Zimbabwe: Treatment of Seventh-Day Adventist Church members (January 2002 - January 2003)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 10 February 2003 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ZWE40814.E |
| Reference | 4 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Zimbabwe: Treatment of Seventh-Day Adventist Church members (January 2002 - January 2003), 10 February 2003, ZWE40814.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f7d4e4018.html [accessed 7 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Zimbabwe Union Conference (ZUC) of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church was established in 1919 and is comprised of 78 churches and 375,844 members out of the country's population of 12,341,000 (SDA 11 Nov. 2002).
One report referring to the treatment of SDA members between January 2002 and January 2003 was found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate (Daily News 25 Oct. 2002). The Daily News reported on 25 October 2002 that supporters of the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) in the Bulilima ward 12 constituency allegedly threatened members of the Roman Catholic Church for supporting the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidate Jonathan Meja Ncube, who beat ZANU PF's Ephraim Ndlovu in recently held local elections. According to The Daily News, a source who refused to be named for fear of victimisation stated that "members of the Seventh Day Adventist and the Zion Christian Church were also attacked for being MDC 'apologists'" (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
The Daily News [Harare]. 25 October 2002. "Zimbabwe: War Vets Threaten Catholics." (Africa News/NEXIS)
Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA). 11 November 2002. "Adventist Organizational Directory: Zimbabwe Union Conference." Additional Sources Consulted
IRB Databases
Unsuccessful attempts to reach the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Zimbabwe.
Internet sites, including:
Adventist Year Book
Afrol.com
AllAfrica.com
Amnesty International (AI)
The Herald Online
Human Rights Internet (HRI)
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
International Christian Concern (ICC)
Keston Institute
The Mail and Guardian
Panafrican News Agency (PANA)
World Alliance of Reformed Churches
Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference
Zimbabwe Standard
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