Zimbabwean Christians from many denominations on Friday joined in strong public support of Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo who has been denounced as "satanic" by President Robert Mugabe for demanding tougher international pressure to end human rights abuses.
In a series of statements which defied Zimbabwe's draconian security legislation, the archbishop's supporters accused Mugabe's government of intolerance which "amounted to persecution of the church".
Ncube says 10 000 Zimbabweans have already died of hunger and malnutrition as a result of 80-year-old Mugabe's use of famine relief as a political weapon and disruption of commercial agriculture by "fast track land reform".
Ncube also alleges state-sponsored agitation surrounding the seizure of 5 000 white-owned farms was exploited as a "smokescreen to intimidate opposition".
In a speech in Harare on August 21, in Ncube's presence, Mugabe accused him of "joining hands with our erstwhile colonial masters to peddle lies" and allowing the church "to be infiltrated by the British".
Three organisations on Friday placed a joint advertisement in the privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent describing Ncube as a "true patriot" and "a humble man of God who speaks the truth".
The organisations included the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, Christians Together for Justice and Peace, and the Solidarity Peace Trust. The latter two are groupings, including Protestants and some South African churches and religious organisations dedicated to helping victims of violence.
They condemned recent claims by state media that Ncube's words "border on treason" and that he should be banned from travelling outside Zimbabwe.
In a similar statement eight Catholic and Protestant groups and ecumenical associations, likewise denounced the "calculated, hateful and unjustified criticism of Archbishop Ncube".
"This amounts to the persecution of the church and its leaders as a ploy to silence it from voicing the glaring evils perpetrated against the generality of the population."
They rejected plans to enact legislation strictly controlling the work of charities and voluntary organisations, and banning those focused on "issues of governance and human rights" from receiving foreign help.