Bishop Abel Muzorewa is dead

Portrait of the late Zimbabwe Rhodesia Premier Bishop Abel Tondekayi Muzorewa on Party regalia

Bishop Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa is no more. He passed away around 16.00 hours today Thursday 8 April 2010 at the age of 85.

Born on 14 April 1925 Bishop Muzorewa served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia following the agreement between the Rhodesia Front and the internally based UANC, ZUPO and Zanu Ndonga parties dubbed the Internal Settlement that ended with the Lancaster House Agreement in 1979 that ushered the Independence of Zimbabwe.

A Methodist bishop and nationalist leader, he held political office in government for only a few months.

Muzorewa was the eldest son of a lay preacher's eight children and was educated at Old Umtali Methodist School near Mutare.

He became a school teacher at Mrewa between 1943 and 1947 before becoming a full time preacher at Mtoko between 1947 and 1949.

He was ordained as a priest in 1953 after studying theology at Old Umtali Biblical College (1949-1952). Muzorewa also ministered at Chiduku, near Rusape, as a pastor (1955-1958).

He went further to obtain M.A qualifications from the Christian Education Scarritt College in Nashville, Tennessee.

Later he obtained an M.A. in Philosophy and Religion from the Central Methodist College in Fayette, Missouri in the United States.

In July 1963, he became Pastor of Old Umtali, and a year later, he was appointed National Director of the Christian Youth Movement and was seconded to the Christian Council. In 1966, he became Secretary of the Student Christian Movement. In 1968, Muzorewa was consecrated as Bishop of Rhodesia in the United Methodist Church at Masera in Botswana.

Reverend Canaan Banana teamed up with Bishop Abel Muzorewa to form the United African National Council (UANC) in opposition to the deal the unilateral Rhodesia Front (RF) government of Ian Smith and the British government that provided for a transition to majority rule in exchange for an end to sanctions against the government under the acronym NIBMAR (no independence before majority rule).

The proposed referendum to ratify the British/RF transition proposals was withdrawn and Muzorewa found himself a national leader and an international personality.

The exiled liberation movements Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) of Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) of Joshua Nkomo found political space under the UANC banner to carry out political activism.

Zanu split into two with the internal wing remaining loyal to Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole while the military wing in exile switched to Robert Mugabe’s leadership.

On 3 March 1978, Abel Muzorewa, Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, Chief Jeremiah Chirau and Ian Smith constituted themselves into an Executive Council that was mandated to govern the country until elections were held.

A new constitution reserving 10 seats in the Senate and 28 seats in the lower house of parliament for the White minority, as well as a quarter of the Cabinet positions was agreed upon and overwhelmingly supported by a Whites only electorate with 85% voting in favour.

Proposed elections were held and won by the UANC which installed Josiah Gumede as the President and Muzorewa the Premier.

Mugabe and Nkomo who were leading the militant wings engaged in the armed struggle to dislodge colonial rule denounced the arrangement and continued with the war effort.

The international community rejected the internal settlement for its exclusion of the exiled militant wings in the dispute settlement with the result that the war continued with even greator intensity.

The Muzorewa government raided the refugee camps in Nyadzonia and Chimoio in Mozambique which left thousands of refugees dead and maimed and when asked how he felt he said he was feeling great.

UN Security Council resolution 423 (1978) declaring illegal any internal settlement of the Southern Rhodesia, was passed at the behest of the exiled liberation parties.

The British government then staged the all parties Lancaster House conference from 10 September 1979, until 15 December 1979 to find a lasting solution to the guerilla war.

The conference chaired by the British Foreign Minister Lord Carrington, persuaded Muzorewa and his internal settlement partners to accept fresh elections, to be held in early 1980 which were won by Zanu PF led by Robert Mugabe who became the Premier while Reverend Canaan Banana was made Ceremonial President and Head of State.

Muzorewa’s UANC only secured an embarrassing 3 of the 80 seats in contest in the February 1980 elections.

Having tasted power Muzorewa unsuccessfully stood against Mugabe in the presidential election of 1995.

The Zimbabwean government then arrested Muzorewa on trumped up charges of conspiring against Mugabe with the for the South African government on 1 November.
Two days later Mugabe warned Ndabaningi Sithole and Joshua Nkomo against 'conspiring' against his government.

Muzorewa went on a hunger strike from 3 November to 11 November in protest of his political persecution at the hands of the Zanu PF regime.

On 21 June 2007 Muzorewa claimed that citizens, white and black alike, were coming to his house and pleading with him to run for president. He said Zimbabwe was, "bleeding, economically and socially and it was painful for him to listen to them pled with him.

He however did not contest the elections.

May his soul rest in peace.
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