Engenas Lekganyane

Engenas Barnabas Lekganyane (c.1885-1948) was the founder of one of Africa's largest churches, the Zion Christian Church (ZCC). He first formed the ZCC in 1924, and by the time of his death the church had at least 50,000 members. Under the leadership of his descendants the ZCC has gone on to have more than a million members primarily located in southern Africa. It is now by far the biggest of the various Zionist Christian sects that account for roughly half of all Christians in southern Africa.

Early life and education

Engenas Lekganyane was born at Mphome Mission in the Haenertsburg region of the Transvaal in the mid-1880s. His parents, Barnabas Lekganyane and Sefora Raphela, were members of the Mamabolo ethnic group. The Raphela family were the first Christian converts among the Mamabolo and had been instrumental in getting a Lutheran mission established by the Berlin Missionary Society in 1879.

Drought, disruptions, and the violence associated with the South African War in 1899, led the Mamabolo chiefs to abandon their homelands for some years. The Lekganyanes appear to have left with them, but then returned home when the Chief purchased Syferkuil Farm in 1905 next to the original reserve.