BiAS 7 – The Bible and Politics in Africa
on a particular, vernacular (Ndau^1 version) translation of the Bible. I
assume that Mahoso’s citing of the Bible and especially a vernacular
version is not a matter of coincidence. It is very tactful. Mahoso knows
his context well. There are four related Zimbabwean context-specific
issues to consider here to understand Mahoso’s choice of the vernacular
version of the Bible as a ‘weapon’ for pan-Africanism. These factors are
based upon historical and current influential position of the Bible in
Zimbabwe and Christian population trends.
The Bible and Zimbabwean Christian/Population background
First, Global research indicates that Christianity is on the rise in Africa
and other third world countries. Between 1900 and 2000, for example,
the number of Christians in Africa grew from 10 million to over 360
million, from 10 % of the population to 46 %. Hence today, the most
vibrant centres of Christian growth are in Africa.^2 Zimbabwe, in particu-
lar is a de facto Christian nation in that while other religions are constitu-
tionally allowed to freely practice, for many reasons, Christianity is the
single most dominant hence, mostly visible. As of 2011 estimates, about
75 % of the population are practicing Christians.^3 And with Pentecostal-
ism that seems to be harvesting converts on almost daily basis, the per-
centage could be higher. Interesting about Pentecostalism is its influ-
ence on behaviour and beliefs in nearly all other churches in Zimbabwe.
Of particular importance is the Pentecostal belief in the Bible as fetish,^4
the absolute word of God, directly inspired by God hence its claims must
be taken as literal as it is written. While this belief has always been
found within mainline churches, one could argue that the rise of Pente-
costalism has accentuated it. Mahoso is quite alive to this influential role
of the Bible in the lives of the majority of the Zimbabwean populace,
such that citing the Bible could have been a consideration of this contex-
(^1) Ndau is one of the five dialects that constitute the Shona language. It is spoken in the
Southern-Eastern parts of Zimbabwe, and in parts of Mozambique and South Africa.
(^2) Phillip Jenkins, The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South.
Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2006, 9.
(^3) Cf. Religion in Zimbabwe. http://relzim.org/major-religions-zimbabwe/. (Accessed on
21 January 2012).
(^4) Cf. Obvious Vengeyi, ‘Gona and the Bible among indigenous Pentecostal Churches of
Zimbabwe: A comparative approach’, in Masiiwa Ragies Gunda (ed.), From Text to
Practice: The Role of the Bible in daily living of African People Today (BiAS 4), 2011, 95-
129.