ABSTRACT
In African societies religious beliefs and practices seem to underpin political power; hence, traditional religion and politics can be said to be bound inseparably. This chapter explores the extent to which Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s former President, carefully selected and retrieved specific Shona indigenous religio-cultural traditions to legitimise his rule and neutralise his political rivals for thirty-seven years. It grapples with the definition of fundamentalism. After settling for a working definition, the chapter explores African traditional religious elements that Mugabe retrieved and appropriated into his leadership. The chapter considers a few reflections on the definition of fundamentalism. This will make it possible to settle for a particular sense of fundamentalism. Mugabe’s neo-patrimonial leadership gave birth to clientelism. Clientelism is “a relationship of exchange in which a superior provides security for an inferior, who as a client then provides political support for his patron”.
