ZIMBABWE: Priests and politics can be a dangerous combination in any country but particularly in President Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe, where it recently landed an Irish priest, the Rev Noel Scott, in jail for a weekend. The Leitrim man's crime was to lead a prayer procession through Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city and heartland of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
At first the Anglican priest had planned a "Pray and Walk" between the city's four main Christian churches. But the police - frequently used as an instrument of Mr Mugabe's repression tactics - banned it, citing the "volatile situation". The Irishman resorted to a little lateral thinking. "Walking was prohibited but there were other ways of travelling," he said yesterday.
So the following Saturday, a slow procession of cars made its way between Bulawayo's Catholic, Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian churches. "We drove with our lights flashing, like a funeral, to mourn our loss of freedom," he recalled.
The police, however, did not appreciate the ruse. At the final stop, an officer called the 66-year-old cleric down off the pulpit. Minutes later he was packed off to jail along with 10 other Christians.
They spent the weekend in cramped police cells, with just a blanket to sleep on and an open latrine in the corner. It was a "positive", if uncomfortable, experience, said the Zimbabwe resident of 34 years. Isolated from the rest of the group, the Mohill man exchanged ideas - and prayers - with fellow detainees.
Currently on bail, the group faces trial next month. If found guilty they face up to two months in prison.
Fear of the authorities has become all-pervasive in Zimbabwe, said Mr Scott. "Some people have even stopped coming to our prayer groups because they are afraid it will be seen as an illegal assembly".
Under new public order laws, Mr Mugabe's government can outlaw any public meeting of more than two people.
In Matabeleland voters were "shocked" by the recent result, he said. But while Mr Mugabe has split the leadership of the mainline churches - the newly appointed Anglican Archbishop of Harare is a stout defender, while his Catholic counterpart has also been timid - the clergy of Bulawayo are standing strong.
"We are not going to give in to this intimidation," said Mr Scott.