Canaan Banana
| Canaan Banana | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 1st President of Zimbabwe | |
|
In office 18 April 1980 – 31 December 1987 |
|
| Prime Minister | Robert Mugabe |
| Preceded by |
Josiah Gumede (Zimbabwe Rhodesia) |
| Succeeded by | Robert Mugabe |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Canaan Sodindo Banana 5 March 1936 Essexvale, Southern Rhodesia (modern-day Esigodini, Zimbabwe) |
| Died | 10 November 2003 (aged 67) London, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | Zimbabwean |
| Political party | ZANU |
| Spouse(s) | Janet Banana |
| Children | Michael Thabo Nathan Sipho Martin Mhambi Salaam Nobuhle Banana |
| Occupation | Clergyman, Politician |
| Religion | Methodism |
Canaan Sodindo Banana (5 March 1936 – 10 November 2003) served as the first President of Zimbabwe from 18 April 1980 until 31 December 1987. A Methodist minister, he held the largely ceremonial office of the presidency while his eventual successor, Robert Mugabe, served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.
During his lifetime, Banana brought together two of the country's political parties, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), became a diplomat for the Organisation of African Unity, and headed the religious department of the University of Zimbabwe. His later life was complicated by charges of sodomy—a crime in Zimbabwe—which he denied and for which he was later imprisoned.
Banana was born in 1936 in Esiphezini Communal Area, near Essexvale (now Esigodini), Southern Rhodesia. His parents were a Ndebele-cultured mother and a Sotho father who had emigrated to Rhodesia. He was educated by missionaries in a local school and later studied at a teacher training institute.
He married Janet Mbuyazwe in 1961, and they had four children together, Michael Thabo, Nathan Sipho, Martin Mhambi Salaam and Nobuhle Beauty. He took a diploma in theology at Epworth Theological College in Salisbury and was ordained as a United Methodist minister in 1962. He was a student at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. in 1974 and 1975. Becoming involved in politics, he denounced Ian Smith's practices as a prime minister, took part in the rising transnational black liberation ideo-religious movements, and came to be vice-president of the African National Council.
...
Wikipedia