Oh Goody, Another One
In Zimbabwe, scandal fells Mugabe critic
"Pius Ncube resigns as archbishop after lurid photos and allegations of a 'love nest' are published. His supporters say the regime is behind the stories."
By Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 12, 2007
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- -- A camera planted in the bedroom of Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube has felled President Robert Mugabe's most prominent and outspoken critic in Zimbabwe.
The Vatican announced Tuesday that it had accepted Ncube's resignation from his leadership post, which came after the Zimbabwean state media in July splashed lurid photographs and video footage of a naked man resembling Ncube in what they called his "love nest."
The stories, and a civil lawsuit filed at the same time, accused him of having sex with a married woman, Rosemary Sibanda. They also claimed that Sibanda, a secretary for the Catholic Church, was not the only woman with whom he had broken his vows of celibacy.
...
The scandal stories were published at the same time a $170,000 civil suit was filed by railway worker Onesimus Sibanda, Rosemary's husband. Skeptics questioned how such a low-salaried worker could afford to hire a private detective, Ernest Tekere, who claimed to have planted the camera and collected the evidence."
On the other hand,
"Shari Eppel, a human rights activist who has worked closely with Ncube for 12 years, said the archbishop was tormented by the pain release of the photos has caused others.
"And the pain for people around here has been immense. I haven't seen such emotion around an issue in Zimbabwe for a very long time," she said.
"I think one of the most ironic things about this resignation is that he has done the honorable thing. We have a government which has tortured and murdered people with impunity for decades and we have never had a resignation."
"Pius Ncube resigns as archbishop after lurid photos and allegations of a 'love nest' are published. His supporters say the regime is behind the stories."
By Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 12, 2007
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- -- A camera planted in the bedroom of Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube has felled President Robert Mugabe's most prominent and outspoken critic in Zimbabwe.
The Vatican announced Tuesday that it had accepted Ncube's resignation from his leadership post, which came after the Zimbabwean state media in July splashed lurid photographs and video footage of a naked man resembling Ncube in what they called his "love nest."
The stories, and a civil lawsuit filed at the same time, accused him of having sex with a married woman, Rosemary Sibanda. They also claimed that Sibanda, a secretary for the Catholic Church, was not the only woman with whom he had broken his vows of celibacy.
...
The scandal stories were published at the same time a $170,000 civil suit was filed by railway worker Onesimus Sibanda, Rosemary's husband. Skeptics questioned how such a low-salaried worker could afford to hire a private detective, Ernest Tekere, who claimed to have planted the camera and collected the evidence."
On the other hand,
"Shari Eppel, a human rights activist who has worked closely with Ncube for 12 years, said the archbishop was tormented by the pain release of the photos has caused others.
"And the pain for people around here has been immense. I haven't seen such emotion around an issue in Zimbabwe for a very long time," she said.
"I think one of the most ironic things about this resignation is that he has done the honorable thing. We have a government which has tortured and murdered people with impunity for decades and we have never had a resignation."
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