In South Africa, debates on Black Theology of Liberation took various shapes over the years. The debates were impacted by different political contexts since the inception of this theology in this country, dating to the early 1970s. For instance, the temperature of the debates during the early 1970s took a different shape from those that were heard towards the end of that decade. The period that followed also shaped the debates accordingly. These different shapes continued to show themselves until the era of Vuyani Vellem, a black theologian whose voice was heard during 2010–2019. This marks the period when his voice started to be heard in Black Theology circles and closed with his death towards the end of 2019. What trajectory did the debates take during this period differently from previous ones? Who were the main protagonists and interlocutors? How did Vellem influence the tone of these debates? With these questions in mind, the author will examine Vellem’s academic and black theological locations and assumptions, the sociopolitical dynamics of his time and the tone of the debates during his era and conclude with the analysis of these debates for the future implications of this theology. Drawing on qualitative review method through the study of synthesised literature from libraries, this study will therefore focus on the direction taken by the debates on Black Theology during the aforementioned period. It will also listen to and unearth Vellem’s contribution in those debates. Furthermore, it will indicate how he and his generation of black theologians continued to hoist the Black Theology flag so high in the midst of what was seen by the first generation of black theologians as a lull in the life of this liberation theology.
Contribution: Through the lens of the era and activism of Vuyani Vellem, the study examines the relevance and level of Black Theology praxis in post-apartheid South Africa, in order to determine the future implications of this theology. Although it has a missiological focus, there are also implications for disciplines such as Church History, Sociology, Practical Theology and Political Science
