Ncube was forced to quit his position after being implicated in an adultery case with the now late Rosemary Sibanda. Video clips which were secretly filmed and shown on state television triggered speculation that the CIO used Rosemarys husband, Onesimus, to get back on the cleric for his criticism of the President Robert Mugabe and his government. The ordination of Father Thomas was presided over by the nuncio, (the Popes representative in Zimbabwe) and was also graced by bishops from across the country. Government officials and political leaders were not invited to the ceremony as, according to Father Nigel Johnson, this was a religious event and the church does not want to be tangled in politics. Ncubes ordination in 1997 was attended by Mugabe.
Archbishop Thomas was born in 1960 in Vallamchira in the archdiocese of Changanacherry in India. He has served as a missionary in Zimbabwe since 1989 where he has held various posts, including that of regional superior to the Society of the Divine Word Missionaries in the country. He has been the director of CADEC, the Catholic Churchs agency responsible for supporting feeding schemes, health and education.