wfn.org | Document Dares to Condemn Corruption and Inequality

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31-December-1998 
98431 
    Zimbabwe Kairos Document Dares to 
    Condemn Corruption and Inequality 
 
    by Stephen Brown 
    Ecumenical News International 
 
HARARE, Zimbabwe-A group of Zimbabwean Christians have denounced "poverty, 
ill-health, bad governance, corruption, fear and hopelessness" in this 
southern African country. 
 
    The criticisms, unusually strong in a country where vocal public 
dissent is rare, were made in the Zimbabwean Kairos Document, published 
just before the start of the eighth assembly of the World Council of 
Churches. The document, which has been in preparation since 1996, was 
produced by Ecumenical Support Services, a Christian nongovernmental 
organization based in Zimbabwe which is often more progressive and 
independent than Zimbabwe's mainstream churches. 
 
    Kairos is a Greek word used in the Bible to refer to "an opportunity 
for repentance and a change of heart, for change and for decisive action 
with the oppressed in a time of crisis." An earlier "Kairos" document - 
drawn up in 1985 by Christians campaigning against apartheid in neighboring 
South Africa - became a major rallying point for opponents of  white rule. 
 
    According to the Zimbabwe document, the nation has been plunged into a 
"political, economic, and, above all, moral crisis that is shaking its very 
foundation." It claims that the "old Soviet Union-style single party 
system" is "alive in Zimbabwe" where all power to initiate laws is 
placed "in the tightly controlled party leadership, politburo and central 
committee." Although the country is in theory a multi-party democracy, the 
document points out that only three members of parliament do not belong to 
President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU (PF) party. 
 
    "Despite our hopes and expectations [at independence and the end of 
white minority rule] in 1980, today we find new black political and 
economic elites, which have replaced the old colonial elites within the 
same structures." 
 
    The document also criticizes Zimbabwe's churches, stating that while 
some churches "have constantly challenged injustice, both before and after 
independence, many have failed to educate their members about abuses of 
power by authorities." 
 
    "In this sense, the churches share responsibility for the fear of 
authority that has gripped us." 
 
    The document contains trenchant criticism of the record of President 
Mugabe's ruling ZANU (PF) party, claiming that: 
       thousands of hectares of land have been taken by government and 
given to senior ministers and officials while peasants on communal land can 
barely eke out an existence; 
       in January 1998 the government used "tanks and bullets" against 
unarmed people protesting against huge increases in food prices. The 
government action caused deaths and injuries; 
       ZANU (PF) is a "ruling party with a disproportionate access to 
financial support, control of both electronic and print media, dishonest 
registration and balloting procedures, coercion and violence"; 
       people are afraid to criticize those who hold power as "harassment, 
disappearances, arrests, brutality and even death [are] inflicted on those 
courageous enough to ask rational questions against mistakes made by the 
powerful political elite"; 
       key laws limiting civil liberties such as the Official Secrets Act 
and Law and Order Act have "changed little since they were enacted by the 
racist Smith regime [which unilaterally declared independence in 1965 and 
ruled the country until 1979 in the face of international sanctions] 
against which our people fought so bravely. These acts remain repressive 
now as then." 
 
    The document also expressed concern about Zimbabwe's economy, pointing 
out that according to the United Nations Development Program, "inequality 
in Zimbabwe is one of the worst in the world. The richest 20 percent of the 
country's population use up 46.9 percent of all expenditure, the poorest 10 
percent [of the population] only 1.8 percent." 
 
    The Economic Structural Adjustment Program (ESAP) introduced under 
pressure from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank has 
benefitted the "big multi-national companies and the political elite ... at 
the expense of the poor and marginalised." 
 
    Jonah Gokova, the coordinator of ESS, told ENI during the WCC's eighth 
assembly which ended on 14 December, that the document was intended to 
encourage debate among Christians and  as a "guideline for those who want 
to engage in prophetic action in Zimbabwe." 
 
    But he stressed that the document was "not political in the sense that 
we have ambitions to contest political power." 
 
    "That is not our intention, but rather to get Christians to reflect on 
their situation and propose solutions to that situation," Gokova said. 
 
    The Zimbabwean Kairos Document was not only a response to the political 
situation in Zimbabwe, but also to the economic system which "marginalised 
many people in Zimbabwe," where 62 percent of people were living below the 
poverty line, Gokova said. 
 
    Asked about parallels between the original South African Kairos 
document and the Zimbabwean document, Gokova said: "The apartheid system 
produced its own crisis, there were certain injustices that Christians had 
to respond to, and here in Zimbabwe we are also talking about certain 
injustices. The origin of the injustices might be different, but we have 
injustices here that as Christians we have to respond to." 
 
    Since the original Kairos document was published in South Africa, 
similar documents have been published in other parts of the world. In 1988 
Christians in Central America drew up a Kairos Document strongly critical 
of US policies in the region. A European Kairos Document was 
published this year. However, the Zimbabwean document, according to Gokova, 
"is the first Kairos document produced in a post-independent situation, in 
Africa." 
 
    He hoped that people involved in the Kairos movement in other parts of 
the would "listen to what we are saying, perhaps also share their insights. 
Some of the problems we are talking about are actually as a result of 
globalization, so we cannot solve these problems in isolation." 

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