Interrogating the Rationale behind the Deportation of Missionaries from Rhodesia: A Case of Colonial Paranoia (1964–1979)

The study focuses on the complex interplay between colonial powers, religious actors, and the struggle for social justice and racial equality in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) under the government of Ian Douglas Smith (1964-79). The study uses a postcolonial lens to explore the influence, motivation, and responses of colonial administrators towards missionary actors towards African nationalism and African political struggles. This historical narrative shapes church interactions in politics and economics in view of missionary advocacy and the legacy of African nationalism and its transition beyond that time. This fulfils the study objective, which is to investigate the contribution and impact of the targeted missionaries in creating a just, multi-racial and democratic Zimbabwe. The study examines five prominent missionaries who were targeted by the colonial government and deported out of Rhodesia. They include Bishop Ralph Edward Dodge (1907–2008) and Arthur Guy Clutton-Brock (1906–1995). Fr Michael Traber (SMB) (1929–2006), Sr. Janice McLaughlin (1941–2020), and Bishop Donal Raymond Lamont (O. Carm) (1911–2003). This study showcases the impact of missionaries on Zimbabwe’s ecclesiastical historiography.