Josiah Mutabuzi Isaya Kibira is the first African to be elected president of the LWF

Date: 24 Jun 1977
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

At the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Assembly held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Josiah Mutabuzi Isaya Kibira became the first African to be elected president of the Lutheran World Federation. The cleric held this position until 1984. His election was a great honour for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere hosted a banquet at the State House and invited the new LWF president and many international guests. Kibira died on 18 July, 1988 at the age of 63. In commemoration of his commitment to the cause of the ecumenical movement, the main building at the headquarters of the All Africa Conference of Churches in Nairobi, Kenya is named after Kibira.

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How we know this

01Dictionary of African Christian Biography., ‘Josiah Mutabuzi Isaya Kibira’, [online], Available at www.dacb.org [Accessed: 22 May 2012]
02Boddy-Evans., ‘This Day In African History’, from About African History, 24 June, [online], Available at www.africanhistory.about.com [Accessed: 23 May 2012]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2012, June 20). Josiah Mutabuzi Isaya Kibira is the first African to be elected president of the LWF. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0086258

South African History Online (2012) 'Josiah Mutabuzi Isaya Kibira is the first African to be elected president of the LWF', South African History Online, 20 June. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0086258 (Accessed: 25 July 2026).

South African History Online, Josiah Mutabuzi Isaya Kibira is the first African to be elected president of the LWF [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0086258, (accessed 25 July 2026).

"Josiah Mutabuzi Isaya Kibira is the first African to be elected president of the LWF." South African History Online, 20 June 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0086258. Accessed 25 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Josiah Mutabuzi Isaya Kibira is the first African to be elected president of the LWF." South African History Online. June 20, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0086258.