Church Mother Bodies Deny Negotiating Reconciliation Deal

Eight church mother bodies have dismissed as misinformation claims that they negotiated a political reconciliation deal between government and detained opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu, insisting their role was limited to facilitating the pair’s safe and…

Eight church mother bodies have dismissed as misinformation claims that they negotiated a political reconciliation deal between government and detained opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu, insisting their role was limited to facilitating the pair’s safe and dignified departure from United Nations premises to their lawyers.

Speaking at a media briefing in Lusaka on behalf of the grouping, Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia executive director Allan Kasungami said there had been a deliberate attempt to portray the Church as brokering a political settlement between government and the two opposition figures.

“Any suggestion, therefore, that the United Nations and the Church failed to negotiate a deal between the Government and the opposition leaders is based on misinformation,” Kasungami said.

Mundubile and Zulu were picked up by police on Thursday after leaving United Nations premises in Lusaka, where they had sought refuge following earlier allegations of treason connected to the disputed outcome of the August 13 general election. Their departure followed an engagement involving the church mother bodies, the UN and the two politicians themselves.

Kasungami said the Church’s responsibility had been specifically to facilitate the safe and orderly transition of the two leaders from the UN premises to their lawyers, allowing due process to take its course, and nothing more.

“Any suggestion, therefore, that the United Nations and the Church failed to negotiate a deal between the Government and the opposition leaders is based on misinformation,” he repeated for emphasis.

He explained that the UN’s special envoy of the Secretary-General had earlier in the week sought an engagement with the Church specifically concerning the safe and secure transition of Mundubile and Zulu from the UN premises, and that the UN had subsequently clarified that, with the full knowledge and consent of the two politicians, a trusted third party was needed to facilitate their departure.

Kasungami stressed that neither the Church nor the UN had been given a mandate by either government or opposition leaders to negotiate any political reconciliation or settlement between the two sides.

“He said the Church’s responsibility was specifically to facilitate the safe and orderly transition of the two leaders from the UN premises to their lawyers, allowing due process to take its course,” a statement from the grouping read.

As legal proceedings against Mundubile and Zulu commence, Kasungami appealed to the State to ensure the two men are treated humanely, with dignity and fairness.

Separately, Council of Churches in Zambia general secretary James Phiri urged Zambians to promote peace and unity by resisting misinformation and political provocation, calling for national healing following the August 13 election.

“We can’t continue to live in the past. We need to move forward, we shouldn’t be enemies,” Phiri said.

The eight church groupings behind the statement include the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, the Council of Churches in Zambia, the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops, Independent Churches of Zambia, the Apostolic Council of Churches, Christian Missions in Many Lands, the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the New Apostolic Church of Zambia.

Kasungami said the Church mother bodies were considering a broader, longer-term national healing and reconciliation process distinct from the narrow third-party role they had just concluded, one that would create space for Zambians across the political and social divide to engage in truth, dialogue and the rebuilding of national cohesion.