Canaan Banana
Canaan Sodindo Banana (born March 5, 1936 in Esiphezini , near Bulawayo , South Rhodesia , † November 10, 2003 in Fulham , London) was a Methodist pastor and from April 18, 1980 to December 31, 1987 the first President of Zimbabwe .
Life
Canaan Banana completed his theology diploma on ecumenical Epworth Theological College in Harare and was in 1962 ordained . He got involved in politics and became Vice President of the African National Council. When many members of the council were arrested in the late 1960s, Banana fled his family to the United States and did not return until 1975. Banana was arrested on his return and was released in 1979 under the Lancaster House Accord . He played a leading role in the union of the freedom movements ZANU and ZAPU , which was decisive for the agreement.
Banana became the first president under the new constitution. In 1982 a law was passed prohibiting any amusement regarding his name. Due to the transition from the parliamentary and presidential form of government in 1987, his office was taken over by Robert Mugabe . Banana became a diplomat for the Organization for African Unity and leader of the Religious Department of the University of Zimbabwe .
He was arrested for homosexuality in 1996 after allegations were made against him during the murder trial of his former bodyguard, Jephta Dube . Jephta shot his colleague Patrick Mashiri in 1995 because he allegedly could no longer stand his teasing about him being Canaan Banana's wife. The trial revealed that Banana had forced Jephta into passive anal intercourse and that this was not hidden from Jephta's colleagues either.
Banana was found guilty of 11 homosexuality, attempted homosexuality and sex crimes in 1998. He fled to South Africa on bail, believing Mugabe was planning to kill him. Mugabe had already started a campaign in 1991 in which he declared homosexuality to be un-African and claimed that homosexuality was an evil imported from the West that was responsible for the rapid spread of AIDS in Africa.
He returned to Zimbabwe in December 1998 after meeting Nelson Mandela and was sentenced to ten years in prison on January 18, 1999 and removed from the priesthood. After two years in prison, he was released and died of cancer on November 10, 2003 .
Banana married his wife Janet in 1961 and he had four children with her. In October 2000, his wife applied for asylum in the UK .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Global Ministries: United Theological College - Harare . at www.globalministries.org (English)
- ^ Daily Telegraph: Canaan Banana
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Banana, Canaan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Banana, Canaan Sodindo (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | first President of Zimbabwe |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 5, 1936 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Esiphezini , near Bulawayo , Southern Rhodesia |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 10, 2003 |
| Place of death | Fulham, London |