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The Conflict with Renamo, 1976-1992
«August 1990»
Dossier MZ-0020
126. Rightwing Christian Group
Denies Renamo Connection
Above: The connection between Renamo and Jimmy Swaggart ministries was well established even in the 1980s. The photograph, taken in September 1985 in a captured Renamo base, shows a pile of religious books and pamphlets, including O Baptismo no Espírito Santo by Swaggart himself, and O Mais Importante e o Amor. Photo: Kok Nam.
A Christian welfare organisation in Zimbabwe – Childcare Ministries – was forced in August to deny that it maintained connections to Renamo through one of its donors, the US-based Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, which had in fact been associated with support for the rebels since the mid-1980s. Another right-wing Christian group, Shekinah Ministries, was also associated with activities in support of Renamo. Childcare Ministries operated mainly in Chipinde, and claimed that "all these rumours do is just make it more difficult for us". Swaggart (b.1935) was a gifted musician and a successful North American televangelist, but after a series of scandals in the late 1980s and early 1990s involving prostitutes his influence waned; he was still active on a small scale at the time of writing this post (June 2020).
Attacks and raids by Renamo included an attack on a train carrying migrant mine-workers from Ressano Garcia; a raid in Nyanga in Zimbabwe in which two people were killed; and another attack on a centre for displaced persons in Cutuche in Nampula province.
Consolidated Downloadable Zipped Files
Click on the yellow folder image below to download an unsorted zipped archive of documents and press clippings in PDF format concerning the armed conflict between Renamo/MNR and the Mozambican government in August 1990.
