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..'~ On the Frontline Catholic Missions in Zimbabwe's Liberation War ii On the Frontline Catholic Missions in Zimbabwe's Liberation War Janice McLaughlin MM I .- Published by Baobab Books, (a division of Academic Books) P 0 Box 567, Harare, 1996 © Janice McLaughlin MM, 1996 Edited by John Conradie and John Reed Illustration on front cover by George Nene from painting entitled "Liberation War". Translations by Raphel Karombo and Patrick Mafuka Cartoon: Moto, June 1969 by kind permission of Moto magazine, Gweru: 16 Maps by Lorraine Mons: 9, 81, 110, 146, 194 and Buxton Mwandimudzira: 17, 88, 116, 148, 200 Charts by Laiwan Chung and Roger Stringer Typeset by Baobab Books Cover design by Paul Wade Printed by Mazongororo Paper Converters (Pvt.) Ltd., Harare All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN 0-908311-79-6 The author and publisher are grateful to Missio (Germany), the J-Rene Ouimet Foundation (Canada), Development and Peace (Canada) and the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (Zimbabwe) for their support and assistance in the publication of this book. Contents List of Figures vii Foreword ix Preface xi Place Names xv PART 1 The Weight of History 1 Chapter1 TakingSides:To1972 3 Chapter 2 Changing Sides: 1972-80 20 Chapter3 "TheCommunistMenace" 52 PART 2 The War and Four Missions 69 Chapter 4 War Games: St Albert's Mission, Mt Darwin 72 Chapter 5 Defiance: Avila Mission, Inyanga 108 Chapter 6 Unsolved Crimes: St Paul's Mission, Musami 145 Chapter 7 With the People: Mutero Mission, Gutu 188 PART 3 Signs of Contradiction - SignsofHope 221 Chapter 8 The Problem of Violence - A Just War or Terrorism 223 Chapter 9 Missions, Mediums and Morale 238 Chapter 10 A Church of the People 257 EPILOGUE The Justice and Peace Commission after 1980 276 APPENDICES I Chimurenga High Command (27 July 1978) 282 II Chronology 283 Expatriate Missionaries Killed 288 III Abbreviations 289 IV Glossary 294 V Report of Walter Kaufmann on his Experiences in an Operational Area 297 VI The Church and African Government 300 VII FrAmstutz'sReport 303 VIII Guidelines of Behaviour during Present War Situation 308 IX Interview with one of the 10 African Sisters who stayed with Freedom Fighters of ZANU 313 X Interviews with Cde Tongogara and CdeRobertMugabe 318 SOURCES 322 I Interviews 322 II Secondary sources 330 INDEX 340 List of Figures Fig. 1 M ap of Early M issions ................................................... 7 Fig. 2 Map of Attack on Chishawasha Mission, 1896 .............. 9 Fig. 3 Moto Cartoon, Special Edition, June 1969 .................... 16 Fig. 4 False Issue of Moto - February 1980 ........................... 45 Fig. 5 Map of Church-run Hospitals and Clinics ................... 46 Fig. 6 Map of Catholic Missions in Zimbabwe ....................... 70 Fig. 7 Map of Guerilla Operational Areas .............................. 71 Fig. 8 Map of Salisbury Archdiocese and Sinoia Prefecture ...... 74 Fig. 9 M ap of St Albert's Mission ............................................ 81 Fig. 10 Site Plan of St Albert's Mission .................................... 88 Fig. 11 M ap of U m tali Diocese .................................................... 109 Fig. 12 M ap of Avila M ission ....................................................... 110 Fig. 13 Site-Plan of Avila M ission ............................................... 116 Fig. 14 M ap of St Paul's M ission ................................................. 146 Fig. 15 Site Plan of St Paul's Mission ......................................... 148 Fig. 16 Chart of ZANLA Command Structure, Takawira Sector, 1978-79 ........................................................... 173 Fig. 17 Chart of ZANLA Command Structure, M M Z Province, 1979 .................................................. 174 Fig. 18 M ap of Gwelo Diocese ...................................................... 189 Fig. 19 M ap of M utero M ission ................................................... 194 Fig. 20 Site Plan of Mutero Mission ........................................... 200 Fig. 21 Chart of ZANLA Command Structure, Musikavanhu Sector, Detachment D, 1978-79 ................................. 208 vii viii Foreword Each time we in South Africa heard that another missionary had been killed in Zimbabwe's war of liberation, we wondered if Church personnel would suffer the same fate here. We were proud of Bishop Donal Lamont's outspoken criticism of minority rule in that country and closely followed the Justice and Peace Commission's well documented reports of human rights abuses. But few of us were aware of the extent of involvement by rural missions in the liberation struggle. Although the reality in Zimbabwe and South Africa differed in many respects, both countries suffered from a racist minority regime imposing its rule by force on the African majority. In both cases, the majority won freedom after a long and painful struggle, with the support of others, both locally and internationally. In both cases as well, the Churches were active participants in the colonial enterprise and in its eventual demise. This volume documents how the Catholic Church made this transformation and goes on to describe the interaction between guerrillas and Church personnel at four rural missions. On the Frontline raises critical issues of morality and ethics, throwing light on the complex subject of religion and politics and highlighting changes in Church-State relations over the years. With meticulous detail and exciting new information gleaned from numerous interviews and from the archives of the Church and the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), Sister Janice McLaughlin has woven an inspiring tale of courage and commitment. In these pages, missionaries, catechists, mission teachers, nurses, drivers, priests, sisters and bishops alike grapple with the challenge posed by an armed revolution. Often at great personal risk, most opt to remain with the people in the rural areas who bear the brunt of the liberation war. The case studies read like a fast-paced novel as characters make life and death decisions on a daily basis. Janice lets the participants speak for themselves, revealing a variety of viewpoints and attitudes. She has managed to hear many sides of the same story, even tracing the guerrillas who operated in each area. Such a detailed chronicle of the Church in a situation of armed conflict, provides much food for theological reflection. It also offers support and guidance to those caught in conflict throughout the world. Though the situations may vary, the dilemmas are the same - to what extent to get involved and in what manner. Janice suggests that Churches can be a force for healing and reconciliation only if they have borne the heat of the struggle. Though many life and death decisions took place on an ad hoc, personal basis, Janice reveals that there was in fact much organised research and reflection at both national and diocesan level, resulting in policies that not only saved lives but brought life-giving change to the institutional Church. While what followed after independence must be the subject of a separate study, Janice provides a useful analysis to explain why many positive innovations did not carry over into peacetime. She suggests that just as the center of power shifted from the freedom fighters in the field to the politicians around the conference table, the balance of power in the Church moved from rural Church personnel and the Justice and Peace Commission which was their voice, back to the institutional centre. She concludes that the demobilisation process that followed robbed both Church and society of disciples to carry out the revolutionary agenda. This is a vital lesson to learn - and most timely for us in South Africa. Fr Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, M P Cape Town, South Africa, May 1995 Preface "The position of the Church vis-a-vis the guerrillas is unique. I doubt if it has taken place elsewhere in Africa," I wrote in my diary in June 1977, one month after my arrival in Rhodesia to work as the Press Secretary with the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. "When F 0 mentioned how the 'boys' borrowed his record player because they were having a dance and then returned it the next week - it reveals a trust and respect on both sides. Another has them in his house every day. Another gets their clothes for them." I went on to consider the motives of these missionaries who were assisting the guerrillas at great risk to themselves and often unknown to others, even at the same mission. "Do the missioners do it under fear of death or do they believe in the boys themselves, if not the struggle?" I asked. This question kept recurring to me long after the war had ended. I was intrigued by the possibility of a Church that supported revolutionary change and wondered what impact this had on the Church itself and on the wider society. In ZANU-run refugee camps in Mozambique during the last years of the liberation war, many guerrillas had told me of individual priests and sisters who had saved their lives and of missions which had fed, clothed, healed and protected them. I also wondered how this had influenced the liberation movements. I was not clear how this partnership had come about or why. Reason would suggest that Church personnel, hostile to communism and opposed to violence, would be the last people to support