Dom Zacarias Kamwenho

Dom Zacarias Kamwenho

"Over the last two years in particular, a new awareness of the need to fight for peace and human rights has been growing among the Angolan people, encouraged and represented by the efforts of Church leaders and various civil society bodies, the ultimate aim being ‘inclusive national reconciliation’. The key stages in this groundswell movement for peace in Angola include the following: in 1999, the episcopal message ‘The Calvary of the Angolan People’, the GARP document ‘Peace through Dialogue’, the formation of the Pro Pace Movement and the ‘Manifesto for Peace in Angola’; in 2000, the establishment of COIEPA and the Pro Pace Congress; and, in 2001, the ‘Forum on the Many Consequences of War’, the launch of the AMC, ‘Broad-based Citizens’ Movement’, the ‘Workshop for Peace’ and the establishment of the ‘Network for Peace’, the ‘Season for Peace’, and the ‘Campaign for an Angola without War’, which has been unfolding since 29 September 2001 at national and international level.

"The persistent, remarkable efforts by Mgr ZACARIAS KAMWENHO have placed him in the vanguard of this ongoing movement. He has expressed his firm, impartial and determined views, tirelessly supporting and inspiring the ever-increasing efforts now being made by Angola’s civil society to bring about a cease-fire, political dialogue and reconciliation. According to diplomatic observers and NGOs active in the country, only internal mediation, with the consultation and involvement of civil society, can bring an end to this murderous conflict and achieve a lasting peace in a country torn apart and largely destroyed by a civil war which has already been raging for 26 years.

"Born in Chimbundo (Huambo, Angola) in 1934, ordained in 1961, made a bishop in 1974 and Archbishop of Lubango in 1995, Mgr Zacarias Kamwenho chairs the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tome (CEAST) and the Ecumenical Committee for Peace in Angola (COIEPA), which was established in April 2000 and brings together the Catholic CEAST, the Angolan Evangelical Alliance (AEA) and the Council of Christian Churches in Angola (CICA)."