Catholic bishops in Zimbabwe and Nigeria are calling on governments to respond to the demands of activists and protesters instead of using violence against the demonstrators.
This comes as more and more African countries are gripped by anti-government protests battling rising inflation, exacerbated by poor harvests that have pushed populations into food insecurity. Droughts caused by climate change, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, have also destroyed income sources, while low commodity prices are affecting a key source of income for informal miners.
In Zimbabwe, Catholic bishops criticized the government for arresting, detaining and torturing civil and opposition activists ahead of a meeting of African regional leaders in Harare on August 17. They said the crackdown by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government was a human rights violation.
Zimbabwe hosted a summit of heads of state of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) while Mnangagwa assumed the rotating chairmanship of the regional bloc. Citizens, the opposition and democracy activists wanted to use the meeting of regional heads of state to raise their voices against the alleged human rights abuses of the Mnangagwa government and the harsh crackdown by Harare on those who oppose the Zimbabwean leader.
Mnangagwa seized power from Robert Mugabe in 2017 following a coup and subsequently won disputed elections in 2018 and 2023. In the run-up to the South African State Development Community meeting in Harare on August 17, about 100 activists protesting against Mnangagwa’s government were arrested, detained and denied bail, and accused of torture in custody.
The Zimbabwean bishops said the officials’ actions were “of no benefit to anyone” and were a violation of human rights.
Analysts said Mnangagwa’s government used the crackdown on activists to quell potential protests and uprisings against his government during the South African Development Community summit.
“As Catholic bishops, we are concerned and saddened that violence, torture and kidnappings seem to be the only means of silencing the voices of dissent and suppressing possible demonstrations,” said a statement from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Zimbabwe. “Why do we not seek dialogue with those who feel aggrieved by the current state of our country?”
The bishops added that they had noted “arbitrary arrests of citizens on frivolous charges” and that those arrested had been denied bail. “Let us protect human rights enshrined in our constitution,” the bishops added.
Political analysts also criticize Mnangagwa’s government’s harsh crackdown on civil and opposition activists.
Stephen Chan, professor of world politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, said in an interview that Mnangagwa had “overplayed (the government’s) hand by detaining alleged opposition activists – many of whom had done absolutely nothing” to justify the arrests ahead of the regional meeting of heads of state on August 17.
After Mnangagwa appeared to blame the West, particularly Britain and the US, for allegedly funding the protesters, Chan said: “Instead of appearing to the SADC presidents making the trip as a paranoid head of state, he must invent a nonexistent threat. Not a single foreign power is attacking Zimbabwe, the US is busy preparing for elections and dealing with the escalating Middle East crisis, and Britain is in the midst of drafting its post-election policy.”
Opposition parties in South Africa are pushing to move the summit away from Harare due to the arrest of opposition and civil rights activists, despite the South African government refusing to request this. The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said one of the opposition and civil rights activists arrested in Harare was tortured in custody.
Zimbabwean opposition activist Fadzayi Mahere welcomed the statement by the country’s Catholic bishops, saying the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe has long been “fearless in its ability to speak truth to power and stand up for what is right.”
Mahere added that the bishops had spoken out against “the deteriorating human rights situation, including abductions, torture, improper detentions and the unconstitutional use of the legal system as a weapon” against citizens.
Anti-government protests are also taking place in other African countries. In Malawi, protesters demonstrated earlier this month against irregularities in the issuing of identity documents by the National Registration Bureau and against the Malawi Electoral Commission’s strict requirements for voter identification ahead of next year’s elections.
Kenya’s President William Ruto was forced to withdraw the introduction of new taxes after young citizens of the country protested against the new financial measures, saying they led to excessive government spending at the expense of the development agenda.
Protests have also taken place further afield in Africa. In a rare movement, for example, Nigerian protesters took to the streets, bringing together people of all faiths to voice their concerns about the rising cost of food and transport.
Christian groups in Nigeria, such as the Anglican and Catholic churches, have said that although anti-government protests in the West African country have fizzled out, they were triggered by hunger. Nigeria’s Catholic bishops have called on the government of President Bola Tinubu to review the country’s economic policies.
“The president of every country should be a listening and compassionate leader. I do not want to speak in detail about the hunger protest, but we cannot continue to remain silent,” said Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, during a ceremony to ordain 11 priests on August 3 at the Maria Assumpta Cathedral in Owerri.
