Mnangagwa’s US$2m UFIC Pledge Brings Church-Politics Relationship Into Focus

[Yesha]

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President Emmerson Mnangagwa has pledged US$2 million in his personal capacity towards the construction of United Family International Church’s (UFIC) proposed 10 000-seater church in Harare.

The pledge was announced on Sunday by UFIC founder and leader Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa during a service at the church’s Basilica in Chitungwiza. According to Makandiwa, Mnangagwa told him to begin construction, obtain quotations for the required materials and submit them to him for payment. (Herald Online)

Makandiwa said the President had acknowledged UFIC’s contribution to Zimbabwe and his previous association with the church.

The announcement comes less than a month after businessman Wicknell Chivayo donated US$1 million towards the same UFIC construction project, making the two contributions worth a combined US$3 million. (Zimbabwe News Now)

The developments also bring renewed attention to the longstanding relationship between religious institutions and politics in Zimbabwe, where churches have played roles ranging from social welfare and peacebuilding to political mobilisation and engagement with government.

Churches and politics​

The involvement of churches in Zimbabwean politics is not new.

Churches played important roles during the liberation struggle and have continued to participate in national affairs since independence. Academic research describes church-state and church-politics relations in Zimbabwe as an ongoing process that has evolved through major political periods, including the post-2000 political crisis and the 2008 election crisis. (African Theological Journal)

In recent years, some churches and religious leaders have maintained close relationships with the ruling establishment, while others have taken more critical positions.

During the 2023 general elections, several Apostolic and Zion church leaders publicly expressed support for Mnangagwa.

The Johane Marange Apostolic Church, one of Zimbabwe’s largest indigenous churches, endorsed Mnangagwa's presidential candidature ahead of the election. (Herald Online)

Other groups, including Vapostori for ED, openly campaigned for Mnangagwa and engaged with him at State House during the election period.

The relationship, however, has not been uniform across Zimbabwe's religious community.

Other churches and religious organisations have focused on encouraging peaceful elections, civic participation and dialogue between political parties. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches, for example, issued pastoral messages around the 2023 elections addressing issues including political violence, hate speech and citizen participation. (Global Ministries)

Individual religious leaders have also entered politics from different directions. Pastor Evan Mawarire, for example, became a prominent government critic through the #ThisFlag movement in 2016 and was later arrested during protests in 2019. (TIME)

Why churches matter politically​

Zimbabwe's churches have an important social reach.

Religious institutions bring together large congregations, operate extensive community networks and, in many cases, have considerable influence over their members. This gives religious leaders a platform that can extend beyond religious matters into questions of governance, elections and national development.

That influence can work in different ways.

A church can mobilise its members behind a political candidate. It can encourage people to vote without endorsing a particular party. It can mediate between political opponents. Or it can challenge government policies and call those in power to account.

Zimbabwe's Constitution protects citizens' political rights, including the right to make political choices freely, while the country's legal framework also protects freedom of religion. (Constitute Project)

The question, therefore, is not whether religious people or leaders can participate in public affairs. They can.

The more difficult question is where the line lies between legitimate civic engagement and partisan political mobilisation by institutions whose leaders command significant religious authority.

A relationship that works both ways​

The relationship between politicians and churches is also not simply about politicians seeking religious support.

Governments have relied on churches and other religious organisations for social programmes, humanitarian assistance, peacebuilding and community mobilisation.

Churches, in turn, can benefit from access to political leaders, opportunities to engage government and, in some cases, public or private support for development projects.

The UFIC pledge illustrates another dimension of that relationship: a sitting President personally supporting the construction of a major religious institution.

There is no indication that the US$2 million pledge is a Government allocation; Makandiwa specifically described it as Mnangagwa's personal contribution.

It therefore should not be presented as public money being allocated to UFIC.

But the announcement is significant because it comes within a broader environment in which Zimbabwe's most powerful political figures regularly engage large religious organisations, while some religious leaders have openly participated in electoral politics.

The result is a relationship that is neither entirely political nor entirely religious.

For Zimbabwe's churches, the challenge is balancing their role as religious institutions with their growing influence in public life.

For political leaders, engagement with churches provides access to some of the country's largest and most organised communities.

And for congregants, the question remains how much political influence their religious leaders should exercise on their behalf — and whether the pulpit should be a place for political mobilisation, political accountability, or both.