Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe mapAglow Leader: Eggrinah Kaliyati
National Board President

Capital: Harare

 Pray:

  • Violence has erupted following the presidential elections. Declare our God of all peace crushes the chaos. Declare order in the government and protection for the people.

Pray for Aglow:

  • Pray for Aglow in Zimbabwe to bring encouragement, hope and wisdom to people as they walk through the challenges of extreme change in the nation.
  • Pray for resources in Aglow to bring the good news of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit throughout the nation.

Proclaim:

  • Shall a nation be born at once? (Isaiah 66:8) We proclaim the birth of a new Zimbabwe! A nation that blesses God and blesses Israel is arising. A nation whose citizens are blessed with safety and the ability to flourish shall come forth.

Interesting Facts About Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe flagBackground:

A series of trading states developed in the area of Zimbabwe prior to the arrival of the first European explorers; the largest of these was the Kingdom of Zimbabwe (ca. 1220-1450). In the 1880s, European colonists arrived with the British South Africa Company (BSAC), which obtained mining rights and established company rule over the area. The southern portion of BSAC holdings were annexed by the UK in 1923 and became the British colony of Southern Rhodesia. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation’s first prime minister, was the country’s only ruler (as president since 1987) from independence until his resignation in November 2017. His chaotic land redistribution campaign, which began in 1997 and intensified after 2000, caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABE rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection.

In 2005, the capital city of Harare embarked on Operation Restore Order, ostensibly an urban rationalization program, which resulted in the destruction of the homes or businesses of 700,000 mostly poor supporters of the opposition. MUGABE in 2007 instituted price controls on all basic commodities causing panic buying and leaving store shelves empty for months. General elections in both 2008 and 2013 were severely flawed and widely condemned, but allowed MUGABE to remain president.

As a prerequisite to holding the 2013 election, Zimbabwe enacted a new constitution by referendum, although many provisions in the new constitution have yet to be codified in law. In November 2017, Vice President Emmerson MNANGAGWA took over following a military intervention that forced MUGABE to resign. MNANGAGWA was inaugurated president days later, promising to hold presidential elections in 2018. In July 2018, MNANGAGWA won the presidential election after a close contest with Movement for Democratic Change Alliance candidate Nelson CHAMISA. MNANGAGWA has since resorted to the government’s longstanding practice of violently disrupting protests or opposition rallies. Official inflation rates soared in 2019, approaching 500% by the end of the year. MUGABE died in September 2019.

Government Type: presidential republic

Population: 14,829,988 (July 2021 est.)

Ethnic Groups: African 99.4% (predominantly Shona; Ndebele is the second largest ethnic group), other 0.4%, unspecified 0.2% (2012 est.)

Languages: Shona (official; most widely spoken), Ndebele (official, second most widely spoken), English (official; traditionally used for official business), 13 minority languages (official; includes Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Shangani, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa)

Religions: Protestant 74.8% (includes Apostolic 37.5%, Pentecostal 21.8%, other 15.5%), Roman Catholic 7.3%, other Christian 5.3%, traditional 1.5%, Muslim 0.5%, other 0.1%, none 10.5% (2015 est.)

Interesting Facts information from the cia.gov website.  Read more about Zimbabwe

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