‘God Wants His People’: Between retribution and redemption in Trevor Makhoba's engagement with HIV and AIDS

This article analyses theological contestation in the work of Trevor Makhoba, focusing on his work on HIV and AIDS. The article locates Makhoba's work within the dominant theological orientation concerning HIV and AIDS, namely that HIV and AIDS are a punishment from God and/or the ancestors. The article argues that while Makhoba—as both social commentator and religious prophet—inhabits this theological perspective, his work interrogates and contends with this dominant theological orientation. Makhoba dares to question not only the dominant theology, but also God. In so doing, he mediates between retribution and redemption.