The Zimbabwe Heads Of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) has implored citizens, the church, security sectors and Civil Society Organizations to collectively work towards peace building ahead of the 9 December by-elections while expressing church’s commitment to amplify local peace building efforts, leveraging Christian values and ethos towards building a cohesive society.
The by-elections follow the continued recalls in the house of assembly and come three months after the August polls.
In a Pastoral Statement released recently, ZHOCD said that the body was deeply concerned with the escalation of violence in the post August 2023 elections period and the run-up to the by-elections scheduled for the 9th of December 2023, a situation which would put human security in danger.
“The continued occurrence of violence seemingly unabated will inevitably deepen polarization and promote intolerance in our communities. Resultantly, we will not be able to move forward and effectively realize our collective developmental goals as a nation if violence remains a common thread in society.
“The threat to human security that is caused by violence is worrisome. The risk presented with this is that aspersions are cast on our ability as a nation to guarantee the safety of people and property in our country. Invariably, this has an effect on the country’s ability to attract meaningful foreign direct investment and will be marked as an unsafe nation.
“The security sector is called upon to investigate and bring to finality all the cases of abductions and murder that have been reported to them. Offenders must be given deterrent sentences and should be held accountable for their actions. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) should fully investigate and identify perpetrators of violence and book them with respect to the rule of law, this contributes to the restoration of confidence of the institution as the protector of human security,” reads the statement
ZHOCD further raised concerns over continued recalls in the house of assembly while challenging political parties to be driven by the philosophy of peace.
“The continued recalls in the house of assembly imply that the country will continue to be gripped and fixated in election mode.Instead of focusing on nation building and economic development in the post 2023 elections, Zimbabwe’s development will remain stunted affecting the welfare capacity to support the poor and vulnerable.
“Political leaders are challenged to continue with the call for peace, from national level and cascading to communities through their respective structures.Electoral processes should not always be associated with violence as this undermines the credibility of electoral process and perpetuates marginalization of the country by other states,”further reads
The Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) is a grouping of four apex organizations that represent 77.2% of the Zimbabwean population. It comprises of Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC), Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC), Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) and Union for Development of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe (UDACIZA). The ZHOCD acts as a central unifying structure bringing together the Christian church around common themes and objectives.
