of civilians in Matabeleland and the Midlands provinces by troops who crushed a purported armed insurgency against his rule soon after independence (Sibanda 2011:8). Ncube's complaint is captured well in the following utterance: "... this government does not have the Holy Spirit and they know what I think of them. I am not going to let them off the hook. These men are liars. They are murderers. They are only working to make themselves rich" (Sibanda 2011:8).Mugabe responded by urging people to disregard church leaders who were calling for his forced ouster, accusing Ncube and other church leaders of peddling falsehoods about Zimbabwe's governance. Mugabe even questioned the moral authority of the clergy by accusing them of "sleeping around." The Church was branded a settler church with origins in the colonial era that backed Mugabe's opponents and western governments campaigning against Mugabe. By the end of the 1990s, Mugabe had begun courting African Initiated Churches (AICs) with whom he shared a strong indigenous outlook. Mugabe's intelligence network exposed Ncube's alleged womani-sing tendencies. Like Banana, Ncube was silenced when he had to resign from his position as archbishop. Once again, it had become clear that the prophetic mission in Zimbabwe (as elsewhere) was a costly one. Church and land: mapping out convergences and contestationsThe Church-State relations outlined above provide valuable insights into how Zimbabwean scholars in theology and religious studies responded to the land question. Mugabe's approach to the land issue brought Zimbabwe sharply into international focus. In 2000, following defeat during the referendum on the new constitution, war veterans (some far too young to have fought during the 1970s liberation struggle), ZANU PF militia, youth, military and intelligence officers and other actors moved to occupy farms that were formerly run by whiter farmers. It became known as the "Third Chimurenga" or the fast-track land reform programme. Mugabe's rhetoric on land was sharp, persuasive and consistent with black theology's emphasis on the empowerment of black people. Developing a peculiar theology of creation (where he argued that God settled different races in designated areas) and engaging in "presidential biblical hermeneutics," he charged that Christians had no choice but to accept the land reform programme that was under way. Addressing Catholic church leaders attending the Imbisa Plenary Assembly in Harare on 30 July 2001, Mugabe made it clear that if they were consistent, they had to endorse his actions. Mugabe (2001:34) proclaimed: And for you specifically as church leaders, you face one fundamental question: what are Christians supposed to do, nay expected to do, when they live under an unjust system which claims to be Christian, to be Godly? What do we tell God's oppressed children; what do we tell 'a purchased people'; what do we tell the widow, the needy, the fatherless, the landless? What form does Christian witness take in such circumstances? Together as one? Convergences between theologians and scholars of religion and Mugabe on the land questionMugabe and ZANU PF framed the "Third Chimurenga" as a social justice issue which was consistent with, for example, Catholic social teachings. Indeed, a form-critical analysis