Dwight Mutonono is the executive director at Africa Leadership and Management Academy (ALMA) in Harare, Zimbabwe. During his many years as a pastor, administrator and educator in Zimbabwe he has witnessed many abuses of power which have strengthened his commitment to the importance of stewardship. His book, Stewards of Power: Restoring Africa’s Dignity, was recently published by HippoBooks, an imprint of Langham Publishing.
Dwight Mutonono’s Early Years
“I was born in 1966 in Harare. The firstborn in a family of three children but also part of the larger family that my mother and father inherited after my grandfather passed away. He left a family of eight but there was a gap of ten years between my dad and the next brother. This happened when my dad was twenty-four, just married, and I was in my mother’s womb (she was twenty-three). So strictly speaking if you count my uncles and aunts we were a family of ten children. My dad had a clerical job, records keeping, at Air Zimbabwe and my mother was a nurse. They worked incredibly hard to bring all of us up. My parents wanted to give us the best education they could so from primary school they sent us (the three children) to multi-racial schools. I distinctly remember them selling the only family car we had in order to get me into high school. We spent some years without a car.
Black people used to live in the poorer areas of the city, they were called townships or high density areas. White people lived in the suburbs or low density areas. Because I went to multi-racial schools for most of my school years I grew up not quite fitting in the environments around me. At home the other children saw me as the elite kid who was going to white schools. I was the most privileged and I learnt to live with the envious attitudes from others and the sense of not quite belonging that goes with that. I had the same experience at school. This time it was the flipside of the socio-economic dynamics of my life then. I was the poor kid coming from the high density areas. In many ways up to now I still experience the world in the same way. I am sometimes seen and treated as an affluent privileged man, what some have called coconuts, brown on the outside, white in the inside; but sometimes I am seen as a poor African that should be pitied.These dynamics still sometimes leave me feeling like I do not quite fit in, wherever I am. Early in my life I learnt that being black or white is nothing more than a colour issue, we are just the same. I experienced and saw through the fallacy and tendency of humans to treat each other according to economic status early. Being a rich and poor child at the same time, depending on the environment at that moment made me realize that economic status can be a barrier in relating, but it is a superficial, mental barrier, we are the same.
Dwight Mutonono and his fellow graduates from ALMA in 2014.
Raised an Anglican, I was baptized and christened as a child and was confirmed. My Godmother was an Anglican missionary nun from the U.K. She has been praying for me and maintained contact through the years. Though I was baptized and confirmed I still did not have a personal relationship with Christ, I was a nominal Christian. It was in 1982 that through a friend at school I made a personal commitment to follow Christ in every area of my life, that is the year I can truly say I became a Christian. I became involved with Scripture Union in high school and I also began to go to Faith Ministries, a charismatic church in Harare. I have been with Faith Ministries since.”
Dwight Mutonono’s Vision for Africa
“From those early years to today I have found my most fulfilling experiences in Christianity to be when I help an individual to grow in his or her relationship to Christ; seeing people changing and becoming more like Christ gives me a thrill. When Christians fail to live up to their Christian call it frustrates me, I want to see them radiant; I want to see them become mature Christians. This passion has been with me right from my early Christianity to this day. I have found expression to it in various ways. I have seen many people come to a better knowledge of Christ through personal interaction. Some I have helped become Christians and many I have helped grow in their faith.
I served in various Christian leadership roles over the years. I have pastored churches, taught in bible school (preparing pastors and leaders for the church), and I currently work with Africa Leadership and Management Academy (ALMA), which is a graduate Christian leadership institution, equipping leaders in all spheres of society to better lead with godly integrity. Through all this, I am privileged to see many Christian leaders who are ministering for Christ in some way who I have helped equip.
Dwight Mutonono with his wife, Martha and their two children.
I am married to Martha and we have two children. Martha has been with Faith Ministries for as long as I have and we met at church. She has worked in various business organisations and is a very clear thinker. She leads in various capacities in the church and has helped me stay focused through the years.
I would like to leave a country and continent that is mature in Christ and able to use our God given resources to embellish everyone. I see our Christian mandate not as just to preach the gospel but bring in God’s kingdom. This permeates all of society and influences how we view each other as people. I would like to see an Africa that goes past superficial racial, ethnic, cultural and economic barriers and relates with all people in a biblical fashion as neighbours. Caring for and loving each other. If the majority of us who are, or say we are, Christians can mature and become more like Christ, this is possible.”
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