JAMES CHAVULA,Catholic Journalist Based in Mzuzu
He was named bishop of Mzuzu Diocese on Martyrs’ Day, March 3 1995, and breathed his last exactly 100 years since a historic uprising staged by Malawi’s principal martyr—Reverend John Chilembwe.
These are distinguished dates in the life of Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) chairperson Bishop Joseph Zuza, 59, who died on January 15 after a car he was driving overturned at Nthungwa, Mzimba, that fateful Thursday afternoon.
Looking back, Koronga Diocese’s Bishop Martin Mtumbuka and family members unraveled a double-sided image of the late Bishop Zuza, saying he was naturally quiet and down-to-earth except when faced with the excesses of wrongdoing.
This demystifies the religious leader famed for his August 21 2011 sermon at Comesa Hall, Blantyre, where he candidly confronted the then president Bingu wa Mutharika and his deepening dictatorial tendencies.
Preaching in the face of the fallen leader often remembered for fits of anger and arrogance, Zuza stated: “A person who believes that he or she is perfect is actually the most stupid and foolish person. In Chichewa and Chitumbuka, we call such a person as chisilu or chindele chakufikapo. Do we want to be called as chisilu or chindere?”
Returning to the venue three days later, Bingu warned the man-of-collar would not have come out alive if he had termed his predecessors “the most stupid”.
A quite man
But Mtumbuka said the spectacle at Comesa was not half the life story of the clergyman who head the flock of Mzuzu Diocese for slightly less than 20 years.
“His death is a shock, a great loss really. What he did at Comesa was not typical of him. He never rushed to confront people. He always took his time and usually spoke out when things were getting out of hand.’
The view was echoed by the deceased’s brother, Ferdinand, who said the family was deeply shocked to have lost a parent figure they always looked up to since the death of their parents in the 11 years.
“He was born quite; he wasn’t talkative. However, he was not that quiet when things were going wrong, when the truth was at stake. Such was his character even when dealing with family matters, but the truth is that he was a quiet person, very patient,” he said.
Born on October 2 1955, Zuza was ordained a priest at age 26 on July 25 1982 and he was consecrated bishop at 39 on May 6 1995.
After Principal Consecrator, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, had conferred a miter and a shepherd’s stick on Zuza, the then president Bakili Muluzi told a packed Mzuzu Stadium that Zuza was a fearless and gallant servant of God who ably stood in as leader of the Catholics in the Northern Region after Monsignor John Roche was unceremoniously deported for allegedly spearheading the release of Living Our Faith, the ground-breaking pastoral letter of 1992.
The brains behind the one-party rule of Malawi Congress Party singled out the monsignor from Ireland for reprisals, accusing him of instigating the ECM bishops to rise against founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Yet the bishop’s famous letter shook the heavy door of dictatorship and opened the way for a shift to democracy in June 1993 when Malawians overwhelmingly elected the lamp of multiparty politics.
“The late Zuza was very instrumental in the fight for change,” said Muluzi.
A voice of conscience
Chancellor College political analyst Dr Boniface Dulani said Zuza was no bootlicker, but a personification of the church’s role as the architect as well as the guardian of democracy.
In an interview, Dulani said: “It might have taken the late bishop a lot of courage to say the things he said in the presence of the president in 2011. Most of us tend to harbor critical opinion about others, but we are seldom brave enough to say it in their face. The majority tend to say good things only.
“The sermon at Comesa stopped Bingu from going too far with his authoritarian tendencies. Then, the president, who had the majority of MPs, was losing popularity outside the National Assembly.”
Zuza might have stood in defense of pluralism, but Mtumbuka, who used to report directly to his fallen counterpart when he was Rector of St Patrick’s Seminary in Rumphi, said the deceased should not be remembered as a leader who rushed out at people.
“He was tolerant and understanding,” said Mtumbuka. “He was calm and patient. He was so generous, a good parent who always welcomed everybody at his house. He was always there for us for Karonga Diocese to be what it is today.”
In 2012, Vatican separated Chitipa, Karonga and Rumphi North from Mzuzu Diocese to become a standalone diocese.
Zuza was also a father figure in Mhlafuta, Mzimba, where he was coming from when his car overturned after a rear tyre burst in the middle of Viphya Plantation in Mzimba.
According to family members, the bishop spent an end-of-year holiday in his rural home since December 29 last year.
“We are deeply shocked. Apart from being a bishop, he was a humble man, a father to us. He was always the first to wake up. By the time most of us were awake, he would be in the fields farming or herding cattle. He also loved being with his people, sharing stories and learning from them,” that is how Ferdinand remembered the last days with his brother.
The younger Zuza, the principal of Marymount Secondary School, said it was difficult to come to terms with reality because the departed bishop, a second-born in a family of nine, took charge of family affairs following the death of his father Aristacho Zuza three years ago. His mother died in 2003.
“He was the head of the family since the parents died. He was a parent unifying the family and helping us to grow spiritually and morally. We all looked up to him and his word was always our guide. He instilled in us a spirit of hard work,” said Ferdinand.
A servant of God
Nicholas Zuza, a cousin, indicated at the funeral that his deceased cousin served the family with the same centrality he held in the church.
However, Bishop Zuza will be remembered more for his service to the Church of God. He said his final mass on Sunday, January 11, 2015, at Mhlafuta Catholic Church, a remote prayer house where he did his first soon after 33 years ago.
In his line of duty, ECM deputy president Archbishop Thomas Msusa remember Zuza as a “courageous, friendly and prophetic servant of God” who only spoke when necessary. “Zuza was also a unifying factor in ECM,” Msusa told thousands of the faithful who braved seemingly relentless rains to attend Zuza’s requiem mass at St Peters Cathedral in Mzuzu.“Bishop Zuza believed in God of the poor, God of peace and justice, God who walks side by side with the oppressed, the sick and the forsaken. He believed in a Malawi where people lived in peace and without corruption,” said the Archbishop.
It is largely due to these virtues that Fr Peter Chifukwa, the national chairperson of the Association of Diocesan Priests in Malawi, eulogized the bishop as an epitome of humility.
“Bishop Zuza will remain a reminder of how diocesan priesthood should be lived,” said Fr Chifukwa.
The burial of the much-loved bishop was attended by President Peter Mutharika, who left all the talking to his Number Two Saulos Chilima.
Vice-President Chilima credited the deceased with offering good leadership to Mzuzu Diocese and government, saying: The strength of a pole supporting the roof of your hut is known when it collapses.”
On his ill-fated journey from the village, Zuza stopped over at St Teresa Parish in Katete, where he cheered priests.
Soon after the death announcement on January 15, Fr Yotamu Msumba, who was at Katete, wrote on Facebook: “My dear bishop, my spiritual father, I can hardly understand what you meant yesterday when you said goodbye. In your very words, you said: “Tamukumana ku Katoto (We will meet at Katoto). Did you mean in this way?”
As people are coming to terms with the sad news, Bishop Mtumbuka implores all believers to take the sudden death of Bishop Zuza as a reminder to make peace with God and get ready for their departure since this world is not our home.