Theology is the study of religious belief and the nature of divinity. It’s an academic discipline that’s taught in universities and seminaries. It concentrates on the nature of God, the Bible and religious traditions.

Liberation Theology is a movement in Christian theology, developed mainly by Latin American Roman Catholics, which attempts to address the problems of poverty and social injustice as well as spiritual matters.

Gustavo Gutiérrez,  Peruvian theologian and priest, is considered the father of liberation theology. He believed and preached that the church in Latin America was different from that in Europe and that it should be actively engaged in improving the lives of the poor. 

In order to build this church, they established communidades de base, (“base communities”), which were local Christian groups, composed of 10 to 30 members each, that studied the Bible and attempted to meet their parishioners’ immediate needs for food, water, sewage disposal, and electricity. A great number of base communities, led mostly by laypersons, sprang into being throughout Latin America.

The question is: Was Liberation Theology successful in its mission?

Well, while Liberation Theology significantly impacted social and political movements in Latin America, particularly by mobilising marginalised populations and advocating for their rights, it is generally considered not to have fully achieved its mission due to strong opposition from the Vatican, the rise of alternative religious movements such as Pentecostalism and the changing political landscape in the region, which often limited its ability to achieve radical systemic change.

However, its legacy continues to influence Catholic social teaching, especially under Pope Francis who is a Latino from Argentina.

Pope Francis has incorporated aspects of liberation theology into his teachings, which is a progressive Catholic movement that advocates for social change. Pope Francis described his papal name as pointing to what he wants to emulate in Saint Francis of Assisi: to have a poor church for the poor, to always go out to the margins, and to show concern for the natural environment.

African Liberation Theology took root in South Africa long before Pope Francis ascended to the throne (e.g. Walshe, 1987). However, the most visible liberation theologist was not a Catholic but Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu, an Anglican bishop and the first Black Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town. He was also the first Black Anglican Dean of Johannesburg and Bishop of Johannesburg. He was a prominent anti-apartheid activist in South Africa. However, under the papacy of Pope Francis, African Liberation Theology has become more entrenched.

“Liberation theology in Africa” refers to a theological movement that seeks to interpret the Christian faith through the lens of the experiences of oppressed African people, focusing on actively working towards social and political liberation from injustices like colonialism, neocolonialism, domination, occupation, corruption, robbery of people’s land and land-based resources, poverty, and economic exploitation, population dispossession and displacement, human trafficking, modern slavery, dictatorship, discrimination and capture of state power by refugees. Thus, the theme for African Liberation Theology has always been about concerns for the marginalised masses and socio-political liberation for the economically disadvantaged (Barg, 2023).

Nnoruga James has explored Igwebuike as a key principle in African Liberation Theology towards the total liberation of Africa even from its horde of undemocratic, oppressive, exploitative regimes.

Accordingly, the liberation theologists read the Bible as a call to fight for the liberation of the marginalised in African societies. Thus, African Liberation Theology is often considered a response to the continent’s historical and ongoing struggles with oppression, repression, suppression, inequality, environmental destruction and bad governance characterised by the use of the gun as a central tool in governance.

In Uganda there is no coherent theology of liberation. However, Kanyike (1987) suggested that in Uganda, the church needs to play its part in the struggle for human freedom. As part of its mission, the church must launch a campaign for ‘deprivatising’ the message, for if theology wants to serve its purpose of making the liberating message of christ relevant, it has to reach men in their societal existence. Harold Acemah (2018) advanced a thought process towards a theology of liberation in Uganda. However, what we have been treated to are isolated liberation messages by individual clerics such as the late Catholic Archbishop Dr Lwanga Cypriano and certain isolated priests of the Catholic.  We are yet to see the church institutionalising Liberation theology. On the whole church of Uganda Clergy has kept itself aloof of African liberation theology, preferring to consort with the oppressor to and to feed from his hand.

Recently the Archbishop of church of Uganda, Dr Kazimba-Mugalu, instead appealed to restive youth struggling to make life livable not to confront the oppressor. Some pro-regime churches such as that of Pastor Bugingo, have openly expressed undiluted support of the regime in power and for hereditary inheritance of the presidency of Uganda. They never publicly advice the President when he does wrong or condemn the military and police when they physically abuse Ugandans with guns.

We are yet to see either the Bishops of Church of Uganda or the Catholic Church of Uganda collectively challenging power the way the Catholic Bishops in Zimbabwe have when President Emmerson Mnangangwa’s Party Zanu-PF passed a resolution to extend his term of office by 2 years beyond 2028. They warned the president that the debate over a campaign to extend his term in office was plunging into deeper economic and political problems. In fact, the ruling party of Zimbabwe planned to push Mnangagwa’s presidency for a third term, which the catholic church does not agree with. In Uganda, the ruling party, NRM, has since 1996 endorsed President Tibuhaburwa Museveni’s sole candidacy for President in every election and extended his presidential terms 6 times.

At all times, the bishops have chosen conspiracy of silence as they continue to receive vehicles from the president since early 1990s for their comfort and movement. That is despite the fact that prominent Ugandans such as Prof George Wison Kanyeihamba (Muhamadi Matovu) and Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (The Independent, 2019) have asked them to speak against human rights violations in Uganda.

Instead of condemning poverty as a human rights violation they exploit the poor with promises of going to heaven after this physical life.

Although I have concentrated on Christian African Liberation Theology, citing examples from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Uganda, it is absolutely important that a liberation theology is formulated across all religious strata including Islam. Hassan Ndlovu (2019) called for the articulation of jihadi ideology as a deliberate recourse by sections of Muslims in Kenya to formulate their political discourse in religious terms. In other words, he was calling for the formulation of a Liberation Theology in the face of secular power.

He was more or less responding to Kanyike’s (1989) “The Theology of Liberation in the Ugandan Context” and Harold Acemoh’s (2019) “Towards a Theology of Liberation” from the Kenya Muslim perspective.

Total Liberation of Our African countries will begin to take shape when our religious leaders accept that they have a central role to play in forging political, economic, social, cultural, environmental, ecological and spiritual liberation via a coherent African Liberation Theology. In Uganda, the Inter-Religious Council should be committed to building a Ugandan Liberation Theology as an integral aspect of African Liberation Theology. Liberation Theology African style indeed! (Allen Jr, 2009). Thus, spiritual growth and development should be part of, not apart from, liberation theology for meaningful and effective liberation of Africa in general and Uganda in particular. It is ideal because it does not involve guns and blood letting.  Guns and blood letting is not liberation.

For God and my country

• A Tell report / By Oweyegha-Afunaduula / Environmental Historian and Conservationist Centre for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis (CCTAA), Seeta, Mukono, Uganda.

About the Centre for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis (CCTAA)

The CCTAA was innovated by Hyuha Mukwanason, Oweyegha-Afunaduula and Mahir Balunywa in 2019 to the rising decline in the capacity of graduates in Uganda and beyond to engage in critical thinking and reason coherently besides excellence in academics and academic production. The three scholars were convinced that after academic achievement the world outside the ivory tower needed graduates that can think critically and reason coherently towards making society and the environment better for human gratification. They reasoned between themselves and reached the conclusion that disciplinary education did not only narrow the thinking and reasoning of those exposed to it but restricted the opportunity to excel in critical thinking and reasoning, which are the ultimate aim of education. They were dismayed by the truism that the products of disciplinary education find it difficult to tick outside the boundaries of their disciplines; that when they provide solutions to problems that do not recognise the artificial boundaries between knowledges, their solutions become the new problems. They decided that the answer was a new and different medium of learning.

Further reading

Columbus Mavhunga (2025). Zimbabwe ruling Party to push for third term for President Mnangagwa. Voice of America, January 16 2025, https://www.voanews.com/a/zimbabwe-ruling-party-to-push-for-third-term-for-president-mnangagwa-/7939642.html

Gokova, J. (1999). Liberation and theology in Zimbabwe. Social Change and Development, Issue No. 48. September 1999: 15-16, 29. https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=Q00035311&DB=p Visited on 10 March 2025 at 12:14 pm EAT.

Harold Acemah (2018). Towards a Theology of Liberation. The Monitor, June 2 2018. https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/commentary/towards-a-theology-of-liberation-1759752 Visited on 10 March 2025 at 11:48 am EAT.

John L. Allen Jr (2009). Liberation Theology African Style. National Catholic Reporter, March 27 2009. https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/liberation-theology-african-style Visited on 10 March 2025 at 11:10 am EAT.

Kanyike, L. (1989). The Theology of Liberation in the Ugandan Context. The African Mind: The Journal of Religion and Philosophy in Africa, Vol 1 Issue1: 100-107. https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=089513118 Visited on 10 March 2025 at 11:52 am EAT.

Muhamadi Matovu (2023).  Professor Kanyeihamba urges religious leaders to speak against human rights violations. Nile Post 23 Feb 2023 https://nilepost.co.ug/news/154431/prof-kanyeihamba-urges-religious-leaders-to-speak-up-against-human-rights-violations Visited on 10 March 2025 at 12:51 EAT.

Ndzovu, H.J. (2018).. Kenya’s Jihadi Clerics: Formulation of a “Liberation Theology” and the Challenge to Secular Power. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 38, p.360–371. http://profiles.mu.ac.ke/ndzovu.hassan/ndzovu.hassan/publications/kenyas-jihadi-clerics-formulation-%E2%80%9Cliberation-theology%E2%80%9D-and-challenge Visited on 10 March 2025 at 13:09 pm EAT

Nnoruga James (?). Igwebuike: A key Principle in African Liberation Theology. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities, Vol. 6 No.9. https://www.igwebuikeresearchinstitute.org/journal/igwebuike_6_9_6.pdf visited on 10 March 2025 at 10:58 am EAT.

James N. Nnoruga and Casmire Osigwe (2023). African Liberation Theology: Its roles towards achieving authentic African life. Igwebuike, Vol 9 No. 4. https://www.acjol.org/index.php/iaajah/article/view/3771 Visited on 10 March 2025 at 11:25 am EAT

LaCroix International (2022). The Liberation Theology of Desmond Tutu. LaCroix International, January 7 2022. https://international.la-croix.com/news/religion/the-liberation-theology-of-desmund-tutu/15448 Visited on 10 March 2025 at 11:34 am EAT.

The East African (2025). Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Oppose Mnangagwa term extension. The East African, March 10 2025, https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/zimbabwe-catholic-bishops-oppose-mnangagwa-term-extension-4958080 Visited on 10 March 2025 at 12:20 pm EAT.

The Independent (2019). MP Kyagulanyi asks Church to speak out against human rights abuses. The Independent, October 28 2019, https://www.independent.co.ug/mp-kyagulanyi-asks-church-to-speak-out-against-human-rights-abuses/ Visited on 10 March 025 at 13:01 pm EAT.

Timothy Barga (2023). African liberation theology: agenda driven strategy for evangelisation in the Nigerian church. Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development. Vol. 6, No. 3, 2023. https://www.apas.africa/journal/JASSD_6.3.1.pdf Visited on 10 March 2025 at 10:37 am EAT.

Walshe, Peter (1987). The Evolution of Liberation Theology in South Africa. Journal of Law and Religion. Vol. 5, No. 2 (1987), pp. 299-311 (13 pages). Published By: Cambridge University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1051238 Visited on 10 March 2025 at 10:51 am EAT.