Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Anna Chibamu – THE Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) secretary-general Kenneth Mtata has been shortlisted for the position of general secretary at the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
Mtata, a reverend at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe was shortlisted for the top post together with Anne Burghardt from Estonia.
A statement released by LWF said the election for the influential position will take place on 19 June 2021.
“Rev. Anne Burghardt and Rev. Dr. Kenneth Mtata are candidates for next LWF general-secretary position. Election to take place on 19 June. Candidates from Estonia and Zimbabwe have been proposed for the position of general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation,” it said in a statement.
“The search for a new leader of the communion of churches has been concluded and the LWF Council will elect the next general secretary on 19 June.
“The chair of the committee, Canadian Bishop Susan Johnson, informed LWF President Archbishop Dr. Panti Filibus Musa that the committee has concluded its work and is proposing these two candidates for election.
“Johnson commended both candidates for their leadership skills, pastoral sensitivity, and wide experience of the global communion of 148 member churches.
“Now it is up to the Council to discern and decide who will lead the LWF communion over the coming years,” said Bishop Johnson.
Mtata has made several unsuccessful attempts to promote dialogue between Zanu PF’s Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa of the opposition MDC Alliance, including other interested parties.
However, the government has accused him of propagating a ‘Regime Change Agenda’.
Mtata holds a PhD in theology from the University of KwaZulu Natal where he once taught theology at undergraduate and post-graduate programmes and also at Fachhochschule für Interkulturelle Theologie in Germany. He has also been a visiting scholar in Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, the United States, and Sweden.
He was born on November 17, 1971, in Mberengwa.
