Chronicle Editor
TWENTY armed robberies targeting one institution in one city within 12 months. That is almost two attacks per month. Seventeen of the attacks in seven months. That is almost three attacks every month.
When such raids target one institution, in one city, people get worried. In this case it is a Christian denomination — the Roman Catholic Church — that is being targeted.
The criminals have made way with substantial sums of money, mobile phones and other property. They, too, have left people, including priests, injured.
This pattern has disturbed the leader of the church in Bulawayo, perhaps approaching the point of angering him.
“The reason I think our institutions are being targeted is that people think that the church has money, which is a wrong perception of the past,” we cite the head of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo, Archbishop Alex Thomas as saying elsewhere today.
“They see these big buildings and think there is money inside. People have an idea that we receive money from overseas which is false. All our contributions are from the locals, and we do not have rich people in our parishes.”
The latest attack occurred at the weekend when the suspects ran away with more than US$6 000 from Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Pumula South, Bulawayo.
They attacked soon after midnight on Saturday, destroyed the alarm system and killed the dogs at the parish. They also destroyed windows before reaching the priest whom they beat up as they demanded money.
Archbishop Thomas added:
“We need to deal with the social evils which are in society such as drugs and alcohol. Police should target such places and address lawlessness happening in the city because there is now a perception that our policing is very weak in Bulawayo. These thieves are taking advantage of the challenges faced by police such as lack of resources. People are getting fed-up and it will force them to take the law into their own hands because these robberies are also targeting residential houses.”
We share his frustration and discomfort over this trend. The monetary loss is bad but is tolerable. However, the trauma wrought isn’t.
Religious institutions, not just the Catholic Church, can be, for lack of a better term, easy targets for we don’t ordinarily expect them to fortify themselves as a supermarket or nightclub would do. You don’t see a stern-faced bouncer at Harvest House, Reformed Church in Zimbabwe or Zaoga.
Churches are open spaces which preach trust, love, give, peace, comfort and care.
It appears the wicked are taking advantage of that to rob them and maim priests whose only defence is love and trust, not the muscle, baton stick or bullet that robbers can face at other places.
Deeply unfortunate, that is.
We are concerned that most, if not all the 20 cases are unresolved. Police must get to the bottom of these incidents, as they must with regards to other robberies that have occurred elsewhere in the city so that everyone can enjoy peace, preach and pray without fear of robbers. They must work harder to not only secure sites being targeted now but also those who could be targeted tomorrow.
Online Reporter