A ‘decolonisation project’ that went awry A Missio-Ecclesiological interrogation of the Anglican Diocese of Harare during Bishop Nolbert Kunonga’s episcopacy: 2001–2007

Abstract

The appointment of Rt. Rev. Dr. Nolbert Kunonga to the office of Bishop of the Diocese of Harare left the diocese at the crossroads where two possibilities were beckoning. There was the possibility of decolonising a diocese that had been a racist bastion for over a century or leading the diocese along a new trajectory of transformation. The purpose of this article is to interrogate the role and contribution of Bishop Kunonga in bringing about transformation to the Anglican diocese of Harare. Our main contention is that Kunonga failed to bring transformation and decolonisation because of a lack of vision, flagrant disregard for process and procedure, and dismal failure to follow and apply ethical leadership. However, he was excommunicated from the Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) because he had unilaterally withdrawn from it out of poor judgement.