The Denial of African Agency: A Decolonial Theological Turn Chammah J. Kaunda School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa In this article, I argue for the recovery of a form of materio-spirituality-centred thought and wisdom for reconstructing an African theo-pedagogy for theological education for the decolonization of the mind. The aim of this work is to suggest how one can reclaim and reconstitute the core materio-spirituality features that are innovating and can provide the backbone for African theological education for the decolonization of the mind, without romanticizing, over-mythologizing or camouflaging harmful aspects of African life. This is important in enabling change without abandoning an entire religio-cultural anchor and without losing sight of the impact of modernity. keywords African agency, decolonization, theo-pedagogy, materio-spirituality, theological education Introduction: The Lion that Never Become a Lion Once upon a time, a little African boy found a male lion cab that had strayed from its mother. He took it and put it among his puppies. The dogs raised it as a dog and treated it like a dog in every way. While the young lion did not see any resemblance and often doubted its identity, he nevertheless loved to be associated with dogs as they had everything provided for them by humans. One day, they went hunting and saw a pride of lions walking majestically; the dogs and the young lion ran into hiding. While hiding the young lion exclaimed, “Oh, I wish I could be as bold as a lion!” The dogs heard his comment and barked with laughter: “You should not think like a lion. You are a dog, and dogs don’t think like lions. Why desire to be like them, when you have everything so easy? Your only duty is to bark at strangers and hunt the game for humans. In fact, lions are dirty, stinky, disgusting and ruthless wild animals and can’t enjoy a good relationship with humans.” Paradoxically, the young lion worked hard to dismiss the thought that he was not a dog; he remained a dog, although he still desired to be a lion and felt in his heart that he could be like a lion. Each time he spoke about his feelings, however, ß W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2015 DOI 10.1179/1476994815Z.00000000048 black theology, Vol. 13 No. 1, April, 2015, 73–92