COUNTRY REPORT The Political and Social Impact of Prophetic Churches in Zimbabwe
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COUNTRY REPORT
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.
ZIMBAWE
NONIMOUS HAMENO
October 2014
The Political and Social Impact of
Links
www.kas.de/Zimbabwe
Prophetic Churches in Zimbabwe
A RESEARCH PAPER
A casual google search of prophets in Reports of a prophet being able to perform
Zimbabwe reveals hundreds of thou- miracle abortions are confusing to say the
sands of articles. Several of these are least (“Prophet performs ‘miracle’ abortion,”
newspaper articles from the past five 2013).
years. Hardly a day goes by without an
article about prophets and their activi- Zimbabwean political leaders’ interaction
ties being written. This paper will use with the churches has been influenced by
the term prophet as it is widely used in political expediency and utilitarian motiva-
Zimbabwean media, however a more tions. These church leaders command large
biblical understanding of the term will followings and their constituency is tapped
be given in the section on Christian un- into for various motivations.
derstandings of the prophetic phenom-
ena today. President Robert Mugabe
Outrageous and sometimes even crimi- President Robert Mugabe enjoys a symbiotic
nal relationship with what is called the Apostolic
church (Mapostori) in Zimbabwe. Mapostori
The prophetic activities that are reported are a syncretistic church in Zimbabwe, mix-
range from the bizarre to the outrageous ing traditional African beliefs with Christian
and sometimes immoral or even criminal. teachings. This group has pledged loyalty to
Bizarre claims of being able to make a per- President Mugabe and ZANU-PF, his party;
son pregnant and deliver a baby in three instructing all adherents to vote for his par-
days (“Harare Woman: I had a Miracle Ba- ty in the past election (Kuvirimirwa, 2013)
by,” 2013) or being able to produce miracle and pledging to support and help him and
money which appears from nowhere and is his party win the next election in 2018
found in one’s pocket or bank account (Dembedza, 2013). As an outcome of this
(Nyoni, 2013) are the order of the day. Out- relationship President Mugabe spoke to a
rageous and perhaps irresponsible claims group of over one hundred thousand
abound. For example, highly ranked Nigeri- Mapostori at the Johanne Marange Apostolic
an Prophet T.B. Joshua is said to be able to Church during his campaign before the last
cure incurable diseases like HIV or cancer elections ( ZANU-PF Team, 2013). This was
and recently he took the bar even higher a strong endorsement for the Mapostori by
when he claimed to be able to cure ebola the President.
through holy water which he sent to Sierra
Leone by private jet (Griffin, 2014; Blair, Morgan Tsvangirai
2014). Stories of church leaders having
sexual relations with several women in the The opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai
church; being in polygamous relationships has on more than one occasion visited Nige-
and even raping women are not unusual rian Prophet T.B. Joshua, probably seeking
(Rupapa, 2014; Ndaba, 2014). divine guidance (Staff Reporter, 2013).2
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. Another example of political interaction with These are examples of a few world leaders
the prophetic churches is the desire of the who meet with these prophets it would
ZIMBAWE Minister of Tourism to use the popularity seem for some spiritual help or guidance.
NONIMOUS HAMENO and crowd-pulling ability of the churches to
create a market for religious tourism. He A characteristic of the modern day Zimba-
October 2014 hopes that by 2020 twenty-percent of Zim- bwean prophet in contrast to the prophets
babwe’s tourism earnings will come from of the traditional and more syncretistic ap-
Links religious tourism, much of that would be ostolic churches (mapostori) is the extrava-
www.kas.de/Zimbabwe from prophetic churches. He argues that gant lifestyles. A Zimbabwean newspaper
sixty percent of tourist arrivals in Nigeria report claims five of the ten richest pastors
visit T.B. Joshua’s church (Mangudhla, in the world come from Nigeria (Entertain-
2014) and would like to see similar inflows ment, 2014). These pastors enjoy luxuries
in Zimbabwe. like owing private jets in a country where
more than seventy percent live on less than
The high level interaction of prophets with US$1 a day (Oguntola, 2012). West African
political leaders is notable. Zimbabwean prophets are often referred to and sought
prophets Makandiwa and Angel have been as “spiritual fathers” to use the prophets’
invited to private meetings with national terminology, by Zimbabwean prophets. The
leaders like the late Nelson Mandela (Mut- rest of the paper will attempt to explore an-
saka, 2012) and Vice-President Ruto of thropological and Christian reasonings to
Kenya (Staff Reporter, 2013). explain the phenomena described above.3
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. The traditional African understanding of how This was the type of leadership employed
the world works can best be described using by primitive cultures of the world and has
ZIMBAWE the diagram on the previous page. generally been replaced by modern govern-
NONIMOUS HAMENO ance systems.
Animistic World View
October 2014 Christian Understandings of the Pro-
This worldview can be described as animis- phetic Phenomena
Links tic. A Western mind might better under-
www.kas.de/Zimbabwe stand this as a shamanistic world view. A Christianity’s encounter with African culture
shaman is a person who can access the started in the early centuries and early Afri-
spirit world, interact with benevolent or ma- can theologians shaped Christianity as we
levolent spirits in that world and then work know it today (Oden, 2010). However,
with them to influence affairs in this world Christianity in modern Africa largely came
whether for good or bad. In the African through Western missionary efforts. Most
world nothing happens by accident or coin- Christian teaching from the West was influ-
cidence, spiritual forces affect life on earth. enced by the age of reason, secular human-
Death is understood as transference from ism and the scientific advancements of
this world to the world of the departed an- those times. Liberal theology which rejected
cestors. Those departed spirits can be ac- the supernatural had gained acceptance.
cessed, communicated with and are actively Christianity as it came through the mission-
involved in life on the earth. They are ac- aries therefore lacked spirituality.
cessed by religious specialists. Ultimately
everything that happens on earth derives The African, on reading the Bible immedi-
from the ancestors, spirit powers and gods. ately saw a disconnection between the
Christianity taught by the missionary and
In this structure which is a life-flow that biblical experience. The Bible is full of mira-
must be maintained for harmonious exist- cles and supernatural encounters, a spiritu-
ence with the natural and spiritual world, ality the African was more familiar with.
those that are lower in the hierarchy must People like Johanne Masowe who founded
respect and serve the ones that are higher. the Gospel of God church also known as
However even the soil must be respected, Mapostori ekwa Masowe broke away from
after all this is where the bodies of those the traditional churches to form the
who die are laid. Mapostori (Apostles) churches, modelled
after the biblical apostles who performed
A Holy War miracles and accessed the spirit world, get-
ting guidance from God. These churches are
Zimbabwe’s war of liberation was spiritually a mixture of African Traditional Religion,
understood as a type of holy war to return and Christianity but with Old Testament
the sacred land to the ancestors from whom practices being prominent (Reese, 2008).
it had been taken (Mutonono & Mautsa,
2006 p. 290). The ancestors would then aid Old Testament practices and culture are
the fighters in battle, and even to this day closer to African traditional culture. Masowe,
ancestral veneration is given for liberating Marange and Mwazha are some of the more
Zimbabwe. In the same way of thinking, prominent sects that started during the ear-
recent newspaper reports say that Zanu- ly and mid 1900s and they have a very sig-
PF, the ruling party is seeking guidance nificant following in the nation; some statis-
concerning the countries political problems tics indicate that they make up about fifty
and the identity of Mugabe’s successors percent of what is termed Christian in Zim-
from spirit mediums. This is best described babwe. In their efforts to do what the bibli-
as esoteric shamanism; leadership based on cal apostles did and perform miracles, the
mysterious spiritual guidance which is given mapostori tend to rely on African traditional
to and understood by a few (Kunambura, methods of accessing the spirit world.
2014 & Mushava 2014).4
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. The mapostori prophets who access the While it might be possible that God can heal
spirit world are notoriously able to switch Ebola through holy water or in another
ZIMBAWE from being a prophet to a traditional healer spectacular way, and people should be free
NONIMOUS HAMENO overnight. to try that if they so wish; our countries if
they were well run with godly principles,
October 2014 Pentecostal Movements would, like the United States use God-given
brains in the populace to develop a drug
Links The other manifestation of the prophetic that cures ebola. African Christianity can
www.kas.de/Zimbabwe that we see in the African context is largely potentially bring back a Christian spirituality
related to the Pentecostal movements’ un- with miracles to the world because of Afri-
derstandings of spirituality. The modern can spiritual sensitivity. This must be bal-
Pentecostal movement which largely came anced by the sound theology that African
through the United States in the past centu- Christianity was known for in the early cen-
ry resonates with African spirituality, thus turies. This will avoid the excesses of char-
the great African attraction to this form of latans and wizards masquerading as proph-
Christianity. The tendency of African Pente- ets.
costalism to gravitate towards African Tradi-
tional Religious world views is bringing
some of the imbalances and excesses that
cause confusion in African Christianity. Nonimous Hameno is an independent
Zimbabwean political writer and ana-
There are however several churches and lyst.
Christians in the Zimbabwean context who
are making efforts to give a reasoned and
sober understanding of Christianity. African
Christianity unlike expressions of Christiani- The opinions and views expressed in
ty when it was dominant in the West has this article are the responsibility of the
not penetrated deep enough to affect val- author. The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
ues, behaviour and world views. In the does not necessarily subscribe to the
Western world when Christianity was domi- opinions and views.
nant it influenced culture to the level of de-
termining how countries are led, and what
principles govern society and day to day life
in all spheres.
Miracles and Supernatural Intervention
The African church needs to go through that
journey and not be content with just filling
church buildings with people and even lead-
ers who largely minimise and ignore the
major biblical emphases which have to do
with the moral and ethical aspects. These
aspects confront values and behaviour re-
sulting in culture transformation. The em-
phasis on the tantalising quest for miracles
and supernatural intervention which imme-
diately solves crises needs to be balanced
with the appreciation that God can work
through properly managed nations and in-
stitutions to solve some of the problems of
life.5
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. References Mangudhla, T. (2014, July 25). Religious
tourism to boost earnings. Zimbabwe Inde-
ZIMBAWE Blair, L. (2014, August 17). Millionaire pendent. Retrieved from:
NONIMOUS HAMENO prophet TB Joshua sent 4,000 bottles of http://www.theindependent.co.zw/20
powerful Holy water and money to cure 14/07/25/religious-tourism-boost-
October 2014 Ebola in Sierra Leone. The Christian Post. earnings/.
Retrieved from:
Links http://www.christianpost.com/news/ Mushava, E. (2014, September 10). Spirit
www.kas.de/Zimbabwe millionaire-prophet-tb-joshua-sent- mediums wade into Zanu P.F. fights. News-
4000-bottles-of-powerful-holy-water- day. Retrieved from:
and-money-to-cure-ebola-in-sierra- https://www.newsday.co.zw/2014/09
leone-124934/ /10/spirit-mediums-wade-zanu-pf-
fights/
Dembedza, P. (2013, October 29). Apos-
tolic churches pledge allegiance to presi- Mutonono. D.S.M., & Mautsa M.L.
dent, zanu-pf. The Herald. Retrieved from: (2006). Land. In Tokunboh Adeyemo (Ed.)
http://www.herald.co.zw/apostolic- Africa bible commentary (290). Nairobi:
churches-pledge-allegiance-to- WordAlive Publishers.
president-zanu-pf/.
Mutsaka, F. (2012, June 25). Mandela in-
Entertainment (2014, August 16). World’s vites and meets makandiwa and angel.
richest pastors. The Herald. Retrieved from: Nehanda Radio. Retrieved from:
http://www.herald.co.zw/worlds- http://nehandaradio.com/2012/06/25
richest-pastors/. /mandela-invites-and-meets-
makandiwa-angel/
Griffin, A. (2014, August 17). Ebola out-
break: Millionaire preacher TB Joshua ‘sends Ndaba, N. (2013, September 23). Zimba-
4,000 bottles of holy water to Sierra Leone bwean 'prophets' claim holy healing; others
as cure’. The Independent. Retrieved from: say rape. Radio Netherlands Worldwide: Af-
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ rica. Retrieved from:
world/millionaire-preacher-sends- http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/zim
4000-bottles-of-holy-water-as-ebola- babwean-prophets-claim-holy-healing-
cure-9674136.html. others-say-rape.
Kunambura, A. (2014, September 18). Nyoni, P. (2013, January 05). Prophet An-
Will spirit mediums save Zanu -PF? The Fi- gel’s miracle money on new year’s night in
nancial Gazzette. Retrieved from: Zimbabwe. The Zim Diaspora. Retrieved
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/wil from:
l-spirit-mediums-save-zanu-pf/ http://zimdiaspora.com/index.php?opt
ion=com_content&view=article&id=10
Kuvirimirwa, F. (2013, April 28). Apostolic 552:prophet-angels-miracle-money-on-
churches confirm loyalty to President Muga- new-year-night-in-
be. The Herald. Retrieved from: zimba-
http://www.herald.co.zw/apostolic- bwe&catid=73:music&Itemid=299.
churches-confirm-loyality-to-president-
mugabe/. Oden, T. C. (2010). How Africa shaped the
christian mind: Rediscovering the african
seedbed of the western mind. Grand Rapids
MI: IVP Academic.6
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. Oguntola, S. (2012, December 10). Private
jets for Jesus. Christianity Today. Retrieved
ZIMBAWE from:
NONIMOUS HAMENO http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/
2012/december-web-only/private-
October 2014 jets-for-jesus.html.
Links Reese, R. (2008) Johane Masowe 1914 to
www.kas.de/Zimbabwe 1973 gospel of god church Zimbabwe. Dic-
tionary of African Christian Biography. Re-
trieved from:
http://www.dacb.org/stories/zimbab
we/johane_masowe.html
Rupapa, T. (2014, February 03). Updated:
Gumbura sentenced to 40 years. The Her-
ald. Retrieved from:
http://www.herald.co.zw/breaking-
newsgumbura-sentenced-to-40-years/.
Staff Reporter (2013, September 08).
Kenya’s vp meets prophet angel ahead of
Hague trial. New Zimbabwe. Retrieved
from:
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news-
12291-
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e/news.aspx.
Staff Reporter (2013, October 07).
'Tsvangirai will eventually rule Zimbabwe,'
says Prophet TB Joshua. Bulawayo 24. Re-
Imprint trieved from:
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Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung news-sc-national-byo-
26 Sandringham Drive 37062.html#sthash.3Et6F0bZ.dpuf.
Alexandra Park
P.O Box 4325 Unknown Author (2013, February 04).
Harare/ Zimbabwe Harare woman: I had a miracle baby.
NewsdzeZimbabwe. Retrieved from:
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+263 4 74 45 53 2013/02/harare-woman-i-had-miracle-
baby.html.
Unknown Author (2013, February 22).
Prophet performs ‘miracle’ abortion. Nehan-
da Radio. Retrieved from:
http://nehandaradio.com/2013/02/22
/prophet-performs-miracle-abortion/You can also read
