Power in Contemporary Zimbabwe

Erasmus Masitera, Fortune Sibanda

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138479142
• eBook ISBN: 9781351066488
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: African Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

In recent years, the Zimbabwe crisis rendered the country and its citizens to be a typical case of 'failed states', the world over. Zimbabwean society was and is still confronted with different challenges which include political, economic and social problems. Attempts to overcome these challenges have thrown light on the power that rests within individuals and or groups to change and even revolutionize their localities, communities, states and ultimately the world at large. Through experience, individuals and groups have promoted ideas that have aided in changing mentalities, attitudes and behaviors in societies at different levels.

This book brings together contributors from various academic disciplines to reflect on and theorize the contours of power, including the intrinsic and or extrinsic models of power, which pertain to individuals, communities, and or groups in order to transform society. Reflections are on various groups such as political movements, environmental movements, religious groups, advocacy groups, gender groups, to mention but a few, as they struggle against marginalization, discrimination, exploitation, and other forms of oppression showing their agency or compliance.

1 Grappling with power in contemporary Zimbabwe

The introduction

Erasmus Masitera and Fortune Sibanda

A driving force in this post-independent period has been the quest for total emancipation. In this regard, the major thrust of this work is to reflect on ‘emancipation’ through understanding ‘forms of power’ within the contemporary Zimbabwe society. In making the reflections, the discussions presented here are consistently guided by the fundamental question on how Africans are to extricate themselves from the experiences of ‘slave trade, imperialism, colonialism, apartheid, neo-colonialism, neo-liberalism … and today globalization’ (Ndlovu-Gatsheni: 2013, 11).

On reflecting on power and emancipation in Zimbabwe, and indeed Africa at large, it is a folly not to ‘think’ of the existential circumstances that shape contemporary African societies. The circumstances include social, economic, and political challenges; these invite and invited a lot of responses that range from analysis to diagnosis to prognosis, from both within and without Africa. At the same time, a number of views have also been forwarded as relevant for challenging the African conundrum. Among the myriads of propositions on reformulating Africa from the challenges are scholars such as Nkrumah (1965); Fanon (1956) and (2004); Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2013); Mbembe (2016); and Hwami (2016), among others. These scholars have made serious reflections on how Africa may extricate herself from various political, social, and economic challenges that she faces. Interestingly, the scholars argue for different ways through which Africa may liberate herself; the arguments range from use of physical violence and absolute departure from colonial systems, to engagement based on an intellectual epistemological renaissance of endogenous and indigenous systems. Underlying all these endeavours is the clandestine vitality of African people to define, redefine, understand, restructure, and above all decolonize themselves. The desire to decolonize themselves is premised upon the realization that they have the capability and power to do so. It is then the endeavour of this work to also understand the different forms of power that inform Zimbabweans, and indeed Africans, in the process of decolonization. This kind of thinking resonates with Michael Foucault’s (1982, 780–782) thinking in ‘The Subject and Power’, where he discusses how people use the ‘power’ they have to understand and control what is around them. In this sense, this project considers various ways in which power (political, social, spiritual, and economic power) is understood and used in Zimbabwe to influence and control society. Hence the discussions in this work reflect on ‘power’ in redefining (self-understanding) and decolonizing society from challenges. It is correct to argue that this project reflects seriously on how Zimbabweans, and indeed Africans, attempt to understand their social reality, interact with each other, and attempt to extricate themselves from the colonial and post-colonial bondages.

Though this work will concern itself with understanding the different facets in which power is found, it is important here to understand what is meant by the use of the word ‘power’. Defining the term ‘power’ is elusive, and where such a definition exists, it is highly controversial (Hay: 1997; McAuley: 2003, 11); however, it is easy to connote what is referred to by the term, a position this work adopts. An overview of the connotations is forwarded by Mann (1986). Mann shows that ‘power’ is in the form of: i. ideological power that is operating at the level of indoctrinating and convincing people towards a shared way of living. This has to do with social power, which includes cultural and educational influence; ii. economic power that discusses issues that deal with production, distribution, exchange and consumption – in other words, the discussion is on the level of class system; iii. military power: the discussion here centres on physical survival and direct control of geographical space through coercion; and iv. political power, which talks of state control that is disseminated through some form of administration. These forms of ‘power’ have the effect of controlling and/or bringing about consequences (Lukes: 1974, 634), transforming humans and their conditions of living (Giddens: 1985) and the ability to pursue a course of action based on decisions either in the interest of or against other groups (Bottomore: 1979, 8). The above exposé fits into the ethos of this project: that is, discussing the different facets of power and how it has influenced or may influence the decolonization process. In addition to these predominant forms of power identified by Mann (1986), this work also focuses on religious power and spiritual power. The spirituality of Africans and the power of religion in Africa and among Africans is aptly captured in Mbiti’s (1969, 2) observation that ‘Africans are notoriously religious.’ This African theologian noted that the power of religion was shown through its pervasiveness in all sectors of life, such as in politics, economics, and social relations. Essentially, religion and politics are intertwined in some contexts. Nevertheless, religious power is ambivalent as it can be found under the guises of liberation and oppression. In this regard, the ideas in this paragraph resonate very well with the above, which discusses the methods through which the exercise of power is realized – violence, dissociation, engagement, and/or intellectual rebellion from the thongs of colonialism and post-colonial practices. Effectively this means that this work attempts to reveal the connection that exists between the different kinds of power, self-understanding, and emancipation. Thus, this project approaches the question of power from a broader understanding rather than limiting it to a particular way of understanding.

The expansiveness of understanding ‘power’ in the process of existential circumstances and the ‘decolonization’ process as presented above sets this work apart from other books which have since been published. For instance, Mapara and Mazuru’s (2015) work focuses only on indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) as foundations for African knowledge; Mawere and Mubaya (2016) generalize on the importance of knowledge systems. Furthermore, this work does not limit itself to a particular discipline such as African Philosophy (Mawere, Mubaya and Mukusha: 2017), Africology (Asante and Ledbetter: 2016), or understanding decolonization and processes of decolonization in Africa as is the case with Fanon (1956 and 2004) and Ndlovu-Gatsheni’s (2013) works. Rather, this work combines the decolonial project, use of IKS, self-understanding/identity, emancipation, different forms of power, and how the interplay among these impacts negatively or positively on social relations in Zimbabwe and indeed as applicable to Africa.

In discussing the interplay of power, the discussions in this work aver that people have the ability and capability to transform their circumstances. This is only possible when people understand themselves and what is at their disposal so that they challenge and alter their predicaments. In unpacking this influence of power, this work considers people as revolutionaries (Fanon: 2004, 44) rather than mere collaborators and workers as Karl Marx thinks. The thinking behind this opinion is that people have ideas, and views, be they ideologies or otherwise, on the kind of lives they want to live. In addition, people also are aware of hindrances to achieving the particular lives they value and would want to achieve; these are mostly linked to political organisations. Beyond these, people have ideas on how to emancipate themselves through (i) the use of arguments (historical and contemporary), persuasion, and convincing others (social power); (ii) rearranging social and political systems (political power); (iii) evoking the spiritual realm (religious power); (iv) knowledge and information society enhanced by technology (media power); and (v) using violence (military power). When people live the kind of lives they have reason to value, they are seeking to achieve dignity and emancipation from colonial and post-colonial bondage. It follows then that in order to achieve this, individuals have to understand the kind of exploitative and manipulative life they are living, and then make an effort to transform it for the better. This involves understanding the environment in which one is living. The environment is to be understood as constitutive of the political, social, religious, and economic spheres in which individuals find themselves. According to Sen (1999, 89) the environment has a bearing on the lives of people and it influences the kind of lives that people lead, though at the same time the same environment may influence people to think beyond its confines. The idea expressed by this social philosopher is that humans have the ability to transcend the confines of the communities that shape them. They can use the same environment that seemingly limits their abilities to change it or manipulate it to become relevant in their endeavours. These endeavours are hinged on the motive to become better people or to live lives which people have reason to value (Sen: 1999, xii). Understanding the existential conditions in which individuals find themselves is therefore key to any form of human living. With that in perspective, the different chapters in this work reflect and do, among other things, unpack the different human dimensions that range from the social, economic, religious, and political circumstances of how people attempt to understand themselves, decolonize, and attain full emancipation.

The discourses in this book go beyond understanding ‘power’ as the outright control of behaviour (through force, brutality, political, religious, social, and economic influence); this work adds the dimension of possibility to change unjust circumstances. In this sense, the chapters in this work reflect, at times, the added dimension of power as the turning of the term upside down to reveal the efforts of the mostly ‘ordinary’ agents, described by the Brazilian liberation theologian Gustavo Gutierrez as those living on the ‘underside of history’ (1973). These people with ‘the view from below’ are associated with the majority and are exposed to poverty, oppression, and other injustices; yet the same oppressed individuals make use of their wits, spirituality, heritage, strength of numbers, and instruments/tools for human living to change the course of events. This is necessary especially in environments where some aspects of human lives are considered to be of no consequence. However, reflections in this book reveal that the media, intangible and tangible heritages such as spiritual beliefs and social structures that are used to oppress, latently hold the power to turn tables upside down or to change society for the better. The very powers that oppress, objectify, exploit, and marginalise can be at the same time used by the oppressed to express the power they have to become and realise the lives they want. This thinking is well expressed or captured by the saying of Jesus of Nazareth when he was referring to himself as the ‘key’ to life beyond this world. Through metaphoric language, Jesus compared himself to the stone which the builders rejected that had become the cornerstone (cf. Matt. 21:42). Along the same lines, Jesus Christ claimed the spirit of the Lord was upon him and that his mission was to proclaim liberty to the captives, recover the sight of the blind, liberate the oppressed, and bring the inauguration of the ‘jubilee year’ (Luke 4:16–21). This shows God’s vision of what the ideal world could be – an environment full of justice and care for the vulnerable and down-trodden. In the same sense, that which was considered as non-essential in human living among the African people, is the real deal necessary for their living. These ideas are well put forward in the chapters that are contained in this work.

Noteworthy and important is the fact that authors in this work take time to engage with their heritage, both tangible and intangible. These heritages had been either neglected or rejected by the colonial and post-colonial systems. The different authors therefore take time to reveal and appreciate the importance and relevance of such heritages in shaping contemporary living. This is very important as a process of decolonization and in reasserting the human dignity and worthiness which had been denied indigenous African people. At this juncture it is necessary to focus on the existing Zimbabwean society.

Zimbabwean situation¹

In presenting the Zimbabwe situation, we begin by positing that politics influences all other dimensions of life, and as such the presentation starts by assessing the political situation. Politically Zimbabwe is a polarized state. On the one hand, there is a group of individuals who support and hero worship the veterans of the liberation war. In this group is the ruling party, ZANU PF, which has governed Zimbabwe since the attainment of independence (1980) from British rule, and in most cases, the administration has been marked by repression of opposition groups. In the words of Fanon (1956) the administration is a replica of colonial rule except that those in charge have changed colour – Black Skin, White Masks. This government has been accused of gross human rights violations and heavy-handedness in its administration. Also, the same government has been accused of corruption, nepotism, and favouritism – favouring indigenous inhabitants and promoting indigenous knowledge, but only for its own benefit and political expediency.

On the other hand, there are individuals and parties opposed to the governance of the war veterans. These argue that democracy and human rights ought to be respected and upheld in governance and political practices. There has been no agreement between the two political groupings except for the period when a Government of National Unity (GNU) was established between the years 2009 and 2013. The opposition does not necessarily argue for the exportation of foreign systems onto the Zimbabwean political scenario; rather, their thinking is that every policy (indigenization included) ought to benefit all, not the powerful and well-connected individuals. Further, they argue against hero-worshiping of former war veterans by saying this is bound to de facto legitimize their activities as the expected.

On the social front, it is important to note that there have been demise and dilution of the local cultures due to colonial influence, and seeming neglect of the same cultural values and systems by post-independent governments. Upon reflection, scholars and traditionalists have realized that it is important to revive local cultures as a way to preserve them, advance humanism in fractured societies, and bring sanity in the political, religious, economic, and social lives of the people. Hence, there has been a drive towards reviving local indigenous knowledge systems as a panacea to some social ills that Zimbabwe is facing. Discussions in this book focus on issues related to health, education, environmental protection, religion, political organization and governance, and media use. Among the issues raised by the scholars are that there is power in understanding social circumstances, the influence thereof, and working at effecting change for common good. In that sense, the contributors argue that history has a huge role to play in people’s lives. The argument is that forgetting and rejecting the historical experiences (precolonial, colonial and post-colonial) is folly. There is no way historical experience can be erased and be forgotten; rather, that experience should help people to learn the good and the bad, thereby enlightening them in formulating values that appreciate and accommodate diversity.

The above sections are relevant in that they situate the reader into the existential reality of life that ordinary Zimbabweans lived. Apart from that, situating the social livelihood of the people conforms to Habermas (1989 and 1996) and Honneth’s (1991) thinking that encourage understanding one’s social circumstances. They further say that after knowing one’s situation, the individuals will then work from that to achieve liberation. In most cases, the thinking is that social structures in which individuals find themselves are the chains that cause social alienation. This social alienation subjugates people to a situation in which they become slaves of their own society (Marx: 1975). In the same manner, social structures that have been created by colonial systems have also led to this social alienation. The alienation and subjugation has been based upon the ‘them’ and ‘us’ relation. In this analogy, ‘them’ refers to those who control society, and ‘us’ refers to those who do not belong to the group of ‘them’. These are the binary oppositions of social living, also known as the ‘centre-periphery’ dichotomy. The suffering has not only been limited to physical abuse, but relates to religious, legal, political, and even economic dimensions of human living. According to Jonathan Wolff (2017), for Marx, understanding the cause of suffering or one’s position is the beginning of the process to liberate oneself. Furthermore, the liberation of oneself is a process, not an event. Ending suffering is equal to ending binary oppositions. One cannot make an oversight of this thinking in the process of understanding oneself as well as reasserting, re-educating, and rethinking about Africa and its place in the twenty-first century. All the mentioned dimensions are essential in understanding who Africans are and how they can reclaim and regain their position in the dynamics of world social interactions. Indeed, in order to effect change in a particular society, one ought to know how it works, how power is accumulated and challenged, and how social structure can be realigned to serve the cause of justice instead of injustice. This is a process that Paulo Freire, the Brazilian educationist and philosopher, called ‘conscientization’ (Freire: 2005). This element influenced the liberation theologians and black theologians to emphasise the agency of the racially and socially oppressed people. Just like Marx’s thought, the agents of change are the people themselves, who have the power to move the world and to reclaim what has been denied them. This is the same position presented in this work, that people who understand themselves have the power to reassert and reclaim their position. The struggle for reassertion and reclamation can be through armed struggles, persuasive dialogue, and intellectual input, a position advanced in this work. However, the struggles captured in the chapters of this work are not necessarily violent, since most African countries went through these stages in anti-colonialist struggles that culminated in political independence. Nevertheless, what is required is a struggle in other dimensions, such as intellectual facets, as well as the reclamation of social and public spaces.

This work is a contribution to the ongoing decolonizing process, a process which is becoming clearer each day. The advent of democracy and its practice in African countries has changed the outlook of social organization. Whereas previously there was a distinction between ‘natives’ and ‘settlers’, that distinction has been replaced by the idea of ‘citizenship’ – a democratic principle. It is this very concept – citizenship – in which those formerly called ‘natives’ attempt to understand themselves and try to undo the thongs of colonisation that the democratic process kind of ignored. Attempts at addressing the classifications of people and other unresolved issues are what Joseph-Achille Mbembe refers to as the decolonising process (Mbembe: 2016). The process of decolonising itself involves demythologising both whiteness and blackness as an embodiment of humans. It also involves demythologising knowledge and practices by taking off all entrapments that individuals find themselves in, and decommissioning remnants of colonial legacies (Mbembe: 2016). In like fashio...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of contributors
• 1 Grappling with power in contemporary Zimbabwe: the introduction
• 2 The search for justice and peace: reflections on the Jambanja discourse as an articulation of justice foreshadowing peace
• 3 Reconciling the indigenisation narrative and the Eurocentric education curriculum in Zimbabwe: a critical dialogue
• 4 Acculturation and religious ingenuity key for African Independent Churches: the case of Guta Ra Jehova Church in Zimbabwe
• 5 Epistemic injustice and Shona indigenous conceptions of political power
• 6 ‘Backward is forward!’ Power and Israelite founding values: lessons for Zimbabwe
• 7 Indigenous African crusaders of environmental keeping: a phenomenological reflection on the power of AICs’ practices in Zimbabwe
• 8 Bulawayo linguistic landscaping as representative of power relations and dynamics
• 9 Ubuntu justice and the power to transform the modern Zimbabwean rehabilitation justice system
• 10 Cultural alienation and violence in Zimbabwean politics: some lessons from the ngozi phenomenon
• 11 Handing down the poisoned chalice: institutionalization of partisanship, coercion and solipsism in Mlalazi’s They Are Coming (2014)
• 12 Unlocking the media power and politics of televangelism in Zimbabwe: a contemporary discourse
• 13 Indigenous religion and environmental challenges: phenomenological reflections on the role of the Environmental Management Agency in Zimbabwe
• Index