Pius Ncube, the Archbishop of Bulawayo, and a leader of Zimbabwe’s embattled human rights movement received a 2003 Human Rights Award at the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights dinner on October 23. As an outspoken critic of the Robert Mugabe government, the Archbishop has been slandered, and lives under constant threat to his personal safety. Despite this, the Archbishop continues to be a shining light in the fight for human rights - demanding that his government address the mounting food and economic crises and put an end to torture and rape.

Archbishop Ncube has spoken out on many occasions to denounce political violence and manipulation of food aid, in particular. He has helped to mobilise a multi-denominational church coalition in Zimbabwe, which is now seen as one of the major potential forces in resolving the crisis. Church leaders and representatives have themselves been targeted by the regime. In early March Archbishop Ncube organized a prayer meeting in Bulawayo where torture and rape victims spoke about their experiences. The police subsequently sought to arrest him over several days, but were prevented from doing so.

The Archbishop recently organized other bishops and church leaders in Zimbabwe to put out a report on pro-government youth militias which are responsible for torture, rape and murders. The report, based on the church officials’ observations in the field, estimates 30,000 to 50,000 young boys have been recruited to play a part in these militias.

The Archbishop called for increased international pressure to dismantle the National Youth Service Training Programme created in 2001, which the report said was in reality "a paramilitary training programme for Zimbabwe's youth with the clear aim of inculcating blatantly antidemocratic, racist and xenophobic attitudes. The youth militias so created are used as instruments of the ruling party, to maintain their hold on power by whatever means necessary, including torture, rape, murder and arson."