By Staff Reporter
ZIMBABWE has won praise from a Rome-based Catholic social justice organisation for abolishing the death penalty, with calls for other nations to follow Harare’s example in removing capital punishment from their laws.
A three-member delegation from the Community of Sant’Egidio paid a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at his hotel in Rome yesterday, commending Zimbabwe for taking what they described as a “globally significant step.”
The meeting came as the President wrapped up his State visit to Italy, the highlight of which was a historic engagement with the Roman Catholic Church world leader, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, at the Vatican City.
Sant’Egidio’s secretary-general, Mr Paolo Impagliazzo, said Zimbabwe’s decision was both principled and timely.
“First of all, we expressed our congratulations for the abolition of the death penalty in Zimbabwe because we are aware that the President was always against the death penalty, but of course, he respected the decision of the country,” said Mr Impagliazzo.
“So we congratulated him and we extended an invitation to the Minister of Justice so that he attends a conference that we are going to organise at the end of the year.”
Mr Impagliazzo said the Catholic community considers capital punishment “unjust,” stressing that states had no moral right to take life.
“And as Sant’Egidio, we are a Christian community, and we have also to abide to what the Church says, that the death penalty is unjust. We have no right to take the life of anybody, particularly if we are a state, a Government, a country,” he said.
“So, the example of Zimbabwe, it’s really important in the region because we would like to have Africa as the second continent after Europe, free from the death penalty. And so this is an important step forward for the globe.”
Mr Impagliazzo said Zimbabwe has a long-standing relationship with his organisation.
“There is a long-standing friendship between the Community of Sant’Egidio and Zimbabwe and particularly with His Excellency the President. So, he visited us recently when he was in Rome and we are happy and honoured to have met him today here in Rome again during his visit to the Holy Father,” he said.
Discussions between the two centred on a number of issues that include conflict resolution efforts in troubled hot spots.
“We discussed several issues about peace, particularly for the crisis in the northern part of Mozambique. And we also discussed the region, discussing about Sadc countries and other issues,” he said.
“I have to say that President Mnangagwa was close to the Community of Sant’Egidio since the 90s, when we were negotiating and facilitating the peace process in Mozambique. Zimbabwe played an important role and since then, we have been together with Zimbabwe in solving the civil war in Mozambique.”
In 2016, President Mnangagwa, while he was Vice-President and overseeing the Ministry of Justice, attended a Ministers of Justice conference in Rome initiated by the organisation, where he presented a paper on the ills of capital punishment.
President Mnangagwa was also invited because of his strong stance against the death penalty, having been spared the noose for his revolutionary activities by the Ian Smith settler regime on account of his young age.
Earlier, President Mnangagwa also met three Zimbabwean Catholic clergy based in Rome — Father Innocent Chambara and seminarians Newton Kabeta and Hopewell Shonhe — who expressed the church’s appreciation for his meeting with the Pope.
During the meeting, they discussed various facets of Catholicism. The trio is part of more than 30 Zimbabwean Roman Catholic priests studying with the Vatican-linked learning tertiary institution in various disciplines and at different stages of completion in Italy.
In an interview after the meeting, Fr Chambara, said they briefed President Mnangagwa about the gratitude the Catholic community in Rome had about his coming to the Vatican City and the subsequent meeting he had with Pope Leo XIV.
“We are quite happy to have met the President. We told him that the Catholic community is very happy with his meeting with the Pope. What they shared is important for the Catholic and the nation, particularly on the aspect of education and health,” he said.
Fr Chambara said the church played a critical role in advancing world peace in troubled spots of the world.
“The church is very important because it preaches the message of peace. Even when Christ came, he emphasised the importance of peace,” he said.
They were accompanied by Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the Vatican City, Dr Sekai Nzenza and Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Italy, Mrs Mietani Chauke.
The meeting was also attended by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Professor Amon Murwira, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Martin Rushwaya and Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet responsible for Presidential Communications Mr George Charamba and senior Government officials.
The meeting between the trainee priests came a day after President Mnangagwa met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican City, where he was on a State visit to strengthen bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and the Vatican City. The meeting between President Mnangagwa with the pontiff has been described as a diplomatic milestone given how much influence the Roman Catholic Church wields in global discourse. President Mnangagwa has since left Rome for China, concluding what has been described as a landmark State visit, cementing Zimbabwe’s relations with both the Vatican and the Italian government.
