The Archdiocese of Harare issued a statement after the armed forces had taken over. The general secretary of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, Rev Kenneth Mtata, called on politicians and social leaders to rebuild a broken society. ‘The current situation was inevitable. We had reached a point of no return. Our politics of attrition and toxic public engagement have had their logical conclusion.’ His statement echoed one made earlier by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Council of Churches in which they described the country’s politics as ‘poisonous,’ and accused Mugabe of stifling political dissent. Mtata said, ‘Our hope is that we can put the train back on the rails of democracy and citizenship engagement.’ The fragmented society is a result of failures to deal with the hurts of the past, and the political system not allowing everyone to have an opportunity.