STATEMENT BY ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP THABO MAKGOBA ON DETENTION OF BISHOP TREVOR MWAMBA IN ZAMBIA
The Anglican Church of Southern Africa is calling for prayers for Zambia and her people in the wake of the country’s disputed election, and particularly for healing, reconciliation and unity.
We are deeply disturbed at the detention of a number of opposition figures, including Bishop Trevor Mwamba, the retired Anglican Bishop of Botswana and a Zambian national who now leads Zambia’s United National Independence Party (UNIP).
We add our voices to that of the UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk, who has called on Zambian authorities to end arbitrary arrests and respect due process. Other groups including the European Union, the African Union, SADC and the Commonwealth have also voiced concern.
Bishop Mwamba is a widely respected theologian across the world-wide Anglican Communion. Among those who have expressed concern at his arrest is his wife, Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, formerly a Botswana diplomat and a Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General from 2008 to 2014.
She raised the alarm after Bishop Mwamba disappeared without explanation for a number of days, before it was revealed he was being detained at a Lusaka police station.
We pray for all those opposition figures held in various police stations in Lusaka. We strongly appeal to the Zambian authorities to allow them access to decent sanitation, reading material and other human necessities.
We pray for dialogue among all parties and that the democratically-expressed wishes of the people of Zambia will be respected in united nation.
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ISSUED BY THE OFFICE OF THE ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP OF CAPE TOWN
For inquiries contact Wendy Kelderman via:
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Unfortunately, the law is blind. It doesn’t recognize that he’s a Bishop. Only recognizes the criminal act. Why would a Bishop be found at location with lots of military equipment? Who were they planning to kill? Political aspirations should not be an issue of life and death, it’s a service.