Botswana: Zion Christian Church Leader Visits Botswana As Infighting Threatens to Tear Church Apart

Two warring factions have claimed legitimacy as the true St Engenas Zion Christian Church in Botswana, with one, until recently, legally registered and the other with close ties to the leadership in Moria, Limpopo.

A fierce leadership battle between two factions of the St Engenas Zion Christian Church (ZCC) within Botswana prompted the church's spiritual head to visit the country earlier this month.

St Engenas ZCC's leader Bishop Dr Joseph Engenas Lekganyane and his entourage would not answer questions, despite this reporter staking out the meeting venue at the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs offices in Gaborone. Lekganyane's bodyguards eventually ordered the reporter to leave.

But it is understood that his visit to Botswana on 14 May was in response to the heating up of a decades-old church feud, which has pitted leaders and congregants against one another. Lekganyane met President Duma Gideon Boko, Minister of Labour and Home Affairs Pius Mokgware and representatives from both warring factions.

Both factions claim legitimacy as the true St Engenas ZCC in Botswana, and each controls several church branches in the country to underscore that claim.

One faction claims legitimacy because, until recently, it controlled the legally registered and recognised entity in...

Read the full story on Daily Maverick.

Copyright © 2025 Daily Maverick. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.