Epistle to Catholic priests; don’t take us the Rwanda route!

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The Zambia Police, Ndola Division has requested Catholic priest Chewe Mukosa to appear before them next Tuesday to assist with investigations over an unspecified matter. However, instead of waiting for the police to do their homework since no one is above the law whether they’re priests or not, the Patriotic Front and their surrogates have gone full-throttle insinuating that, “Mukosa has been summoned for questioning in connection with preaching against loadshedding and the high cost of living when he delivered his Good Friday message.”

We won’t delve into the issue since we aren’t privy to why the priest is wanted by the police, but shall instead restrict ourselves to interrogating the attitude of a few known Catholic priests towards the New Dawn Administration, and President Hakainde Hichilema in particular. Scriptures say, people perish due to lack of knowledge. Indeed…….the process of training to become a Catholic priest is a tedious one. According to Wikipedia, it takes five or six year full-time Course of Formation at a seminary, including study for a degree or other qualification in theology. The Seminary Course of Formation will also involve placements in parishes of the diocese in which you will gain practical, pastoral and liturgical skills.

Given this background, human as they are; Catholic priests are obviously more knowledgeable compared to ordinary preachers; and when they stand on the pulpit to ‘preach,’ they are not expected to mislead the public on emotive issues such as loadshedding, price of mealie meal or even our current drought situation. But lo and behold, we’ve seen some priests excitedly take to the pulpit and literally engage in politics. They’re quick to whip-up emotions by twisting information and spewing half-truths to cajole the public to start thinking the current administration has failed, lamentably. It’s actually shocking to see and hear them criticise Hichilema and his government in acidic and bitter tones, bereft of any love or compassion!

Don’t these priests realise they’re sowing seeds of acrimony and discord in the Church and nation at large – polarization if you like, by conducting themselves in such a despicable manner on the pulpit? It’s interesting that it’s always the usual suspects – the Mpundus, Mukosas, Lupupas, Mwewas, Kabasos and Chikoyas leading the onslaught. Is Hichilema paying the price for belonging to a “wrong tribe?” How come we don’t often see priests from the Zambezi provinces come out guns and blazing on the current president? We have every reason to suspect this ‘attack’ on Hichilema from some Catholic priests borders on nothing else, but tribalism and regionalism!

Since today marks 30 years since the genocide in Rwanda, we shall take time to reflect outline the chilling account of the role the Catholic church played in the same, whereby 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered in 100 days of violence for which Pope Francis has since sought forgiveness for the “sins and failings of the church and its members.”

According to the March 27, 2017 issue of The Guardian, one priest, Father Athanase Seromba, ordered his church to be bulldozed with 2,000 Tutsis sheltering inside. Another priest, Father Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, equally helped draw up lists of people to be killed and raped. This is according to charges issued by the UN’s international criminal tribunal for Rwanda in 2005.

The publication further highlights that the Catholic church was compromised by its longstanding political ties to the ruling Hutu elite. Archbishop Vincent Nsengiyumva sat on the ruling party’s central committee for nearly 15 years even as it implemented policies that discriminated against Tutsis.Once the massacres started, instead of using his political affiliations to urge the regime to stop the killing, he refused even to call it genocide. Witnesses said he stood by as Tutsi priests, monks and a nun were taken to be murdered!

Further acknowledging its role in such dastardly crimes against humanity; in 2016, Rwanda’s Catholic bishops apologised for “all the wrongs the church committed” during the genocide. Their statement admitted church members planned, aided and carried out the genocide, and that the local church had later resisted efforts by the government and groups of survivors to acknowledge the church’s complicity in mass murder.

We shudder at the thought of history repeating itself in our beloved nation. Our plea to politicians hiding in priestly robes is simple: please, don’t take us on the path of Rwanda.

Prince Bill M. Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst

30 COMMENTS

  1. Carry on insulting Catholic priests.

    You people are just vile. It is like you are not Zambian, from the way you lie and behave. We have certainly seen enough of you.

    Vote wisely in 2026.

    • Has the writer told the truth about the behaviour of Catholic priests in the Rwanda genocide? I have not read the UN report he has referred to but I have read other history about the church in the world. It’s certainly true that its association with injustice goes back many, many years back. To me it’s enough evidence that there’s no God or Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church. What there is are ordinary human beings capable of doing some good and some bad like everyone else. They did it during the Atlantic slave trade. South America where the Catholic Church has been a very dominant religious group for more than 500 yrs remains a very racist continent to this day. There’s no dialogue in the Catholic Church but only monologues led by all-knowing priests.

      • Gunner, you must be SDA?

        Show me a church which has not done any wrong. Start with SDA please.

        Do not shoot the messenger, but the message. Remember this is the same message from every voter, cost of living is too high, despite numerous campaign promises that he would fix it.

  2. Carry on insulting Catholic priests.

    You people are just vile. It is like you are not Zambian, from the way you lie and behave. We have certainly seen enough of you.

    Vote wisely in 2026.

    • Has the writer told the truth about the behaviour of Catholic priests in the Rwanda genocide? I have not read the UN report he has referred to but I have read other history about the church in the world. It’s certainly true that its association with injustice goes back many, many years back. To me it’s enough evidence that there’s no God or Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church. What there is are ordinary human beings capable of doing some good and some bad like everyone else. They did it during the Atlantic slave trade. South America where the Catholic Church has been a very dominant religious group for more than 500 yrs remains a very racist continent to this day. There’s no dialogue in the Catholic Church but only monologues led by all-knowing priests.

      • Gunner, you must be SDA?

        Show me a church which has not done any wrong. Start with SDA please.

        Do not shoot the messenger, but the message. Remember this is the same message from every voter, cost of living is too high, despite numerous campaign promises that he would fix it.

  3. Ny sentiments exactly. The Rwanda genocide started from the Catholic pulpit. Zambia better be careful we r headed that way if this nonsense is not stopped by our Catholic priests.

  4. Ny sentiments exactly. The Rwanda genocide started from the Catholic pulpit. Zambia better be careful we r headed that way if this nonsense is not stopped by our Catholic priests.

  5. The truth prevails HH is a dictator and lacks integrity or leadership skills. A good leader is the one who listens and understands the importance of the feelings, fears, views and thoughts of his followers. Using the trigger happy uncultured and emotionally charged bandits in the police uniforms will have a bitter end for HH. Distortion and violence towards the church will profoundly damage further HH dictatorship and political fortunes. The police under this PIG is one of the worst and barbarous police force since independence. HH will cry like imbushi wait and see the bitter ens

  6. The truth prevails HH is a dictator and lacks integrity or leadership skills. A good leader is the one who listens and understands the importance of the feelings, fears, views and thoughts of his followers. Using the trigger happy uncultured and emotionally charged bandits in the police uniforms will have a bitter end for HH. Distortion and violence towards the church will profoundly damage further HH dictatorship and political fortunes. The police under this PIG is one of the worst and barbarous police force since independence. HH will cry like imbushi wait and see the bitter ens

  7. Yes others may HH is a dictator because he doesn’t give out brown envelopes like the way it was with Chiluba and Lungu’s leadership where every political leaders were issuing out money that ended up in their pockets.
    Which priest will come out today point at the works the money recieved from these political hooligans?
    Now they don’t receive brown envelopes is the time to complain as though they are opposition PF cadres.

  8. Yes others may HH is a dictator because he doesn’t give out brown envelopes like the way it was with Chiluba and Lungu’s leadership where every political leaders were issuing out money that ended up in their pockets.
    Which priest will come out today point at the works the money recieved from these political hooligans?
    Now they don’t receive brown envelopes is the time to complain as though they are opposition PF cadres.

  9. Just Google on catholic and Rwanda genocide see if it’s true or not.If they apologized or not.Maybe they didn’t try to check it out.Small things sometimes grow big.Govt must engage these priests so that they may understand that peace is the sweetest thing to have.Please the clergy convince the disgruntled ones to stop talking in parables that may cause trouble

  10. Just Google on catholic and Rwanda genocide see if it’s true or not.If they apologized or not.Maybe they didn’t try to check it out.Small things sometimes grow big.Govt must engage these priests so that they may understand that peace is the sweetest thing to have.Please the clergy convince the disgruntled ones to stop talking in parables that may cause trouble

  11. Out of 72 tribals of priests/bishops we have in catholic church only one tribal is attacking HH why? Edgar lungu killed nsama kasongo Kaunda matapa menyani Lawrence Mugala vasper and mapezi chibulo I had never heard these Dogs attacking Edgar lungu why?I’m catholic member honestly speaking I’m not happy with our church all the time is catholic fighting with government please stop it, members are running away from catholic church and joining other churches.

    • Bosses, just join the SDA church. You will be more at home there. They will even make you an Elder in no time, like they did to that one.

  12. Out of 72 tribals of priests/bishops we have in catholic church only one tribal is attacking HH why? Edgar lungu killed nsama kasongo Kaunda matapa menyani Lawrence Mugala vasper and mapezi chibulo I had never heard these Dogs attacking Edgar lungu why?I’m catholic member honestly speaking I’m not happy with our church all the time is catholic fighting with government please stop it, members are running away from catholic church and joining other churches.

    • Bosses, just join the SDA church. You will be more at home there. They will even make you an Elder in no time, like they did to that one.

    • Bosses, when you were in opposition, you cried tribalism.

      Now you are in power, you are still crying tribalism, even though you are the ones that are hard-core tribalists as we have witnessed from tribal appointments and purge in civil service.

      Vote wisely in 2026.

    • Bosses, when you were in opposition, you cried tribalism.

      Now you are in power, you are still crying tribalism, even though you are the ones that are hard-core tribalists as we have witnessed from tribal appointments and purge in civil service.

      Vote wisely in 2026.

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