ZIMBABWE'S former president Canaan Banana has been defrocked by the Methodist church because of his con-viction on charges of homosexual as-sault, the head of the church in Zimba-bwe said.

Bishop Farai Chirisa said the church decided to strip Banana of the ministry after he was convicted in the High Court earlier this year on several charges of sexual assault and sodomy. Most of the offences were com-mitted while Banana was president from 1980-1987.

He was sentenced to an effective one year in jail and is currently on bail while awaiting an appeal to the Su-preme Court against his conviction and sentence. Banana, 63, was ordained in the Methodist Church in the United Kingdom in 1962.