Mocking the just God? A theological critique of President Mnangagwa’s use of the name of God to justify his rule in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa justified his unconstitutional ascendency to power after a military coup that dethroned former President Robert Mugabe in 2017 by claiming that ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God’. He repeated the claim in 2018 when Nelson Chamisa refused to recognis...

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Autores principales:	Suspicion Mudzanire, Collium Banda
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	AF DE EN NL
Publicado:	AOSIS 2021
Materias:	justice democracy mnangagwa coup in zimbabwe repression church and politics Religion (General) BL1-50
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/fbd1bb9c1d3a4992be5fac0b1601d2c2
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:fbd1bb9c1d3a4992be5fac0b1601d2c22021-11-24T07:50:53ZMocking the just God? A theological critique of President Mnangagwa’s use of the name of God to justify his rule in Zimbabwe1609-99822074-770510.4102/ve.v42i1.2218https://doaj.org/article/fbd1bb9c1d3a4992be5fac0b1601d2c22021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/2218https://doaj.org/toc/1609-9982https://doaj.org/toc/2074-7705Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa justified his unconstitutional ascendency to power after a military coup that dethroned former President Robert Mugabe in 2017 by claiming that ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God’. He repeated the claim in 2018 when Nelson Chamisa refused to recognise him as the legitimately elected president of the country after accusing him of rigging the 2018 elections. Mnangagwa’s use of God’s name to authenticate his rule raises the question: as one of the foundational attributes of God is justice, what does it mean for political leaders openly claiming to be ordained into office by him? This leads to a further question: Has Mnangagwa’s rule satisfied the demands that come with claiming to be ordained by God to rule, and what should be the church’s response towards Mnangagwa’s rule in view of God’s justice? This article uses God’s attribute of justice to critically evaluate Mnangagwa’s claim that ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God’. The claim is described and placed within Mnangagwa’s claims and insinuations to be a Christian. His current rule, which is characterised by violent repression and corruption is examined and evaluated. God’s attribute of justice is presented and highlighted in how it challenges Mnangagwa to reform his rule to align it with God’s nature of justice. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article combines insights from religion and politics, the mission of the church in a context of political oppression and systematic theology to highlight the need for the Zimbabwean churches to judge all political systems according to the adherence to God’s justice. It also provides some theological tools by which churches can protect themselves from being co-opted by unjust and oppressive regimes that violate God’s justice.Suspicion MudzanireCollium BandaAOSISarticlejusticedemocracymnangagwacoup in zimbabwerepressionchurch and politicsReligion (General)BL1-50AFDEENNLVerbum et Ecclesia , Vol 42, Iss 1, Pp e1-e10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	AF DE EN NL
topic	justice democracy mnangagwa coup in zimbabwe repression church and politics Religion (General) BL1-50
spellingShingle	justice democracy mnangagwa coup in zimbabwe repression church and politics Religion (General) BL1-50 Suspicion Mudzanire Collium Banda Mocking the just God? A theological critique of President Mnangagwa’s use of the name of God to justify his rule in Zimbabwe
description	Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa justified his unconstitutional ascendency to power after a military coup that dethroned former President Robert Mugabe in 2017 by claiming that ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God’. He repeated the claim in 2018 when Nelson Chamisa refused to recognise him as the legitimately elected president of the country after accusing him of rigging the 2018 elections. Mnangagwa’s use of God’s name to authenticate his rule raises the question: as one of the foundational attributes of God is justice, what does it mean for political leaders openly claiming to be ordained into office by him? This leads to a further question: Has Mnangagwa’s rule satisfied the demands that come with claiming to be ordained by God to rule, and what should be the church’s response towards Mnangagwa’s rule in view of God’s justice? This article uses God’s attribute of justice to critically evaluate Mnangagwa’s claim that ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God’. The claim is described and placed within Mnangagwa’s claims and insinuations to be a Christian. His current rule, which is characterised by violent repression and corruption is examined and evaluated. God’s attribute of justice is presented and highlighted in how it challenges Mnangagwa to reform his rule to align it with God’s nature of justice. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article combines insights from religion and politics, the mission of the church in a context of political oppression and systematic theology to highlight the need for the Zimbabwean churches to judge all political systems according to the adherence to God’s justice. It also provides some theological tools by which churches can protect themselves from being co-opted by unjust and oppressive regimes that violate God’s justice.
format	article
author	Suspicion Mudzanire Collium Banda
author_facet	Suspicion Mudzanire Collium Banda
author_sort	Suspicion Mudzanire
title	Mocking the just God? A theological critique of President Mnangagwa’s use of the name of God to justify his rule in Zimbabwe
title_short	Mocking the just God? A theological critique of President Mnangagwa’s use of the name of God to justify his rule in Zimbabwe
title_full	Mocking the just God? A theological critique of President Mnangagwa’s use of the name of God to justify his rule in Zimbabwe
title_fullStr	Mocking the just God? A theological critique of President Mnangagwa’s use of the name of God to justify his rule in Zimbabwe
title_full_unstemmed	Mocking the just God? A theological critique of President Mnangagwa’s use of the name of God to justify his rule in Zimbabwe
title_sort	mocking the just god? a theological critique of president mnangagwa’s use of the name of god to justify his rule in zimbabwe
publisher	AOSIS
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/fbd1bb9c1d3a4992be5fac0b1601d2c2
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Mocking the just God? A theological critique of President Mnangagwa’s use of the name of God to justify his rule in Zimbabwe

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