Law, Religion and Leadership in Africa

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Law, Religion and Leadership in Africa is written by F. Sibanda and published by African Sun Media. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 1991260881 (ISBN 10) and 9781991260888 (ISBN 13).

In Africa, some heads of state sometimes prefer to take their oath on the Bible or the Quran rather than on an ancestral law or a fearsome fetish capable of causing misery in the event of a violation. Thus, in order to build credible institutions that can guarantee socio-political and economic stability, it is desirable to resort to certain ancestral practices, in particular strict respect for customs. At this level of our reflection, it seems useless for Africans to reinvent the wheel; rather, we must look in the rearview mirror in order to exalt the pre-colonial instruments capable of unravelling the invisible mystery of these societies. In this same dynamic, the ancestral law, because of its historical and charismatic legitimacy, imposes strict respect for the cosmic order. Komoé Guy-Roland Kossonou Assistant Professor, Legal, Administrative and Management Sciences Training and Research Unit (UFR-SJAG) Alassane Ouattara University, Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire There is no way the church leadership can ignore such issues, which affect their people daily, and only talk about the future kingdom to come. Both the sacred and the secular kingdoms are important matters in the life of people in every community, hence religious and political leaders should strive to resolve their conflicts because people look up to them for spiritual and political leadership. When political leaders tell religious leaders to stick to preaching the gospel and not involve themselves in the political affairs of the country, it silences the church’s ability to speak for the poor. Upendo Mwakasenga Ordained minister, United Church of Zambia; Doctoral student in systematic theology, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal Even today, religio-cultural beliefs inform the way the youths are viewed within Zimbabwe’s political circles. Such beliefs infantilize young people and disempower them from effective political participation. In most cases, this role is postponed into the future. The existing political structures and regimes exploit youth to expend their energies as political and military foot soldiers for the political elite, but they are not being mentored to be prepared for positions of leadership. . . It, therefore, becomes crucial to question the maxim “the future is young”, which seems to procrastinate youth political leadership in Zimbabwe. Molly Manyonganise Senior Lecturer, Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy, Zimbabwe Open University Ultimately, God provides and heals, but the fisherman must still cast his net, the farmer must still till the soil and the doctor must still administer medication. It is no different in matters of governance, military warfare, or institution building. Personal piety is inconsequential to the empirical workings of the world, but it may weigh on the scales in the hereafter. The Brotherhood’s fatalism blinds them to the worldly instruments needed to govern a nation. Study and experience in economic policy and statecraft cannot be replaced with saintly endeavours, such as worship and charity. Nabil Yasien Mohamed Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Department of Religion and Theology, University of the Western Cape