ARTICLE

 

Friend at Night, Enemy during the Day? A Decolonial Engagement of Pastor Shingi Munyeza's Role as Regime Enabler and/or Regime Resistor

 

 

Martin Mujinga

University of South Africa. martinmujinga@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8098-2515

 

 

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ABSTRACT

During Robert Mugabe's era, religious leaders had always been standing as either regime enablers or regime resistors. The two roles continued when President Emmerson Mnangagwa assumed power in 2017. Although most religious leaders choose to be either regime enablers or resistors, Shingi Munyeza positioned himself as both regime enabler and resistor. As a regime enabler, Munyeza sits on several boards appointed by the state president. In addition, when President Mnangagwa got into power, he appointed Munyeza to be in his Presidential Advisory Council. After the appointment, the entrusted cleric somersaulted into a regime resistor, using the Bible to publicly castigate the government of the man who had handpicked him to whisper in his ears for advice. Using decolonial theory, which is a programme of de-linking from contemporary legacies of coloniality, this paper challenges the dual role of enabling and resisting the regime played by Munyeza as a portrayal of a "friend at night and an enemy of the regime during the day." This paper grapples with questions such as: Why did Munyeza start to denigrate the government the moment he became the president's advisor? Why did Munyeza not opt to resign from the government that he is labelling as a rogue? How does Munyeza balance the role of an advisor to and an opponent of the same regime? In its decolonial engagement, the paper concludes that the dual role of regime enabler and/or resistor is not possible unless one is a "friend at night and an enemy during the day."

Keywords: friend at night; enemy during the day; decolonial; Shingi Munyeza; regime enabler; regime resistor; Second Republic; Zimbabwe

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Introduction

The role of religious leaders in the colonial, post-colonial, and post-President Robert Mugabe era has always been of a conflicting nature (Mujinga 2018). Religious leaders present themselves on two sides of the regime, either as regime enablers or as regime resistors. The regime enablers are represented by those who support the government, while the regime resistors are anti-government. Dube (2020, 10) confirms that some religious leaders have overtly or covertly assumed the role of enablers of the current Zimbabwean political matrix, thereby threatening democracy, social justice, and accountability by using religious narratives to buttress the status quo. The behaviour of these religious leaders is influenced by the colonial mentality.

The need to attract religious influence in politics saw President Emmerson Mnangagwa introducing the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC), which comprised two clerics, namely Shingi Munyeza and Kenneth Mtata. Mtata, from the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, turned down the offer (Nyabako 2019), but it is not in the interest of this paper to analyse the reasons for his reservations to accept the post. Apart from the clerics, the PAC also embraced people from diverse sectors such as business, health and social protection, agriculture, governance, human rights, faith-based organisations, tourism, education, minority groups, information communication technology, civic society, communication, and media management (Office of the President and Cabinet 2019). According to President Mnangagwa, the major aim of the 26-member council is to advise and assist him in formulating key economic policies and strategies that advance his vision for 2030, which entails making Zimbabwe an upper middle-income state (Office of the President and Cabinet 2019). It cannot be denied that the selection of Munyeza was informed by his position in society as both a cleric and a businessperson. It can also be argued that the appointment of Munyeza as a cleric would bring confidence to the people as they see the seriousness of the president's engagement with the religious fraternity, while his position as a businessperson also demonstrates the president's endorsement of the mantra, "Zimbabwe is open for business." Of interest to note is that since Munyeza was appointed as a PAC member to enable the regime, he has played the dual role of regime resistor and regime enabler.

On the one hand, Munyeza accepted the appointment to the PAC as a regime enabler. On the other hand, he used the colonial power of his appointment to attack President Mnangagwa and his government. The role of Munyeza in resisting and simultaneously enabling the government presents some challenges, and the question arises whether he is not perhaps a "friend of the government at night, and an enemy of the government during the day." This paper aims to analyse the antics of Munyeza both as a regime enabler and resistor. Karombo (2020) describes Munyeza as President Mnangagwa's adviser who turned into a critic. To understand these conflicting positions of enabler and resistor played by Munyeza, the research is premised on his online speeches and sermons from February 2019 (when he was appointed as a PAC member) to October 2020, a period when the criticisms went unchallenged; and yet the Catholic Priests who challenged the government were labelled as evil men. By playing this dual role, it can be argued that Munyeza was operating from a position of the privileged, also using colonial muscle for his benefit. This paper will scrutinise and explore such evident conflicting integrity.

 

Decolonial Theory

The use of decolonial theory in this paper is necessitated by the fact that coloniality is a leitmotif of global imperial designs that have been in place for centuries, and decolonisation did not succeed in removing coloniality (Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2013, 10). According to Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2013, 10), coloniality survived the end of direct colonialism and the phenomenon continues to affect the lives of people long after direct colonialism and administrative structures have been dethroned. An analysis of Ndlovu-Gatsheni's arguments shows that although colonisation ended in most African governments, colonial mentality remained with those leaders who are leading former colonial countries, and yet they are claiming their governments to be decolonised. Using South Africa as an example, Ndlovu-Gatsheni avers, "... what needs to be understood is not just the 'not yet' Uhuru ... but the colonial matrices of power that continue to exist in the minds, lives, languages, dreams, imaginations, and epistemologies of modern subjects in Africa and the entire global South" (Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2013, 10).

This paper argues that Munyeza joined the decolonised government as an enabler to use colonial power to oppress the poor masses, using his religious position so that he would be more privileged than the majority. However, when he wanted to distance himself from the colonial power, he remained on the colonial fence and decided to be a regime resistor. Decolonial theory informs the ongoing struggles against the inhumanity of coloniality as a power structure. It is a method that aspires to restore, elevate, renew, rediscover, acknowledge, and validate the multiplicity of lives, life experiences, culture, and knowledge of Indigenous people (Steyn 2021). To understand this action, the paper will start with an analysis of Munyeza's identity.

 

The Identity of Shingi Munyeza

Shingi Albert Munyeza was the firstborn of six children born of Frederick and Damaris Munyeza in the Mazoe area, Zimbabwe. He married Wilma Munyeza. During his high school days, Shingi was appointed head boy at St John's High School and later served as Junior Mayor of Harare. Upon completing his studies, Munyeza became one of the prominent businesspeople and professionals in Zimbabwe. He is counted among the multi-skilled and multi-gifted in the economic and business concepts of accounting, finance, advertising, marketing, hospitality, and tourism. According to his LinkedIn profile, Munyeza has partnerships with well-placed companies, such as Raizcorp, a world-class company that specialises in the entrepreneurship incubation programme, and Africa's biggest entrepreneurship incubator accelerating success amongst young entrepreneurs.

He is also in partnership with Cashbackpoint (Pty) Ltd, an international organisation harnessing the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) and e-commerce venture of doing business, bringing consumers, merchants, retailers, and the banking and financial services sector into one integrated platform. In addition, Munyeza also owns Gloatus Investments (Pvt) Ltd, an organisation set to address the power deficit that Zimbabwe faces by providing businesses and communities with simple, affordable, and clean solar energy. Moreover, Munyeza owns Rapid Concepts (Pvt) Ltd, which is a development of an end-to-end system for ticketing, transport, and bulk payments for the financial services sector. The companies and firms owned by Munyeza, and those he co-owns, present him as one with a colonial mentality because apart from these vast empires, he sits on some government boards in a country whose citizens survive by fending through the informal market. It cannot be denied that Munyeza's involvement in both politics and business as clergy is an attempt to protect his interests from colonial power.

In his philanthropic work, Munyeza was part of the task force that worked with the United Nations Children's Funds and the Government of Zimbabwe toward the eradication of cholera in collaboration with the Higher Life Foundation, founded by Strive Masiyiwa. Masiyiwa is one of the prominent business people in Zimbabwe, running the biggest telecommunication company, Econet. In his business career, Munyeza became the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Sun Ltd, which has hotels such as Troutbeck Inn Resort in Nyanga, Holiday Inn Resorts and Hotels in Zimbabwe, Monomotapa Crowne Plaza in Harare, Elephant Hills Hotel in Victoria Falls, and the Cape Grace in South Africa. He also sat on the boards of Africa Sun, FBC Bank, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, University of Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, and was once the Council's President. As a pastor, Munyeza was once the president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe. An analysis of the involvement of Munyeza in the above companies and boards makes one argue that, just like the colonial masters of colonial Zimbabwe, Munyeza is a typical example of one of them. This colonial mentality forced him to continue extending his territory towards the haven of the regime, thereby making him its enabler.

As a regime enabler, Munyeza has a long history of working with and for the government. He has been a board member of the government-owned Zimbabwe Newspapers (Zimpapers¹) (Sunday Mail 2019). Munyeza is also a pastor of Faith Ministries Church (Kangondo 2014), he is a religious leader, a businessperson, and a politician. The three roles are inter-connected, although conflicting. His involvement with the University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, and Zimpapers shows that he has always been an enabler of the regime by contributing to government affairs. Of interest to note is that Munyeza has not been vocal against these government institutions. It can be argued that his multi-layered board membership in government departments demonstrates the trust that he receives as one who has a strong enabling muscle for both the government and his aggrandisement.

Munyeza's vocal and anti-government antics started the moment he was appointed as a member of the PAC. In his anarchist tactics, Munyeza has never threatened to quit the PAC, but is happy to be part of the system that he describes as rotten and corrupt (Bulawayo24 October 5, 2020a; Pindula June 27, 2020). This dual conflicting role is challenged by decoloniality, which is considered a programme of de-linking from contemporary legacies of coloniality (Mignolo 2021, 452).

 

Composition and Nature of Presidential Advisory Council

From the presentation of Munyeza's personal and business life, one can argue that his appointment was one of the best moves done by the president. Munyeza joined other PAC members on key economic reforms, issues and initiatives in line with the "Zimbabwe is open for business" mantra and the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (STP) (Office of the President and Cabinet 2019). According to the Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda, President Mnangagwa and his government needed well-canvassed ideas, proposals and strategies to realise this vision (Office of the President and Cabinet 2019). Sibanda further reiterates that the PAC is a voluntary organisation that serves at the pleasure of the president (Office of the President and Cabinet 2019). The question that one grapples with is, if being a member of the PAC is voluntary, why didn't Munyeza decide to excuse himself rather than expose himself by attacking the president whom he is supposed to advise? The other tasks of the PAC are to contribute towards policies and measures (short, medium, and long term) for the growth of the economy; suggesting the best strategies for leveraging them to the best national advantage; and advising and developing strategies for making Zimbabwe a modern, industrialised and food-secure, higher middle-income state by 2030. In addition, the PAC endeavours to present policies and strategies for inclusive and balanced growth in line with the policy on decentralisation and devolution, and to advise on the integration of science, technology, research and innovation in the economy. The PAC also aims to transform the country into a land-linked, regional, logistical and trading hub and to advise on developing sector-by-sector strategic value chains for the economy, which are linked to international markets.

In addition, the PAC was also introduced to advise on a national energy development strategy that makes Zimbabwe competitive and to suggest blueprints for regulatory frameworks and institutions for a modern, market-driven, business-friendly economy. Moreover, the PAC advises on strategies for building strong and gainful global partnerships as well as maximising Zimbabwe's bilateral and multilateral relations. It proffers ideas of building a sovereign wealth fund, ensuring that national growth and development strategies are built on environmental safeguards for future generations. One of the most transparent platforms of the PAC was the open-door policy of the president since he mandated the PAC to organise interactions between the president and local and international businesses. The PAC also has quarterly brainstorming or feedback meetings with the president and ad hoc meetings as and when necessary. Some of the PAC's ethics, as illustrated by President Mnangagwa, were to be nonpartisan, proffer honest and sincere advice, declaring own interests whenever necessary (Office of the President and Cabinet 2019). The president further explained that the PAC should respect rules of confidentiality and trust and refrain from abusing proximity for unlawful and unethical ends. Members should ensure that all advisory content generated and produced by the PAC is the property of His Excellency the President, who assumes automatic copyright (Office of the President and Cabinet 2019). Having been part of these PAC ethics, Munyeza did not withdraw his name in retaliation for being associated with the PAC and its ethics. The rules that govern the PAC are so clear that one wonders why Munyeza decided to be a prodigal son in a family that he had been entrusted to join. The question that one struggles to answer is: Why did Munyeza decide to violate the ethics of being nonpartisan, honest, and sincere, and why did he not declare his interest and recuse himself from the PAC whose values and ethos are contra his conviction? In the absence of clear justification, it makes more sense to argue that Munyeza rides on the colonial vantage to confuse people to follow his contra-government ideas, which do not benefit them as the less privileged of the society.

 

Munyeza's Anti-government Antics

On May 11, 2020, "President Emmerson Mnangagwa' s co-advisor, Shingi Munyeza, in a no-holds-barred church sermon, described the current government as oppressive, corrupt, and inhumane" (Tapfumaneyi 2020). In his sermon, Munyeza reiterated that:

Enough is enough. The occult cannot continue to subject, abuse, and oppress us as a people anymore because God wants to deliver us as a nation. At a national level, Zimbabwe has been ruled by a toxic and oppressive political system. Zimbabweans were going to rise into a mighty army of God against the ruthless, oppressive, corrupt, inhumane, and brutal systems in our time, particularly in our nation. ... They (the government) have no point of return because they are satanic and go into self-destruction. They do not think that the day will end so they continue forward to self-destroy. (Tapfumaneyi 2020).

Although Munyeza did not specifically mention the names of those whom he described as oppressive, corrupt, and inhumane, he went further to proclaim that he did not foresee the oppressors repenting but would instead go into self-destruction (Tapfumaneyi 2020). For Munyeza, the government officials are agents who have no heart to repent, no desire of remorse, and yet God, in his wisdom, is going to use the same thing that they think they got to self-destroy themselves. In his eisegetical preaching, Munyeza cited the biblical reference to Pharaoh in Egypt, whom he described as arrogant and did not see that this system was about to end when Moses arrived on the scene. Munyeza repeatedly mentioned:

These people do not repent. In our situation, they are unlikely to repent because they see themselves as invisible. They sit on all mighty power. They are demigods. But God is going to turn the tables around. We have the same system prevailing even in our time, in our nation, we have an Egyptian system, and we have the Egyptians of our time. Even our singer Winky D once sang Egipita, which is a cry of a society that knows bondage, which is a cry of communities that have suffered immensely under a system of subjugation, brutality and oppression and corruption, and lack of leadership to take them out of their squalor and poverty. (Tapfumaneyi 2020)

Munyeza further wished the government officials a bad ending as he claimed:

... I am praying that the strong men and the strong women who have sustained evil and brutality will fall on their swords like what Saul did. I would like to say to these strong men and strong women who have sustained evil strongholds in our country; they must hang on their gallows. The gallows they prepared for others. Those who sustain oppressive methods cannot repent so they always fall on their sword. (Tapfumaneyi 2020)

In one of his weekly broadcasts, Munyeza proclaimed that Zimbabweans should take charge in determining their future and stop outsourcing their destiny to corrupt and incompetent leadership (Bulawayo24 October 5, 2020a). Munyeza added:

Evil had been allowed to flourish in Zimbabwe and Africa because good men and women have chosen to say nothing. The real people who are supposed to be in authority do not end up being there. We have people who have risen to take power without the anointing, without the mandate that God has given, without the mandate that was given generationally that they should be where they are. They have taken advantage of a vacuum that was created, and they took power. If you look at the transitions in Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole, the reason we do not end up with the right people on the throne is because of fear and poverty. How did we end up with corrupt, brutal, and incapable people leading us in this era in our country? It is because the few good men run away, they preserve themselves and say politics is too dirty and run away from the palace, from the arena where politics are supposed to be played. Politics was about people's lives and must not be left in the hands of the cruel few. (Bulawayo24 October 5, 2020a)

Munyeza repeatedly used derogatory names to describe the government that he advises in public. He reiterated that "now we have brutal men and women, incompetent men and women, we have incapable men and women who occupy that same place or the vacuum that has been left. We need politics in good hands and the good men must do nothing and allow evil to flourish" (Bulawayo24 October 5, 2020a). In his political utterances that he proclaimed by using the pulpit, Munyeza was so naïve that his approach led one to the question: What is the integrity of a PAC member who had free access to the president not only as a council member but also as a cleric to advise the head of state and government?

In all the internal attacks that Munyeza made on the government, there were no attempts by the same government to publicly challenge him to be respectful to the man who had appointed him. The Bulawayo24 of August 31, 2020b, had a heading, Shingi Munyeza at it again. The phrase "at it again" demonstrates that Munyeza had the propensity to attack the government. Munyeza accused President Mnangagwa of violating the Constitution and making the country unsafe for its citizens (Bulawayo24 August 31, 2020b). In his sermon, Munyeza said:

The Zimbabwean government was incapable of keeping its promises, a yardstick often used to measure successful nations. When you have a rogue leadership that does not comply with the Constitution, that means we are not safe. The leadership is also not safe from its own. The rogue system devoured itself. A godly nation must have a tradition of keeping its promises and fulfilling them. Building a godly nation is that we must have a tradition where promises are kept and fulfilled. (Bulawayo24 August 31, 2020b)

In June 2020, Munyeza accused the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) government of being evil, brutal, oppressive, and corrupt. He further claimed that the ZANU PF administration was being controlled by strong men and strong women who were only after personal and selfish gain. "The system is corrupt and has to be dismantled" (Ndoro 2020). On September 14, 2020, Munyeza further accused the government as corrupt. He was quoted as saying, "Zimbabwe's crisis is man-made" (Bulawayo24 September 14, 2020c). Munyeza was addressing the Zimbabwean crisis, which for him had been caused by undefined succession plans. In this message, he spoke as someone who wanted to see a country free from corruption, and yet he has many business empires in an ailing economy. In his denigration of corruption, he further pointed out that corruption starts at the top and makes everyone either culpable or complicit (Pindula April 27, 2020). For Munyeza, corruption in Zimbabwe starts with political elites, and the culture cascades down to the general populace. Munyeza's remarks were a response from one commentator, Pedzisai Ruhanya, who had applauded him for stating that corruption was already sinking Zimbabwe when coronavirus emerged. "At the heart of the rot is the party/state/military complex, hence the need to address leadership issues if the country's economic crisis is to be resolved" (Pindula April 27, 2020).

Munyeza's attack on the government was not well received by the youths who belonged to the ruling party. They confronted him and made allegations against Munyeza in an attempt to stop him from his machinations. Tapfumaneyi (2020) authored an article on how Munyeza was held hostage when he was meant to officiate the launch of the think-tank by the Zimbabwe Institute of Strategic Thinking. The youths accused Munyeza of several allegations, including his alliance with Norton Member of Parliament, and Temba Mliswa, who is known for being a critic of the president. The youths also accused Munyeza of "not paying them for managing his social media platforms," an assignment they could not confirm when Munyeza was interrogated (Bulawayo24 August 26, 2020d). The youths succeeded in harassing Munyeza until they forced him out of the meeting, leaving fellow businessperson Nigel Chanakira and others to address the gathering (Bulawayo24 August 26, 2020d). In his remarks on the incident, Munyeza mentioned:

I call it an occult system and it is an orchestrated move to try and muzzle me. It is an orchestrated move to try and raise fear and to take away my freedoms and rights. I will not relent, I am not deterred, and I remain resolute. A rogue system is running this country. What people have not realized is what I have been saying. There is no respect for freedoms, there is no respect for rights, so today was such a day where I was stopped from addressing a political gathering. I am very fully aware of it, and I am cognizant of it, but it is what it is, we have a rogue system. (Bulawayo24 August 26, 2020d)

From the incidents referenced above, it can be seen that Munyeza insists that he is being threatened and dragged by a cruel government that does not respect freedom of expression. It is surprising that an individual who was given all the freedom to talk to the president one-on-one (as a cleric and a member of the PAC) still dares to publicly criticise the statesman. This kind of inconsistency makes one argue that Munyeza is a "friend at night and an enemy of the state during the day" for the reasons best known to him and the government that allows him to spread his tentacles against them. Munyeza went further to mention that "freedoms and rights are never negotiated with the oppressor. Diverse strategies must be implemented until everyone is free. Territory taken must never be relinquished" (Bulawayo24 August 26, 2020d). In one of his sermons, Munyeza scoffed, "We have a crisis. The system has gone rogue and cancerous. They cannot provide, protect, or prosper citizens. They are like cancerous cells which will destroy the body. Zimbabwe has come under the global radar over alleged gross human rights abuses that have seen journalists, activists, ordinary citizens, and lawyers being harassed one way or the other" (Bulawayo24 August 26, 2020d).

Although Munyeza's prophetic voice is loud and vocal, one would expect him to resign from being a member of the rogue and cancerous government, a statement of resignation that he never mentions. It is also surprising that when the Catholic Bishops wrote a statement addressing the ills that the government was doing, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Hon. Monica Mutsvangwa, described them as "genocidal and evil-minded bishops pursuing a wrong path of bygone, petty tribalism, narrow regionalism and the debunked and defeated racial antagonism" (Bulawayo24 August 26, 2020d). Mutsvangwa added that the bishops' evil message resonated with all the vices that have perennially hobbled the progress of Africa. She further sarcastically invited Catholic Bishops to enter the political arena rather than challenging the politicians. In contrast, Mutsvangwa never said a word to reprimand Munyeza.

On 24 and 26 August 2020, Munyeza used the word rogue repeatedly to scoff at the government. On 24 August, he said, "When you have a leadership that does not submit to anything, it is rogue, it becomes a pariah and a law unto itself and self-destructive ultimately. All rogue nations that do not submit to a Godly order of preservation of dignity and respect for human life always implode or explode" (Bulawayo24 August 24, 2020f). Instead of whispering in the ears of the President, as is expected from him as a member of the PAC, Munyeza has been raving and ranting against the government on social media platforms(Goba 2020). Munyeza further argued that:

President Mnangagwa's leadership was only interested in retaining power but spent most of its time consulting occults instead of resolving the country's economic challenges. We need a leader in this nation who says enough is enough. A leader who does not consult the occult to destroy people's lives. ... People go to consult the occult so that they can steal more from the country's coffers. People go to consult the occult so that they can kill because they want to sustain power. People go to consult the occult because they want to retain power at all costs. The things that are happening in this country you do not understand because it comes from the occult. It has no reason, it has no common sense. ... Our political leaders treat the church as a token to endorse their power quest. At the core of their hearts, they are not even Christians. They do not even know what it means to be a Christian. This is why we have 85% Christians but there is decay and this is a disaster when political leaders are going to church by day and by night, they are consulting the occult. We have a bad toxic political environment with bad leadership across the board. Zimbabwe is in politically bad shape and only God can bring redemption to us. (Bulawayo24 August 20, 2020e)

After preaching one of his online sermons, President Mnangagwa's spokesperson, George Charamba, responded by saying, "Like I keep telling people, nothing is easier than crafting a homily! If it were not so, the Good Samaritan would have been the best economist!" (Bulawayo24 April 20, 2020f). It is not clear what exactly Charamba was trying to express, but it can be argued that he reprimanded Munyeza without condemning him. The Former Minister of Information, Prof. Jonathan Moyo, also claimed that Munyeza was "a junta, spy, and Criminal Investigation Officer Operative" (Ndoro 2020). In one of his Twitter handle messages on April 20, 2019, Moyo labelled Munyeza as a shameless lying pastor who is a failed businessperson (Ndoro 2019).

Munyeza once posted on his Twitter handle @ShingiMunyeza, saying, "The nation would soon see the toxic political system dismantling itself, devouring itself to a point where it self-destroys because God wants to raise a new order" (Mhlanga 2020). When the Information Permanent Secretary, Ndavaningi Mangwana, was contacted for comment on Munyeza's hard talk, he said, "We are not in the business of interpreting sermons. The pastor was preaching and we view it as the Word of God. If they want politics, they will come out in the open and say we are now talking politics. That is when we will respond. So let those who preach go ahead and preach" (Mhlanga 2020). The presidential spokesperson, George Charamba, also challenged Munyeza to step down from Zimpapers, where he was a board member. Charamba mentioned that Munyeza is paid sitting allowances handsomely on the boards, and yet he is attacking the president (New Zimbabwe July 8, 2020). In his retaliation, Munyeza accused Charamba of double standards. In retaliation, Charamba accused Munyeza of being an appendage of the United States of America, pushing the agenda of the superpower (Moyo 2020). Charamba publicly called on Munyeza to resign from the PAC if he was unhappy with the direction the government was taking. In response, Munyeza boasted that he would continue to serve until he was fired from the PAC by the president (Moyo 2020). Zindoga (2020) cited Munyeza as saying:

... the government has been a force of repression, plunder, and decay, ensuring that Zimbabwe has progressively been in terminal decline, bucking the global trends of massive development and exponential growth in the last 40 years for once lesser economies. . Zimbabwe has become the sick man of the Southern Africa Development Community region, a material fact of the economy and how the unstable political conditions have flashed red lights of danger within regional boardrooms. (Zindoga 2020)

The Tweet posted by Munyeza attracted a lot of comments from social media users. One, identified as L. Makombe, said, "Man of God should give guidance to the politicians, should not operate liquor outlets and should not be a person full of anger." Makombe agreed with Mangwana that politicians could not interpret sermons, and neither should "Man of God" use the pulpit for politics. "Only time will tell." Another commentator, Tinowaziwa, questioned why Munyeza is still in the PAC. Tawanda Mpambwa said, "Yes, this seems to be a betrayal of the highest order because one can argue that he is part of the very system he is criticising so this does not make sense at all. He wants to gain cheap political mileage, ngaatibvire apo!! (Get away)." After the third commentator, comments were closed. In one of his sermons, Munyeza said the time for Zimbabwe's suffering is over. "We took a wrong turn in November 2017 when we removed President Mugabe. We went for expediency instead of posterity. God's time was not yet up so we have wondered in the wilderness. Now it is 40 years and God's time is up. We cannot use the same stereotypes for our deliverance" (The Zimbabwe Mail May 25, 2020). Dube (2020) warns that there is always a price to pay when religious leaders become regime enablers.

 

A Decolonial Critique of Munyeza's Enabling Politics Antics

From the arguments raised in this paper, we note that Munyeza's dual position of enabler and resistor is informed by his balance between the coloniser and the decolonised. On the one hand, the enabler/coloniser role is proven by his role in the government departments as a board and PAC member. On the other hand, Munyeza's role as resistor/de-coloniser is an attempt to challenge the government in public as evil, rogue, and corrupt, and yet he remains a beneficiary in the government systems. As a government enabler, Munyeza had been appointed to the government departments as a board member, but there was never a time when he attacked the boards that he had been serving. One can argue that his appointment to many government boards demonstrates that he has proved to be an effective regime enabler.

Second, when Munyeza was attacking the government that appointed him to be in the PAC, there was no official word from the government to reprimand him. Instead, the minister of information attacked the Catholic bishops and said nothing about Munyeza, who openly used and abused the pulpit to cherry-pick some biblical verses and eisegete them to cover his colonial mentality.

Third, Munyeza repeatedly used derogatory terms such as corrupt, rogue, rotten, and inhumane to discredit the government. Unfortunately, he has never pronounced his intentions to quit from different board memberships and advisory roles, or promised to transform the so-called rotten government from within. This conflicting role suggests that Munyeza is a pure government enabler, acting on the colonial ticket during the night. However, when he feels that the colonial role is becoming more pronounced, he goes to the pulpit during the day to denounce the government as decolonised. As noted in the reaction of Hon Monica Mutsvangwa to the Catholic bishops, it cannot be justified why she could not also reprimand Munyeza. This selective role of the government minister on the conflicting role of the cleric (as both government enabler and disabler) presents more questions than answers to exonerate Munyeza from being a coloniser puppet, using the clerical position to purport himself as a decolonised champion.

Fourth, as a cleric and a member of the PAC, Munyeza had an opportunity to visit the president any time to advise, counsel, pray with and for the president, whisper to him, or even reprimand him on political and socioeconomic challenges that have seen most Zimbabweans living like slaves in a postcolonial country. It is not clear why Munyeza chose to shout on the rooftop something that he could have said behind closed doors. With this analysis, it is, therefore, important to argue that Munyeza's position as regime enabler and resistor oscillates between the coloniser mentality and decolonised roleplay.

The decolonial theory makes us understand how the coloniser undervalued and dehumanised the imagination and the mind of Indigenous people (Seroto 2018, 2). Munyeza has abused the trust he got from both the government and the Zimbabwean populace. He has further devaluated the decolonial right of individuals who listen to his talks, because he utters from a colonial corner as if he is supporting the colonised, and yet his behaviour demonstrates a friend of the regime at night and an enemy of the same regime during the day. Munyeza's dual life of regime enabler and resistor does not demonstrate his genuineness as a de-coloniser who aims to resist the government, but as an enabler who sings for his dinner.

Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2013) argues that institutions such as schools, colleges, universities, and churches are continually reproducing coloniality. Munyeza is a case in point. As a clergy, he is right to denounce the ills of the government; however, his genuineness to attack the colonial powers is compromised by the colonial mentality and life that he leads. As argued earlier, Munyeza only started to attack the government when he was appointed a member of the PAC, and one can argue this to be baited to attract the decolonised, forcing them to view him as one of them. Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2013) calls for a radical move to decolonise the minds of Africans who support colonialism, pronouncing it as a decolonial theme. The coloniser distorts the history of the colonised, slaughters their knowledge systems, and empties their heads of self-confidence and their hearts of the emotional stamina to live without colonial domination.

Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2013, 10) cautions that Africans must be vigilant against this trap of ending up normalising and universalising coloniality as a natural state of the world. The behaviour of these religious leaders must be unmasked, resisted, and challenged because it produces a world order that can only be sustained through a combination of violence, deceit, hypocrisy and lies.

 

Conclusion

To conclude this debate, religious leaders in the pre-Mnangagwa and during the late President Robert Mugabe's era had always been standing as either regime enablers or regime resistors (Dube 2020). The two roles continued in the second republic led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Although most religious leaders choose to be either regime enablers or regime resistors, Shingi Munyeza has positioned himself as both regime enabler and regime resistor. As a regime enabler, Munyeza sits on several boards, including Zimpapers, that are appointed by the state president. President Mnangagwa went further to appoint him to his Presidential Advisory Council. After the appointment, the entrusted cleric presented himself as a regime resistor using the Bible to publicly castigate the government of the man who had handpicked him as an advisor.

The paper contends that Munyeza is not a regime resistor, but a regime enabler who works for his gains. Munyeza uses the colonial tactic to present himself as a champion of decoloniality, thereby compromising his position as both a businessperson and a cleric. The decolonial theory used in this paper unveiled that he is a religious leader who can function as both a coloniser and decoloniser without compromising the principles of clericalism, which include advocating for justice. This decolonial engagement also concluded that the dual role of regime enabler and/or resistor is not possible unless one is a "friend at night and an enemy during the day. "

 

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1 Zimpapers is a media firm that publishes Zimbabwean daily newspapers like The Herald, The Chronicle, B-Metro and H-Metro, The Sunday Mail, The Sunday News, Manica Post, Southern Times, and the two newspapers' vernacular, namely Kwayedza in Shona, and Umthunywa in Ndebele. The company also owns a radio station called Star FM (Kabweza 2017).