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UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA FACULTY OF THEOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES RESEARCH TOPIC FOR PHD STUDIES TITLE NDEBELE AND SHONA ETHNIC COHESION: A DIALOGUE WITH PAUL’S ETHICS OF RECONCILIATION STUDENT: ISHANESU. SEXTUS GUSHA STUDENT NUMBER: 13396928 SUPERVISOR: DOCTOR ZORODZAI DUBE Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to an amazing man, my great grandfather, Barnabas Gusha, who at the age of eighty years accompanied to me secure grade one place at Dhlodhlo primary school in Gamwa Shurugwi. Though I was too young to appreciate the effort, it remained in my subconscious till I was old enough to recall the whole episode. It humbled me when I recalled that the old man walked almost seven kilometres at that age to secure a place for me when my father was in Bulawayo serving his notice with the Zimbabwe Prison Service before joining seminary for priesthood training. Those memories helped me to value education in life and to him; I say, Rest in Eternal Peace my great educator. i Acknowledgments Several people and institutions played an important role in helping me to get this far. First, I would like to thank my two supervisors who helped me to travel this sleepless path. Professor Doctor Jacobus (Kobus) Kok who helped me to shape my dissertation topic and the research proposal and later, Doctor Zorodzai Dube who travelled with me the entire journey to the completion of the dissertation. His insights, suggestions, criticisms and words of encouragement comforted me even when the going was getting tougher. I also want to acknowledge the immense help; the dedication and patience of the Department of Theology’s staff and International Students’ Affairs during the registration days. Many thanks also go to the government of South Africa for granting me permission to study in their institution as a foreign student. I also want to salute my wife Caroline and son Isheanesu Jr for their moral support; sometimes they could not get the fatherly attention they deserved. I also want to thank Doctor Masiiwa Ragies Gunda for his insights and criticism that shaped my analysis of the facts that were before me. Many thanks also go to my colleagues in the program; Rev Blessing Shambare, Rev Vincent Fenga, Rev John Chawarika, Rev William Nyapokoto, The Very Rev Dean Farai Mutamiri, and Rev Friar Dr Joshua Musiyambiri. I remember the sleepless nights we spend driving to Pretoria from Harare for registration and other consultations with our supervisors. The following institutions helped a lot with their libraries; University of Pretoria, University of Zimbabwe, Bishop Gaul Theological College, Wadzanai Training Centre, United Theological College, National Archives of Zimbabwe, and Nashotah House Theological Seminary Wisconsin USA. I acknowledge the help and encouragement offered by my bishop, the Right Reverend Doctor Chad Gandiya of the Anglican Diocese of Harare. I thank Rev Canon Cleophas Marandu and Rev Canon Noboth Manzongo for insights and encouragement during the two years we spent together in Wisconsin, USA. Lastly, I do not forget those who spared their valuable time to answer my research questions during the interviews; I thank you all. ii Abstract The tension between the Ndebele and Shona people dates back to the precolonial era and this has been one of the major threats to Zimbabwe’s peace. Ethnic tensions have resulted in the loss of thousands of lives since the country’s independence, especially during the Entumbane clashes and Gukurahundi massacres. The government has in several ways, tried to bring social cohesion between the two with limited success. Four examples are: the initiatives done through the 1980 reconciliation pronouncement by Prime Minster Robert Mugabe, 1987 Unity Accord between PF ZAPU and ZANU PF, the Government of National Unity, and the Commission on National Healing and Reconciliation of 2008. The failure may be attributed to amnesia and the unwillingness to repent from past evils by the perpetrators. Seemingly, the major problem may be attributed to the fact that interested parties often played the mediatory role; and one cannot objectively be both player and referee. In addition, over the years, the church through her ecumenical bodies has tried to build bridges between the two but the efforts were also fruitless due to the unwillingness by the government to take recommendations from the church and civic organisations. The thesis proposes Pauline ethics regarding reconciliation in the Corinthian correspondence as inspiration for social cohesion between the Ndebele and Shona tribes. As hermeneutical tools, Paul’s key symbols such as Christ, the Cross of Christ, Ambassador, New Creation, and Baptism shall be deployed as epistemological lenses in promoting identity tags that go beyond ethnicity. I propose that, for these symbols to be effective, the following recommendations should be taken seriously; setting up of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), refraining from using ethnic offensive language, introduction of Ndebele and Shona languages in primary and secondary schools in the provinces dominated by these two ethnic groups, substituting ethnic provincial names with neutral ones, substituting ethnic registration system of people with a neutral one, and the devolution of power. iii List of Abbreviations Acc Accusative Adj Adjective ANE Ancient Near East Aor Aorist ATR(s) African Traditional Religion(s) AU African Union BSAC British South Africa Company CA Christian Alliance CCJP Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe CCT Critical Correlation Theory CDA Critical Discourse Analysis CPSA The Church of the Province of Southern Africa. Dat Dative EFZ Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe ESAP Economic Structural Adjustment Programme Fem Feminine Gen Genitive GPA Global Political Agreement. Ind Indicative Inf Infinitive Masc Masculine MDC Movement for Democratic Change MDC-M Movement for Democratic Change-Mutambara MDC-T Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai Neut Neuter NIV New International Version NKJV New King James Version Nom Nominative OAU Organization of African Union ONHRI Organ on National Healing and Reconciliation Initiatives Pass Passive Perf Perfect PF ZAPU Patriotic Front-Zimbabwe African People’s Union Pl Plural RSV Revised Standard Version SADC Southern Africa Development Community SIC Social Identity Complexity Sing Singular SIT Social Identity Theory TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission UMR United Mthwakazi Republic UN United Nations USA United States of America UZ University of Zimbabwe iv Voc Vocative ZANLA Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army ZANU PF Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front ZBC Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation ZCBC Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference ZCC Zimbabwe Council of Churches Zimstat Zimbabwe Statistical Office ZIPRA Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army ZUM Zimbabwe Unity Movement v Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... iv Chapter One: Introduction, Definition of terms, and Background to the Study ............................. 1 1.0 Introduction...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Setting the Stage: Background of the nation of Zimbabwe .................................................. 3 1.2 Definition of terms. ............................................................................................................... 5 1.2.1 Ethics...................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.2 Pauline Ethics ............................................................................................................................... 8 1.2.3 Reconciliation ............................................................................................................................... 9 1.2.4 Ethnic cohesion .......................................................................................................................... 12 1.2.5 The Ndebele people ................................................................................................................... 13 1.2.6 The Shona people ...................................................................................................................... 14 1.3 Problem statement ............................................................................................................. 16 1.3.1. Political reasons for social tension ............................................................................................ 17 1.3.2 Economic reasons for social tension. ......................................................................................... 20 1.3.3 Linguistic reasons for social tension. ......................................................................................... 21 1.3.4 Religious reasons for social tension ........................................................................................... 21 1.4 Justification ........................................................................................................................