Notes on the Contributors
Phillemon Chamburuka is a Lecturer of New Testament in the Department
of Religious Studies, Classics and Philosophy at the University of Zim-
babwe.
Ezra Chitando (PhD) is Professor of World Religions in the Department of
Religious Studies, Classics and Philosophy at the University of Zim-
babwe and Theology Consultant on HIV for the World Council of
Churches. He has researched and published around issues related to
HIV, method and theory in the study of religion and masculinity. Chi-
tando is one of the co-editors of the BiAS series.
Stephanie Feder is a PhD student at the University of Münster in Germany.
She is researching on African and Western ways of reading the Bible,
especially the Book of Ruth. For four years she taught Old Testament
Studies at the University of Münster.
Rev. Jephthah Kiara Gathaka served as parish priest and later as Archbishop
David Gitari’s personal assistant for five years 1978 to 1983 and his di-
rector of communications in 1986 to 1988 in the then diocese of Mt.
Kenya East. He is the Executive Director of The Ecumenical Centre for
Justice and Peace (ECJP) and the Founder Trustee and Secretary of the
Ecumenical Trust. As a pioneer of civic education he founded ECJP in
order to pursue freely and effectively his quest for justice and good gov-
ernance in Kenya through civic education, lobbying and advocacy.
Masiiwa Ragies Gunda (PhD) is a Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellow
hosted by the Chair for New Testament Sciences in the Institute of
Catholic Theology at Bamberg University. He holds a PhD from
Bayreuth University in Germany and is one of the founding editors of
Bible in Africa Studies (BiAS) series. His main research interests are
on the Bible as an ancient living text and he has published a number of
articles on the Bible and contemporary issues such as The Bible and
Homosexuality in Zimbabwe (2010). He is currently working on a project
on the role and function of the Bible in the public sphere with special
reference to Zimbabwe.
Jannie Hunter (PhD) is Professor of Religion and Ethics at the University of
Namibia. He holds a doctorate from the University of Stellenbosch and
Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (1987) in Semitical Languages
and the Old Testament Psalms. He is an Alexander von Humboldt Fel-
low (1993) and Commonwealth Research Fellow (1998).