BishopAccountability.org
	Archbishop 'Had Affair with Married Aide' The Austrialian July 18, 2007 http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22093809-1702,00.html Zimbabwe's state-run media published pictures overnight it claimed showed the head of the country's Roman Catholic church, one of President Robert Mugabe's arch critics, romping with a married woman. Pius Ncube, archbishop of Bulawayo, was unavailable for comment about the pictures published in Bulawayo-based Chronicle newspaper which appeared to show him stark naked, on a bed with one of his aides. The grainy pictures were plastered over several pages under the headline "The Pius Act". The paper said the photos were taken by a private investigator hired by the woman's husband who is suing for adultery. Archbishop Ncube's lawyers Nicholas Mathonsi said the cleric denies the adultery charges and that he has filed a notice to challenge the lawsuit. "My client denies the allegations, we are going through the evidence and he will soon be filing his plea," Mr Mathonsi said. The lawyer was concerned over the sensational coverage of the alleged affair saying it would compromise his client's right to a fair hearing. "We are concerned about the pre-trial publicity," he said. "Given the stories and pictures that have appeared in the newspapers today do you expect a fair hearing from a judge who has read the newspapers?" Archbishop Ncube has been a constant thorn in the side of the Mugabe regime, calling for the people of Zimbabwe to rise up against his rule and declaring his readiness to "go in front of blazing guns". Mr Mugabe, who is himself a Catholic, warned in May that church leaders who had become increasingly critical of him were treading a "dangerous path". Two weeks ago the octogenarian ruler castigated some bishops for "sleeping around" when they had sworn to celibacy. "One cannot tell between a bishop and a layman anymore," Mr Mugabe told a meeting of the ruling party elite in Harare. "Some of them claim they swore to celibacy yet they sleep around with countless women."
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.