The Church of England owes Zimbabwe more than an apology

"A respected British barrister as well as an evangelical leader, he oversaw Christian camps in the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe and South Africa, where more than 100 boys and young men were abused. He embodied the authority and social privilege that shielded him from scrutiny. When reports of his abuse first surfaced in England in the early 1980s, the Church chose silence over accountability, allowing him to carry his cruelty to Africa."

"In Zimbabwe, his victims were boys from Christian camps, among them 16-year-old Guide Nyachuru, who was found dead in a camp swimming pool in 1992. More than three decades later, Nyachuru's family has joined six other survivors in a lawsuit against the Church, demanding accountability for both the abuse and the Church's deliberate inaction. That history has now returned to haunt the Church."

"The Church of England's legacy in Zimbabwe is not only one of faith but of conquest and concealment. Its moral debts to Africa demand justice, not just an apology. When seven Zimbabweans announced on October 4 that they were suing the Church of England for enabling the brutal abuse they suffered at the hands of John Smyth, a leading figure in its evangelical movement, their action was not only about justice for the past."

The Church of England exercised spiritual authority in Zimbabwe entwined with conquest, complicity and the sanctification of empire. John Smyth, a respected British barrister and evangelical leader, abused more than 100 boys at Christian camps in the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe and South Africa while enjoying institutional protection. Reports of his abuse first emerged in England in the early 1980s, but senior Church figures chose silence, enabling further cruelty. Victims include 16-year-old Guide Nyachuru, found dead in 1992; his family and six other survivors filed a lawsuit demanding accountability for abuse and deliberate inaction. An independent inquiry, the Makin Review, later found systematic concealment by Church leaders.

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