“The present rule must be considered as illegitimate as it was an incomplete reflection of the will of the Zimbabwean people, given that the presidential run-off election in June 2008 was not free and fair and was marred by intimidation and political violence ” said the AACC’s new general secretary,
the Rev. André Karamaga, in a statement on January 15.
Karamaga said that presidential elections run-off in June 2008 were marred by intimidation and political violence, while he noted that the Zimbabwean people had continuously been denied long desired peace, justice and socio-economic health .
“We call on all our member churches, councils, fellowships, and institutions; all friends in the worldwide ecumenical family; all our international partners and all people of good will to make January 25 an African Day of Prayer and Fasting for Zimbabwe,” said the church leader.
AACC members had met in early December in Maputo, Mozambique, and acknowledged then that they themselves had been slow to respond to the
crisis in Zimbabwe. The members also asserted their desire to work with the people of the country towards peace, justice, and reconciliation. They also committed to pray for an end to illegitimate rule, while taking action through measures appropriate in their national contexts. “The call is to join our Zimbabwean sisters and brothers in prayer and in fasting, in words and in deeds, in contemplation and in action,” said Karamaga, a Presbyterian theologian from Rwanda.
The AACC noted it is a time of need in Zimbabwe, where a spreading cholera epidemic has killed 1,800 and infected at least another 37,000 in a country where the health system is imploding and life expectancy rates of 37 for men and 34 for women are the lowest in the world.
Zimbabwe has a population of about 11 million but more than four million people from the country have fled, with the greatest number of them seeking refuge in neighboring South Africa.
