Assessing Nicholas Bhengu’s Unity Talk and Its Theological Implications for the Government of National Unity (GNU) in South Africa

Abstract

For the first time since the 1994 democratic elections in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) failed to obtain a majority vote to govern (50% plus 1 seat) in the outcome of the 2024 elections. Consequently, the ANC had to form a government of national unity (GNU) and, to some extent, a government of provincial unity (GPU) in highly contested provinces such as Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. However, a historical contextualisation of GNU and a literature review in qualitative research demonstrate that this was not the first time the ANC governed through this model, as it was also used in 1994. The contribution of this article is the theological reflections on the GNU through the unity paradigms of Nicholas Bhengu. The purpose is to demonstrate that the theological principles of unity, using a theological analysis, are applicable in the context of the GNU in South Africa. The finding is that Bhengu’s principles of unity, such as preaching the gospel of love and forgiveness, unity beyond the names of churches and denominations, nation-building, support for leaders, and modelling peace, unity, and prosperity, are relevant for the success of the 2024 GNU.