Zimbabwe archbishop honored in New York by human rights group

Published: 2003-10-24

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Archbishop Pius A. Ncube of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, was honored at a dinner in New York Oct. 23 by the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, a New York-based agency celebrating the 25th anniversary of its program to use legal skills on human rights cases. NBC-TV anchor Tom Brokaw introduced Archbishop Ncube as one of Africa's most prominent voices for human rights, and a man who continues to speak out despite "threats and intimidation." A committee statement in the dinner program called the archbishop "a moral beacon in his troubled land." Archbishop Ncube has drawn attention to "the breakdown of the rule of law" in a country where members of the political opposition are "arbitrarily detained and tortured for their peaceful political activities," the statement said. "His clear and brave voice of moral courage has given voice to thousands of Zimbabweans whose daily suffering is too often dismissed or ignored in Africa and elsewhere."

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