Emmanuel Sinzohagera elected as bishop

Key points:

• The Africa Central Conference elected the Rev. Emmanuel Sinzohagera as a United Methodist bishop on the first ballot.
• He is the first bishop elected by the central conference, which is scheduled to split into the new East Africa and Southern Africa central conferences.
• Sinzohagera is a leader in The United Methodist Church and speaker of the Senate in Burundi.

The Rev. Emmanuel Sinzohagera, dean of superintendents and speaker of the Senate in Burundi, has been elected as a United Methodist bishop by the Africa Central Conference.

Sinzohagera, 50, was elected March 15 by delegates meeting in Johannesburg. On the first ballot, he received 48 votes out of 60 valid votes cast; he needed 40 to be elected.

“My vision for Burundi is to ensure that The United Methodist Church remains a beacon of hope, love and service in Burundi and beyond,” Sinzohagera said upon his election.

“It’s a joyful moment for me, my family and the church in Burundi. Glory be to God Almighty!”

Sinzohagera was the first bishop elected in the central conference.

The assignments of bishops for the next four years will be announced on March 16. In the Africa Central Conference, bishops are elected to a four-year term and if re-elected, they can serve for life.

On March 16, the Africa Central Conference is scheduled to split into the East Africa and Southern Africa central conferences. Each central conference will consist of multiple annual conferences, associations of United Methodist congregations and other ministries.

• The East Africa Central Conference will consist of the United Methodist presence in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda. The new central conference also will include Burundi, which after more than a decade of internal divisions, fully reunited with The United Methodist Church in 2018.
• The Southern Africa Central Conference will consist of the United Methodist presence in Angola, Botswana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Sinzohagera has been the legal representative for the Burundi Conference since 2021 and dean of superintendents since 2023. He also bridges faith with serving as speaker of the Senate, the third highest office in his home country.

“Whether I stand behind the pulpit or in the parliament,” he told United Methodist News last year, “my mission remains unaltered: to serve God and uplift our community.”

The Burundian initially worked in finance and attended church in the Baptist tradition before becoming a full member of The United Methodist Church in 2000.

Since then, he has served as church pastor, district superintendent, deputy legal representative and conference secretary. He initiated an annual revival in the Burundi Conference and founded the Burundi United Methodist Development Agency.

In addition to multiple degrees in finance and business administration, he has a bachelor of theology from the International Leadership University in Burundi and a master’s degree from Africa University in Zimbabwe. He also has doctorates from the University of Nicosia and United Methodist-related Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington. He is the second African bishop who is a graduate of Africa University, the pan-African United Methodist university.

Sinzohagera is married to the Rev. Uwimana Delphine, and the couple has four children.

Burundi has long been part of the East Africa Episcopal Area, which encompasses Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi. Bishop Daniel Wandabula of Uganda has been the East Africa Area episcopal leader since 2006.

Plans call for a new episcopal area that will include Burundi and Rwanda.

The United Methodist Church has eight central conferences — church regions in Africa, Europe and the Philippines — with Southern Africa and East Africa as the newest additions. Central conferences, which each consist of multiple annual conferences, elect bishops and have the authority to adapt parts of the Book of Discipline, the denomination’s policy book, as their missional contexts require.

In The United Methodist Church, bishops are ordained elders who are called to “lead and oversee the spiritual and temporal affairs of The United Methodist Church.”

Bishops are responsible for appointing clergy. They also are the first stop when clergy face complaints under church law. They also serve as board members or chairs of general agencies and other denomination-wide ministries.

Sinzohagera will be consecrated a bishop March 16 near the conclusion of the central conference session.

Chikwanah is a UM News correspondent based in Harare, Zimbabwe.

News media contact: Julie Dwyer at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digests.