Chamburuka, A Theological reflection on Romans 13:1-7 in ...For Mararike and company the church should leave politics to politicians
and concentrate on the pulpit. In a way, these political analysts were
using the bible to quarantine the church from political affairs as if to
suggest that she had no role or influence in such matters. Indeed they
missed the mark because the church is a crucial partner in political
affairs where she acted as the voice of the voiceless, advocate for democ-
racy and democratic reforms without fear or favour, protect the rights of
the poor and advocate for justice.
Furthermore, the Zimbabwean government tormented the lives of the
poor masses when it embarked on a dubious and miscalculated opera-
tion called Murambatsvina (Operation Restore Order or Clean up) be-
tween May and June 2005 In the Murambasvina, people were deeply
wounded and in fact dehumanized by being treated as synonymous with
dirt or chaff. This touched the raw nerve of a people disenchanted by the
powers that be. Some people, particularly in Hatcliffe and Whitecliffe
areas, felt anger at being cheated by government ministers who in previ-
ous election campaigns had allocated them stands, and it was these very
minister(s) who were now demolishing their houses and evicting them
into the streets! They witnessed irresponsible schizophrenic behaviour
on the part of the minister (Ignatius Chombo) spearheading the opera-
tion. In an election campaign gimmick, Chombo allocated stands to
people who consequently put their hard-earned resources together and
developed their properties according to their means. The same minister
came a few years later with a different political agenda and wantonly
destroyed these properties putting people into the streets. One picture
(in The Herald of 6 June 2005) that remains fresh in the minds of many
is of a child returning from school only to find the bulldozer breaking
down the family house. Certainly this was a traumatic experience that
will probably haunt the child for the rest of his life. This move by the
government could had been better if clear plans were set in place to deal
with the issue like financial resources and alternative housing for the
displaced masses. The Zimbabwean Heads of Churches lament that the
destruction of poor people’s shelter and their means of lively hood be-
fore any alternatives were provided caused great suffering (ZCBC, EFZ
and ZCC 2006). Hundreds of thousands of people, including women
and children found themselves homeless in the middle of winter and
later the onset of the rain season. Some victims of this operation were
denied their right to access social services like education, health, water