Masowe Migration: A Quest for Liberation in the African Diaspora

Abstract This article shows how the Shona‐speaking prophet Johane Masowe (1914–1973) adapted Christianity to the difficult human conditions that forced him and his followers to migrate from Zimbabwe during the economic depression of the 1930s. It suggests that the prophet Johane constructs a distinctly African theology of liberation by using the Exodus as symbolic language expressive of human suffering and hope for the redemption of African victims of oppression. The Exodus is used to legitimate Johane's migration from his rural home, Gandanzara, to Harare, Bulawayo and across the border to different cities in southern, central, and east Africa where Masowe Apostles are found today. This article goes beyond the analysis of texts that theologians traditionally use to explain Christianity, to the lived experiences of people addressing problems of displacement through migratory behavior.