Mnangagwa joins over 100 000 at ZCC Easter Conference

President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday joined an estimated 100 000 pilgrims at Mbungo Estates in Bikita, Masvingo Province, for the annual Easter conference of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC).

The event was hosted by church leader Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi and marked the culmination of the church's Easter celebrations, which draw large crowds from across Zimbabwe and beyond.

Mbungo Estates serves as a key spiritual centre for the ZCC Mutendi branch, which has deep historical roots in Zimbabwe's religious landscape. The church was founded in 1925 by Bishop Samuel Mutendi, father to the current leader Nehemiah Mutendi.

Samuel Mutendi, originally from the Zaka and Bikita areas, was raised in the Dutch Reformed Church before later joining the Zion Apostolic Faith Mission during his time as a migrant worker in Pretoria.

He later became one of the early figures in the Zion Christian movement, before establishing the Zimbabwean branch of the church in Bikita, developing it into a large and autonomous religious organisation with hundreds of thousands of followers.

Although historically linked to the wider Zion Christian Church tradition in Moria, the Zimbabwean ZCC evolved independently under Samuel Mutendi's leadership, maintaining its own structure and following.

The annual Easter gathering remains one of the country's largest religious events, blending worship, pilgrimage, and cultural fellowship, and continues to attract significant national attention, including visits from senior political leaders.