Banana was born on March 5, 1936 in Esiphezini Communal Area, near Essexvale (now Esigodini), Southern Rhodesia. His parents were a Ndebele-cultured mother and a Sotho father who had emigrated to Rhodesia. He was educated by missionaries in a local school and later studied at a teacher training institute.
He took a diploma in theology at Epworth Theological College in Salisbury and was ordained as a United Methodist minister in 1962. He was a student at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. in 1974 and 1975. Becoming involved in politics, he denounced Ian Smith's practices as a prime minister, took part in the rising transnational black liberation ideo-religious movements, and came to be vice-president of the African National Council.
After a year at teachers’ training college at Tegwane in Plumtree he taught at Mzinyati before taking divinity courses at Epworth Theological Mission near Salisbury from 1960 to 1962.
His first probation ministry was at Wankie from 1963 to 1964. He served as school chaplain at Tegwane in 1965. He was ordained as a Methodist minister at Epworth in September 1966 and sent to Fort Victoria in 1967. He was transferred to Bulawayo in 1969 and received a travelling scholarship which took him to 13 countries in Asia studying urban industrial ministries.
In January 1971 he resigned over a fundamental dispute on church policy, which he maintained seemed critical of the World Council of Churches’ support of nationalist movements. His differences were resolved in June 1971 but the formal reconciliation and readmission to the Methodist Church did not take place until after Christmas 1971. In the meantime he worked with the Mambo Press run by Roman Catholics.
His commitment to ANC put him in the forefront of the campaign to get a massive rejection of the independence proposals negotiated by the British and Rhodesian governments in November 1971. Despite harassment by the Smith government, he helped organise the large-scale opposition to be publicly vocal during the visit of the Pearce Commission in January 1972. He paid his first visit to London in May 1972 and had talks with the British Foreign Secretary about bringing Africans into negotiations on any constitutional changes. In August 1972 his passport was withdrawn. In May 1973 he slipped out of the country without a passport to study for a Master of Divinity degree in the USA.
A preacher caught up in the political developments of his country when all African nationalist movements had been banned. His commitment was due to his sensitivity to the aspirations of his people and to his experience of knowing the frustrations of the urban African. As a minister, practised in training young Africans for Christian leadership, he has shown his own powers of leadership in the clashes over the independence proposals of November 1971. Although opposed to violence, he has not allowed himself to be intimidated by a confrontation with police using force.
He married Janet Mbuyazwe in 1961, and they had four children together, Michael Thabo, Nathan Sipho, Martin Mhambi Salaam and Nobuhle Beauty.
