The Church and Civil Society Forum is in support of peace and reconciliation and calls for political parties to dismantle a culture of violence that was inherited from the colonial era.

Pastor Anglistone Sibanda of the Word of Faith Ministries, a representative of the CCSF, told Relzim.org that the colonial era left an indelible residue of violence which has since been adopted by the present-day Zimbabwe. “We are a country that is hurting, bleeding and tribal. Zimbabweans should come together because it is better to talk about our tribal and political issues and solve them than fighting,” said Sibanda.

He added that Zimbabwe should get rid of violence and address the past and let justice be served in a way that will leave the nation in peace. “Zimbabwean[s] have had a history of violence from the liberation struggle and it is now inherent culture. We need to dismantle that culture by revisiting the past, telling the truth about what happened and have justice where possible. I therefore appeal to the political parties to stop violence and talk things through. Violence begets violence and it does not pay.”

Sibanda said that church leaders should be involved in governance issues in this country and stop the cowardice because Jesus addressed social issues too. “The notion of confining church leaders within the four walls of the church is wrong because our Lord Jesus addressed social issues, like marriage and divorce. Church leaders should not be coward[s] when it comes to addressing social issues.”

In order to foster peace in Matabeleland, the CCSF is engaging communities that were affected by violence through trainings and building the capacity of the community leaders to maintain peace and tranquillity.

The Forum is working through Shalom Project and Habakkuk Trust in educating people on better ways of resolving issues and conflict management.

The International Day of Peace is commemorated every year on September, 21.This year’s commemoration ran under the theme “Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future.”