Zimbabwe Council of Churches: A Conduit for Centering the Far-Left and the Far-Right Political Ideologies in Zimbabwe
Martin Mujinga 
Issue: Vol.6 No.6 Article 18 pp. 895 -907
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20256618 | Published online 23rd May, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Since 2000, Zimbabwe’s political landscape has been divided into two extreme ends represented by the conservatives and those advocating for democracy. Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), whose approach is grounded in Marxist theory, used colonial rhetoric to keep the country in the hands of the minority. The party’s hegemonic approach labels everyone differing with their ideology as enemies of sovereignty and puppets of the Western world. In contrast, opposition parties advocate for democracy, reformation of the electoral system and the rule of law. This research typifies ZANU-PF as the far-right while the Movement for Democratic Change (1999-2018) and Citizens Coalition for Change (2022-2023) are identified with the far-left. This qualitative research aimed to argue that, in a conflictive nation divided between diverse ideologies, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) has a theological and historical mandate that qualifies it as a conduit to centre the repelling political standpoints. The paper presents the opportunities and challenges faced by ZCC in attempting to centre the two rival groups. It concludes by encouraging ZCC to stand on its principles of neutrality and justice against all odds, as this middle path is a panacea to centering the diverse political voices in Zimbabwe. This study contributes significantly to scholarship as it demonstrates how the church remains a neutral space in the contested political discourse, particularly in Zimbabwe. While political parties fight to control the state and its resources, the church’s vision remains as a torchbearer for people’s hope. The ZCC vision statement of a strong Christian ecumenical fellowship for a united, peaceful, just, and prosperous nation, where all citizens experience holistic salvation, mandates all churches to have visions and live by them to be effective.
Keywords: Zimbabwe Council of Churches, Far-left, Far-right, Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, Movement for Democratic Change, Citizen Coalition for Change
Alexander, Peter. “Zimbabwean Workers, the MDC & the 2000 Election.” Review of African Political Economy 27, no. 85 (2000): 385–406.
Aljazeera. “ Mugabe Warns of War If Defeated,” 2008.
Asuelime, Lucky, and Blessing Simura. “The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the Changing Geo-Political Landscape in Zimbabwe.” In Selected Themes in African Political Studies: Political Conflict and Stability, 69–81. Springer, 2014.
Bobbio, Norberto. Left, and Right: The Significance of a Political Distinction. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2005.
Chimedza, Bright Thulani,. “An Annotated Examination of the Strategies That Were Used by MDC In Combating Competitive Authoritarianism in Zimbabwe, 1999-2018.” Midlands State University, 2022. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2008/6/13/mugabe-warns-of-war-if-defeated.
Chitando, Ezra. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches and Development in Zimbabwe. Springer, 2020.
Dictionary.com. “ Why Do ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ Mean Liberal and Conservative?” December 24, 2024. https://www.dictionary.com/e/leftright/.
Dube, Gibbs. “Zimbabwe Opposition Launches MDC Alliance Ahead of 2018 General Elections,” 2017. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/zimbabwe-mdc-alliance-formed/3974172.html.
Dube, Jimmy. “The Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the Prophetic Mission of the Church.” The Zimbabwe Council of Churches and Development in Zimbabwe, 2020, 197–205.
Gauchet, Marcel. “The Redefinition of Right and Left.” Le Débat 192, no. 5 (2016): 35–46.
Global Ministries. “ Zimbabwe Church Leaders Call for Good Leadership in the Upcoming By-Elections,” 2022.
———. “I Pray, I Vote Campaign of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches,” 2022. https://www.globalministries.org/i-pray-i-vote-campaign-of-the-zimbabwe-council-of-churches/.
Gray, Younge. “ Archbishop Desmond Tutu: The Secrets of a Peacemaker,” 2009. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/may/23/interview-desmond-tutu.
Gundani, Paul. Changing Patterns of Authority and Leadership: Developments in the Roman Catholic Church in Zimbabwe after Vatican 11 1965-1985. Harare: University of Zimbabwe Publications, 2001.
Hodgson, Geoffrey M. Wrong Turnings: How the Left Got Lost. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018.
Kaulemu, David. “Church Responses to the Crisis in Zimbabwe.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 8, no. 1 (January 2010): 47–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570271003707853.
Kwashirai, Vimbai Chaimba. “ The Movement for Democratic Change Was Number One Enemy in 2000.” In Election Violence in Zimbabwe: Human Rights, Politics and Power, 128–58. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023.
Lewanika, McDonald. “Campaigning, Coercion, and Clientelism: ZANU-PF’s Strategies in Zimbabwe’s Presidential Elections, 2008-13.” London School of Economics and Political Science, 2019.
Lipset, Seymour Martin, and Political Man. “The Social Bases of Politics.” Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1960.
Magaisa, Alex. “Big Saturday Read: MDC Alliance-An Oasis or a Mirage,” 2017. https://bigsr.africa/bsr-mdc-alliance-e2-80-93-an-oasis-or-a-mirage/.
Masengwe, Gift, and Bekithemba Dube. “CCCism Versus ZANU-PFism: Religious Response of the Citizens Coalition for Change to the ZANU-PF.” In Regime, Religion and the Consolidation of ZANU-PFism in Zimbabwe: When Religion Becomes a Threat to Democracy, 185–99. Springer, 2023.
Masunungure, Eldred V., and Jabulise, M. Shumba. Exorcising the Spectre of Electoral Authoritarianism in Zimbabwe’s Political Transition, Zimbabwe: Mired in Transition. Harare: Weaver Press, 2014.
Masvingo Mirror. “X,” n.d. https://x.com/TheMirrorMsv/status/1817196752400777439?prefetchTimestamp=1736792894165&mx=2.
McPhee, Peter. The French Revolution, 1789–1799. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Mosley, Albert. Rhodesia Becomes Zimbabwe and the Programme to Combat Racism (British Methodism and African Nationalism in Rhodesia (1965-1980). 2007. , 2007.
Mujinga, Martin. “Ministry in the Tempest: A Reconstruction of the Life, Work, and Legacy of Rev. Andrew. Ndhlela of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe.” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 50, no. 3 (2024): 14 pages.
———. “Religio-Political Convergence: A Mugabe-Istic Tactic to Secularize Ecclesiastical Authority in Zimbabwe.” In Politics and Religion in Zimbabwe, 49–62. Routledge, 2020.
Murdoch, Norman H. Christian Warfare in Rhodesia-Zimbabwe: The Salvation Army and African Liberation, 1891–1991. Cambridge: The Lutterworth Press, 2015.
Murwira, Ashton, and Charity Manyeruke. “Church-Politics Nexus: An Analysis of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) and Political Engagement.” The Zimbabwe Council of Churches and Development in Zimbabwe, 2020, 95–108.
Mwandayi, Canisius, and Theresa Mugwidi. “Quo Vadis the Catholic Church and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches? Exploring the ‘Mine Is Right’Dilemmas in the Path to Christian Unity in Zimbabwe.” The Zimbabwe Council of Churches and Development in Zimbabwe, 2020, 51–64.
Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Sabelo J. “Dynamics of the Zimbabwe Crisis in the 21st Century.” African Journal on Conflict Resolution 3, no. 1 (2003): 99–134.
Nhemachena, Artwell, and Tapiwa Victor Warikandwa. From African Peer Review Mechanisms to African Queer Review Mechanisms?: Robert Gabriel Mugabe, Empire and the Decolonisation of African Orifices. Langaa RPCIG, 2019.
Nyarota, Lloyd T. Religious Leaders in National Political Conflicts: Bishop Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa and the National Struggle against Colonial Rule in Zimbabwe. Eugene, Oregon: WIPF & Stock, 2013.
Pindula. “MDC Alliance.” January 12, 2025.
Ruzivo, Munetsi. “The Zimbabwe Council of Churches, Politics and Development from 1980 to 2015.” The Zimbabwe Council of Churches and Development in Zimbabwe, 2020, 13–36.
Saunders, Richard. “Zimbabwe: Liberation Nationalism–Old and Born-Again.” Review of African Political Economy 38, no. 127 (2011): 123–34.
Sylvester, Christine. “Zimbabwe’s 1985 Elections: A Search for National Mythology.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 24, no. 2 (1986): 229–55.
Tendi, Blessing-Miles. “The Motivations and Dynamics of Zimbabwe’s 2017 Military Coup.” African Affairs 119, no. 474 (January 24, 2020): 39–67. https://doi.org/10.1093/afraf/adz024.
The Standard. “ MDC Alliance: An Oasis or a Mirage? ,” August 13, 2017. https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2017/08/13/mdc-alliance-oasis-mirage.
Wesley, John. “The Journal of John Wesley,” October 6, 1774. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/664222-october-6-1774-i-met-those-of-our-society-who
ZimEye. “ Mnangagwa Rejects Sabbath Call by the Church, Calls It ‘Treacherous.” ZimEye, 2019. https://www.zimeye.net/2019/10/20/ mnangagwa-rejects-sabbath-call-by-the-church-calls it-treacherous/.
Zvobgo, Chengetai J. “Church and State in Rhodesia: From the Unilateral Declaration of Independence to the Pearce Commission, 1965–72.” Journal of Southern African Studies 31, no. 2 (2005): 381–402.
Revd. Dr. Martin Mujinga is the General Secretary of the Africa Methodist Council and former General Secretary of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. He served as the Academic Dean of United Theological College. Dr. Mujinga is a distinguished scholar with 55 publications to his name, including peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters. He has peer-reviewed articles for several high-impact international journals, including the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), Verbum et Ecclesia, Stellenbosch Theological Journal, HTS Theological Studies/Teologiese Studies, Acta Theologica, and Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, among others. He has attended and presented at several international academic conferences in Africa, Asia and Europe. His research interest is in Methodist history, theology, religion, politics, and theologies of migration
Mujinga, Martin. “Zimbabwe Council of Churches: A Conduit for Centering the Far-Left and the Far-Right Political Ideologies in Zimbabwe,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no.6 (2025): 895 -907. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20256618
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
