Bishop Mvume Dandala

This biography was current for the Mvume Dandala's visit to Brougham Place in June 2006, please see the Wikipedia article for more up to date information

The Rev Dr. Hamilton Mvumelwano Dandala, known as Mvume, is General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is the immediate past Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church in Southern Africa and President of the South African Council of Churches (an ecumenical fellowship of churches), positions he held simultaneously from 1997 to 2003. Dandala is known and respected worldwide as a peacemaker, visionary church leader, and passionate advocate for African social justice, and for his direct involvement in the liberation struggle of the South African people through his ministry in South Africa. His opinion is regularly solicited by leaders at the highest levels of government and civil society.

Dandala’s involvement in the ecumenical movement began when he was a young man during his studies at the Federal Theological Seminary in Alice, South Africa where he was trained alongside other aspiring clergy from multiple denominations. All students were challenged to see the common ground they shared in their diverse denominational traditions and to embrace the power of that common ground to press for social change. Dandala took the aforementioned challenge of his seminary days to heart, becoming the local chairman of the South African Students’ Organization (SASO), which played a critical role in the struggle against Apartheid. To this day the influence of his early ecumenical experiences in South Africa is evident in the General Secretary’s leadership of the AACC. In his AACC role, Dandala continues to emphasize an African Church world view that believes in the transformational power of the Church’s prophetic witness and that shows a deep commitment to social justice for the people of Africa. He also stresses the importance of the Church’s role in promoting self-sufficiency both for itself and for people across the African continent.

Rev Dr. Dandala holds a Diploma in Theology from John Wesley College of Federal Theological Seminary in South Africa and Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Theology degrees from the University of Cambridge. He has also been awarded Honorary Doctoral Degrees by the University of Transkei (South Africa) and the Faculty of Protestant Theology in Cameroon. Dandala is married to Phumzile Dandala. They have two children. Their daughter Gqibelo is a banker and their son Hlomla is a filmmaker.

External links

All Africa Conference of Churches