The body of Adelaide Sithole, wife of the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, Reverend Simbarashe Sithole, has returned to Zimbabwe ahead of her burial in Gweru on Sunday.
Mrs Sithole died on 24 August shortly after arriving at Auckland Airport in New Zealand. She had travelled to attend the 15th World Assembly of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women, which was held at the Due Drop Events Centre in Auckland from 25 to 29 August.
Her death left the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe mourning one of its senior women’s leaders at a time when church members and delegates from around the world had gathered for worship, leadership meetings and fellowship. Mrs Sithole was the president of Ruwadzano Manyano, the church’s women’s fellowship, and the Girls Christian Union, known as GCU.
The church’s funeral programme states that her body left New Zealand at 4.50am on Thursday, 17 September, and arrived at R.G. Mugabe International Airport in Harare at 5.10pm on Friday, 18 September. It was collected from the airport by Old Mutual Funeral Services and taken to the Old Mutual Funeral Parlour.
On Saturday afternoon, 19 September, the body is due to be collected from the parlour and taken to Marlborough Methodist Church for a service. The service is open to mourners and members of the public. After the church service, Mrs Sithole’s body will be taken to the Presiding Bishop’s residence at 137 Harare Drive, where it will lie in state overnight.
The final journey to Gweru is scheduled for early Sunday morning. A send-off service will be held at Winery from 10am, with the church advising mourners to be seated by 9.30am. The venue has a sitting capacity of 5,000 people. Burial is scheduled for 2pm in Gweru.
The arrangements have brought a formal conclusion to a period of mourning that began suddenly in Auckland. At the time of her death, church officials did not disclose the circumstances. The initial announcement was made by Methodist Church in Zimbabwe General Secretary Reverend Likhai Molife, who described Mrs Sithole as a devout leader and offered condolences to her husband, their children, relatives, friends, the church and the wider ecumenical community.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing on of our devout leader, our mother, Mrs Adelaide Sithole,” he said.
The announcement called on members of the Methodist community and its ecumenical partners to remember the Sithole family in their prayers. It also described Mrs Sithole as a leader who had played an important role in the life and ministry of the church.
Her responsibilities placed her at the centre of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe’s work with women and young people. Through Ruwadzano Manyano and the Girls Christian Union, she was connected to church programmes that support spiritual development, fellowship and service across congregations. Her death has therefore been felt not only by the Presiding Bishop’s family but also by the women’s and youth structures she led.
Condolence messages have come from Methodist bodies elsewhere in Africa. The Africa Methodist Council expressed sympathy to Reverend Sithole, his family and the entire Methodist community, praising Mrs Sithole’s life, service and legacy. The Methodist Church in Kenya also sent condolences to the Presiding Bishop, the children, relatives, friends and the wider Methodist family. In its message, the Kenyan church remembered her as a “gallant soldier of Christ” and said her labour in the Lord was not in vain.
The messages reflect the wide network of relationships surrounding the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. The church is part of a global Methodist family whose members regularly meet through regional and international structures. Mrs Sithole’s journey to Auckland was connected to that international work. The World Federation assembly brought together Methodist and Uniting Church women under the theme “Arise and Shine for the Glory of God is Upon You”, drawn from Isaiah 60:1.
The assembly programme included worship, workshops, leadership activities and the election and installation of officers. Delegates from different countries had been arriving in Auckland in the days before the gathering opened. For the Zimbabwean delegation, the event became overshadowed by the death of Mrs Sithole upon her arrival in the city.
The funeral comes as the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe continues under the leadership of Reverend Sithole, who was elected Presiding Bishop at the church’s 48th Annual Conference in August 2025. The conference was held at Masvingo Teachers’ College from 22 to 24 August that year. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches congratulated the church on the conference and recognised Reverend Sithole’s return to the office after a previous term.
Reverend Sithole first served as Presiding Bishop from 2006 to 2010. His latest election placed him among the small number of Methodist leaders in Zimbabwe to return to the church’s highest office after completing an earlier term. The church’s leadership system provides for a four-year term, followed by a period away from office before a leader can be elected again.
The history of the office reaches back to the church’s development as an autonomous institution. The Methodist Church in Zimbabwe moved from being a mission district under the British Conference to an autonomous church in 1977. Before the title Presiding Bishop was adopted in the late 1980s, the head of the church was known by titles including Chairman of District and President.
Other leaders who served more than once include Reverend Dr Crispin Mazobere and Reverend Farai J. Chirisa. Mazobere served as president in 1981 and later returned as Presiding Bishop from 1991 to 1994. Chirisa became the first leader to hold the formal title of Presiding Bishop, serving from 1987 to 1991 before returning for a second term from 1995 to 1999.
Mrs Sithole’s funeral is also taking place after another death at a Methodist gathering in Zimbabwe drew attention to the vulnerability of worshippers during large church events. On 15 August, Fadelia Gunzvenzve Chinogurei, a member of the Glenview United Methodist Circuit, collapsed while serving with a praise and worship team during a prayer meeting at the Zimbabwe West Annual Conference revival for women at Darwendale Camping Site.
More than 7,000 women from six districts were attending that gathering. Chinogurei was taken to hospital after congregants and emergency responders came to her aid, but she was pronounced dead on arrival. Bishop Gift Machinga addressed the assembly, prayed for the family and paid tribute to her commitment to worship.
The two deaths occurred in different circumstances and are not connected. They have, however, brought grief to Methodist communities during a period of major church gatherings and conferences. In both cases, worshippers and church leaders were called upon to support bereaved families while continuing with scheduled programmes.
For the Sithole family, the funeral itinerary now sets out the final stages of the farewell. The Saturday service at Marlborough Methodist Church will give members in Harare an opportunity to pay their respects before the overnight vigil at the Presiding Bishop’s home. On Sunday, the cortege will travel to Gweru, where the church expects a large gathering for the send-off service and burial.
The church has invited mourners to attend the services and join the family in remembering Mrs Sithole’s contribution. Condolence notices have referred to her as a wife, mother, church leader and servant of Christ. They have also spoken of the legacy she leaves through the women’s fellowship and the Girls Christian Union.
As the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe prepares to bury its women’s leader, prayers will remain focused on Reverend Sithole, the children and relatives, as well as the many congregants who worked with Mrs Sithole during her years of service. Her return from Auckland marks the end of the long journey home and the beginning of a public farewell in the church and community she served.
The burial is expected to take place at 2pm on Sunday, 20 September, following the 10am send-off service at Winery in Gweru.
Rest in peace Amai Sithole. Zororai murugare murandakadzi Washe.