To oust Mugabe, get ready to die, says Zimbabwean archbishop

To cast off the chains of suffering and oppression brought about by Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe, the believers must be prepared to face death, Pius Ncube, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo has said.

"I've reached a no going back stand," the Archbishop said in a television interview with the BBC's Peter Biles.

In spite of being aware that his name in on Mugabe's death list, the fearless archbishop told Biles that "We must not be intimidated by these people."

"They use all sorts of tricks. They follow you by car. They threaten you in so many ways and make you feel uneasy. But I will not allow it because, as far as I am concerned, this is a calling. As Christians, we must be ready to die for what we believe in. We cannot exonerate these criminals who are holding Zimbabwe to ransom," he said.

According to Archbishop Ncube, the time had come for the people to rise up against Mugabe, but he lamented that the nation lacked capable leaders.

Referring to the nationalist struggle against rulers of the British Raj in India over 60 years ago he said, "Gandhi educated people. He taught them that when you die for a right cause, then your death is not in vain."

According to the archbishop, Mugabe – like all other dictators – desires that the Christian Church preach only the Bible and not human rights. "Human rights" was seen by despots as being in the political arena, he said.