malvernmugadzikwa
Bulawayo Bureau
THE Church in Zimbabwe should be a pillar through which moral values among the youths are built to fight vices like drug and substance abuse, Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has said.
Speaking at the Golden Jubilee celebrations for Roman Catholic Church priest Father Charles Mafurutu (77) in Bulawayo yesterday, VP Chiwenga said the abuse of harmful substances was threatening to ruin the future of a generation of Zimbabweans.
Father Mafurutu, who serves at St Mary’s Basilica in Bulawayo, also works with the Zimbabwe National Army, Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service as a priest, providing counselling and spiritual guidance.
VP Chiwenga said the Church’s prayers are needed to fortify the country as it tackles drug and substance abuse.
“Let me urge the Church to continue praying for our great nation and double your efforts in our collective fight against drug and substance abuse. The scourge is threatening to wipe out the future generation,” he said.
The Government, he added, was proud of the good relations it has with the Church.
“As a country, we continue to cherish the symbiotic relationship between Government and the Church in our drive to uplift the lives of our people. This is underpinned by the President, His Excellency Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s mantra ‘Nyika inovakwa, igotongwa, ichinamatirwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, lithandazelwe ngabanikazi balo’.”
Father Mafurutu’s close ties with the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), VP Chiwenga said, distinguished him not only as a man of the cloth but also a patriot who understood the aspirations of the people he served.
Father Mafurutu was ordained a priest at St Pius Parish in Bulawayo in 1974. He briefly served at St Pius Parish.
In 1975, he was transferred to Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church in Gwanda, where he served for six months.
“Father Mafurutu, as a patriot, became a key ally of ZIPRA operatives in Lupane and Gwayi, where he worked as a parish priest from 1977 to 1981. He played a pivotal role in assisting injured freedom fighters, providing medication, food and vital information for prosecuting the armed liberation struggle,” he said.
“He would also assist fighters in Tsholotsho and surrounding areas during the same period of the armed struggle against colonial rule. At independence, Father Mafurutu was deployed to Bulawayo, where he continues to serve the Roman Catholic Church at St Mary’s Basilica.”
VP Chiwenga said Father Mafurutu was subject to racial discrimination during the colonial era, even though he was serving a religious institution.
“He briefly served at St Pius Parish and in January 1975, he was transferred to Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church in Gwanda, where he served for six months. It was at this station where Father Mafurutu bore the brunt of racial discrimination, as he was not allowed to stay with European priests at the parish residency. The construction of a separate residence for Father Charles ignited tensions within the community and sparked a wide conflict that would eventually reach the office of the then-Prime Minister of Rhodesia, Ian Douglas Smith. This controversy led him to be transferred to St Luke’s Mission in Lupane, where he served as priest from 1975 to 1977. This was during the peak of our liberation struggle, and Father Mafurutu found himself in the crossfire between Rhodesian forces and the freedom fighters.”
In his speech, Father Mafurutu also gave special mention to ZIPRA forces for nurturing him through the nascent stages of his journey in priesthood.
“It was a very tough time, as you can imagine. I was a Shona man from Bikita working in Matabeleland. It was a testing time. However, I must say thanks to the ZIPRA forces. I loved them and they loved me. We worked together very well until independence,” he said.
Online Reporter