No description available.

Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology), March 2017 / In this study, I explore the ways in which legacies of how and where the Zimbabwean liberation war was fought, the landscapes of the struggle, and the violence associated with it were invoked at district and village level by ZANU PF as it sought to instill loyalty, fear and discipline through its supporters and the youth militia. Although they were invoking memories of former guerrilla bases, and the violence often associated with them, the bases set up by ZANU-PF youth militia in 2008 were not established on the actual sites of former guerrilla camps. However, since then, ZANU-PF war veterans in the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) have been returning to the actual sites of the 1970s liberation war guerrilla bases in order to teach senior staff the history of the liberation struggle, drawing together former liberation war collaborators or ‘messengers’ who assisted guerrilla fighters during the war, as well as contemporary unemployed ZANU-PF youth. They used these often highly choreographed events to talk about battles during war, to perform liberation songs, and to explain how ancestors assisted them during the struggle. I examine these recent events, and argue that both the establishment of the new militia bases in the post-2000 period, and invocation of the old, former guerrilla bases dating to the Chimurenga period are deliberate efforts by ZANU-PF to make violence, geography and landscapes do political/ideological work by forging political subjectivities and loyalties that sustain its rule. In stressing these continuities between the 1970s guerrilla bases, and their invocation and reproduction in post-2000 Zimbabwe, I am interested in what the base enables and does in terms of the formation of political subjectivities. I aim to show through critical analysis of the political history and local accounts of the second Chimurenga why political subjectivity and the base are important in the re-examination of both the history and the literature on this history. The base allows for a sophisticated reading of political subjectivity in that it was the space through which the grand narrative of the liberation struggle hit the ground, entered into people’s homes, and constituted a complex relationship between political education, conscientisation, freedom and violence. The liberation war base was meant to make people inhabit subjectivities characterized by bravery, resistance, and resilience when fighting the might of Rhodesian army. In the post-colonial context, the base served the purpose of annihilating the kind of rebellious subjectivities inhabited during the liberation war and replacing them with those characterized by fear, pretense, and quietude. This substitution explains the subjectivities that exist in the post-independence rural population and reveals the purpose that electoral violence has served in Zimbabwe’s post-independence period, especially through the base. However people have also engaged with these landscapes outside of ZANU-PF politicking and this has produced critical subjectivities where people challenge ZANU-PF dominant narratives. / GR2018

This research took an ethnographic view in understanding the relationship between rural people and ZANU-PF in post-2000 Bindura South electoral constituency in Zimbabwe. I seek to understand the complexity with which rural people come to make political choices through discussing ZANU-PF’s techniques in the maintenance of political power despite the loss of political legitimacy. The complicity between ZANU-PF and rural people is uncomfortably created through these techniques which include mobilizing historical claims, youth violence on villagers, partisan distribution of economic resources, surveillance and spying to create subjects who conform to ZANU-PF’s political will. I have argued that rural people’s circumstances should be understood through an analysis of their everyday lives and livelihoods. Findings have shown that rural people make political choices because they are life choices there are slight possibilities for alternative political action in rural Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe as a country has successively been faced with a number of challenges that others argue to be a result of either poor governance or colonial imbalances. However, despite the contestation with regards to the cause of the crisis situation, several armed struggles continued to wreck the economy. This continuous collapse of the economy resulted in the ruling government slowly becoming unpopular to the people, thus it paved way to the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC); an opposition political party to the dominant Zimbabwe African National Union –Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). The formation of the opposition party then triggered tensions, which later saw the March 2008 elections’ tension calling for a power-sharing agreement. Therefore, it is against this background that the research critically examines the role played by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in conflict transformation since the formation of the unity government. In addition, the study is also conducted against the background of scholarly interest to understand the relationship between CSOs and the Zimbabwean government, during the period that marked the introduction of the inclusive government 2009-2012. The study will also look at the key competencies of CSOs, which are complimentary to the process of conflict transformation and further outline the need for active participation from CSOs and other stakeholders to the process. In addition, it is worth noting that while CSOs make numerous attempts to vigorously participate in conflict transformation, factors such as restrictive government policies, lack of funding and government interference continually undermines their contribution. Autonomous and sustainable operations of CSOs in such limiting environments is virtually impossible hence, there is need for drastic measures to be employed in order to address this contradiction. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

My mini-dissertation gives the autobiography of Talent Nyathi, who was born in rural Zimbabwe in 1961. Talent was unwillingly conscripted into the Zimbabwean Liberation Struggle. On her return to Zimbabwe, she has worked tirelessly for the education of her compatriots. Talent's story casts light on subject-formation in conditions of difficulty, suffering and victimization. Doubly oppressed by her race and gender, Talent has nevertheless shown a remarkable capacity for self-empowerment and the empowerment of others. Her story needs to be heard because it will inspire other women and other S/subjects and because it is a corrective to both the notions of a heroic Struggle and the `victim' stereotype of Africa. Together with Talent's autobiography, my mini-dissertation offers extensive notes that situate her life story in the context of contemporary postcolonial, literary and gender theory and further draws out the significance of her individual `history-from-below'. / English Studies / M.A.

Thesis MA (Political Science. International Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Liberation movements came into being across the entire African continent as a political response to colonisation. However, Africa has in this field, as in so many others, been largely understudied, in comparison to revolutionary movements in South America and South East Asia. While many case studies on specific liberation movements exist, very few are comparative in nature. This study will do precisely that using the framework of Thomas H. Greene. The resistance movements in South Africa and Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia, consisted of several organisations, but the ones that emerged as the most powerful and significant in the two countries were the ANC and ZANU respectively. Although their situations were similar in many ways, there were other factors that necessarily led to two very different liberation struggles. This study looks closer at these factors, why they were so, and what this meant for the two movements. It focuses on the different characteristics of the movements, dividing these into leadership, support base, ideology, organisation, strategies and external support. All revolutionary movements rely on these factors to varying degrees, depending on the conditions they are operating under. The ANC and ZANU both had to fight under very difficult and different circumstances, with oppressive minority regimes severely restricting their actions. This meant that the non-violent protests that initially were a great influence for the leadership of both movements – especially with the successes of Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa and India, inevitably had to give way to the more effective strategies of sabotage and armed struggle. Like other African resistance movements, nationalism was used as the main mobilising tool within the populations. In South Africa the struggle against apartheid was more complex and multidimensional than in Zimbabwe. Ultimately successful in their efforts, the ANC and ZANU both became the political parties that assumed power after liberation. This study does not extend to post-liberation problems.

The research is an Afrocentric engagement that analyses selected songs by Tongai Moyo and Hosiah Chipanga in post-independence Zimbabwe. The study is informed by Afrocentricity, which provides the theoretical anchorage to the exposition and elucidation of the pursuit for independence, liberation and freedom of Zimbabweans in the post-independence era. The study analyses selected sungura songs composed and sung by Hosiah Chipanga and Tongai Moyo in post-2000 era. The study indicates that post-independence Zimbabwe of 2000 to 2010 reflects a decade of crisis. The exposition unfolds through a critical exegesis of selected songs by these sungura artists. The two sungura musicians are among the leading musical voices in Zimbabwe. The study is largely qualitative in nature and used interviews and questionnaires to solicit information from research participants. Respondents comprise musicians, music producers and academics in the Zimbabwe. The study stimulates more interest and research in sungura music as well as illuminating the significance of their messages to ongoing debates on the Zimbabwean crisis/crises thereby establishing the relationship between music and politics. This position is made against the backdrop of their commitment and courageous efforts by such protest musicians to comment on ‘big’ political and economic issues seriously affecting the performance of Zimbabwean economy. The study also establishes that cronyism, patronage and corruption have become major industries of the day in Africa. Through fighting for the voiceless masses, the study argues that Zimbabwe is faced by the crisis of governance and the nation has taken the medals of humiliating its own people. Pertaining to the leadership crisis in Zimbabwe, the study also shows that musicians who include Hosiah Chipanga and Tongai Moyo insinuate that the deep seated Zimbabwean challenges are a manifestation of a nation that is parentless. In their protest music, the artists reiterate that poverty, hunger, diseases and other forms of sufferings that the country encountered and continue to face are a sign of a country that is an orphan implying the dearth of people centred leadership. Additionally, findings from the study show that the land issue is one of the commonly identified factors that are ascribed to partial independence in Zimbabwe translating into crisis. The land question invited attention from Hosiah Chipanga as reflected in his post-2000 music where he suggests that Zimbabweans were to a larger extent betrayed by ZANU (PF) leadership. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Phil. (Languages, Linguistics and Literature)

My mini-dissertation gives the autobiography of Talent Nyathi, who was born in rural Zimbabwe in 1961. Talent was unwillingly conscripted into the Zimbabwean Liberation Struggle. On her return to Zimbabwe, she has worked tirelessly for the education of her compatriots. Talent's story casts light on subject-formation in conditions of difficulty, suffering and victimization. Doubly oppressed by her race and gender, Talent has nevertheless shown a remarkable capacity for self-empowerment and the empowerment of others. Her story needs to be heard because it will inspire other women and other S/subjects and because it is a corrective to both the notions of a heroic Struggle and the `victim' stereotype of Africa. Together with Talent's autobiography, my mini-dissertation offers extensive notes that situate her life story in the context of contemporary postcolonial, literary and gender theory and further draws out the significance of her individual `history-from-below'. / English Studies / M.A.

The study critically explored the tabloidisation of political news in Zimbabwe by focussing on the coverage of the expulsion of Joice Mujuru from ZANU PF and government by selected newspapers. The study analysed three national dailies across the ownership divide; The Herald, Daily News and NewsDay. The objective of the study was to establish whether or not the decline in standards of journalism and performance in Zimbabwe could be attributed to tabloidisation. The study employed a qualitative methodology through qualitative content analysis and in-depth interviews to assess whether the framing reflected tabloid or broadsheet journalism styles. The framing of Joice Mujuru by The Herald was pejorative and derisive as she was depicted as corrupt, traitor, inept and a simplistic thinker who cannot handle issues to do with statecraft. Daily News sympathised with Joice Mujuru as a victim of chauvinistic factional politics in ZANU PF, especially, after the death of her husband, General Solomon Mujuru. The study argued that Joice was also depicted as a brave leader who could challenge for the office of the president, if she formed a coalition with MDC –T leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Daily News sought to counter all the negative framing of Joice Mujuru by The Herald. NewsDay framing was sympathetic, like Daily News but was more inclined on creating an image of a moderate leader in Mujuru, one who would be acceptable to all Zimbabweans because she had the critical liberation war credentials that Tsvangirai lacked and Mujuru’s perceived abilities to extricate the country from the economic challenges by mending relationships with the West. Despite the diametrically opposed frames in terms of The Herald versus Daily News and NewsDay, all the newspapers are undergoing the damaging process of tabloidisation by employing tabloid styles and formatting in their political news coverage through sensationalism, trivialisation and emotionalism. It was argued that the media needs self-introspection and recommitment to ethical and objective journalism as the watchdogs of society. / Communication / D. Litt. et Phil. (Communication)