one of the fiercest critics of the Zimbabwean government, from his position as Archbishop of Bulawayo, came as no surprise writes Dr Steve Kibble. The bishop is being sued by a Bulawayo man, Onesimus Sibanda, for allegedly having a two-year adulterous relationship with Sibanda's estranged wife Rosemary. Whatever the truth of the allegations, many Zimbabweans agree with the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference that, like the apartheid regime in South Africa, the state is attempting to smear prominent church opponents with sex scandals rather than dealing with the massive crises affecting Zimbabwe, which can be laid squarely at its door. The news has been received, by all those who care about the suffering of Zimbabweans, as a depressing and salutary reminder of what happens to opposition voices. Equally it shows the often brutal way that the ZANU-PF regime of Mugabe responds to criticism.

Archbishop Ncube has been one of the effective voices of truth emanating from Zimbabwe, a country locked for the past seven years in a steep spiral of economic, political and social decline. Ncube as a church person had become, in a place where opposition is not tolerated, conspicuous as a courageous and effective channel of opposition. He was one of the few church leaders speaking the truth to those in power. Lately the Zimbabwean churches, notably the Catholic Bishops, have spoken out to denounce the current regime. The Easter Pastoral letter 'God Hears the Cry of the Oppressed' compared the plight of Zimbabweans to the Jewish slaves under the Pharaohs.

Tributes to Ncube's role abound. Executive director of Progressio Christine Allen said: 'Progressio is of course extremely sorry to hear that Archbishop Pius Ncube has tendered his resignation, but the fact that he has done so and the way in which he did so highlights the honesty and commitment he has always shown to social justice for suffering Zimbabweans.' Similar sentiments came from Bishop Crispian Hollis, Chair of the Department for International Affairs, Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, who said: 'For many years, Pius Ncube has been outstandingly brave in the way that he has confronted the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe.'

According to the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, over 25,000 cases of human rights violations, overwhelmingly committed by state forces, have occurred over the last six years. Nearly four million Zimbabweans are in need of food aid which the government cannot provide and 80 per cent unemployment has driven at least a quarter of the population abroad. The country has one of the highest HIV and AIDS prevalence rates in the world and life expectancy dropped from 61 years in 1990 to 34 for women and 37 for men in 2006. Zimbabwe's inflation is the world's highest at 7,300 per cent, with independent Zimbabwean economists putting it at twice that figure.

The ZANU-PF regime's approach since losing a 2000 referendum has been a dual strategy of maintaining power at all costs and grabbing Zimbabwe's resources to reward supporters in its patronage. This has meant suborning the judiciary and police force, driving farmworkers from their homes and employment, attacks on the independent media and NGOs, a series of rigged elections, torture, kidnappings, murders, and 'urban cleansing' of the cities to divide and destroy the opposition. In May Pius said: 'Five hundred people die of AIDS every day, but Mugabe does nothing to improve health. They are a mafia. A few people are stinking rich and the majority are below the poverty line. The people are being fed by the World Food Programme - a third of us would be dead if it wasn't for the help that we're getting - but Mugabe is still berating the West. He never looks into himself and admits his mistakes. And the truth is that 99 per cent of what we are suffering is because of this one man.'

In response to the Zimbabwean crisis, the EU's Council of Foreign Ministers imposed targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe including an arms embargo and travel ban on the elite, and terminated political dialogue in 2002. We commend the principled stand of the prime minister, Gordon Brown, who this month said he will not attend December's EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon if President Mugabe is going to be present. Any invitation to Mr Mugabe or another ZANU-PF leader on the travel ban list would not only undermine the work of the Zimbabwean church to bring positive change but be a failure of solidarity with Pius who spoke out against injustice and deprivation with such courage and compassion.   

Dr Steve Kibble is Progressio's advocacy coordinator for Africa, Middle East and Asia. Progressio is an international development agency working with people of all faiths and none to tackle poverty and injustice in 11 developing countries.