Robert Mugabe

Zimbabwe's rulers won't tolerate opposing voices – but its writers refuse to be silenced

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
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The ruling elite in Zimbabwe has always tried to silence opposing political voices and erase histories it does not wish to have aired.

Key Points: 
  • The ruling elite in Zimbabwe has always tried to silence opposing political voices and erase histories it does not wish to have aired.
  • As Zimbabwe heads to the polls again in 2023, it’s worth considering the role that writers have played in engendering political resistance.

The liberation struggle

    • It was used to mobilise resistance against the white minority regime and garner international support for the liberation struggle.
    • Many others like Charles Mungoshi, Tsitsi Dangarembga and Chenjerai Hove produced texts that encouraged resistance against colonial rule.

Independence

    • Since independence in Zimbabwe, there has remained little space for dissenting voices – first under the leadership of Robert Mugabe and then Emmerson Mnangagwa.
    • The Gukurahundi genocide, which novelist Novuyo Rosa Tshuma called the country’s “original sin”, marked the first instance in which the state quashed opposing voices.

The turbulent ‘lost decade’ (2000-2010)

    • The rise of a formidable opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change, in 1999 was met with violence by the state.
    • Fresh voices emerged, among them Brian Chikwava, NoViolet Bulawayo, Petina Gappah, John Eppel, Christopher Mlalazi and Lawrence Hoba.
    • Bulawayo’s award-winning 2013 novel We Need New Names depicts the political situation through the perspective of its teenage protagonist, Darling.
    • The stories illuminate the human cost of political decisions and the resilience of ordinary people in the face of hardships.

Literature in the Second Republic

    • Literature after the demise of Mugabe and his four-decade regime – a period referred to as the Second Republic – has continued to grapple with Zimbabwe’s prevailing sociopolitical environment.
    • Batsirai Chigama’s collection of poems Gather the Children captures the vicissitudes of contemporary life in Zimbabwe.
    • These strictures insinuate themselves into the ambience of everyday life and language, something that Chigama observes with careful attention.

The power (and limits) of literature

    • Despite its power, reading remains a luxury that many Zimbabweans cannot afford.
    • Books are extremely expensive and few people have disposable income to read for pleasure.

Zimbabwe Sticks to Reforms Despite Short-term Economic Pain

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Africa, Countries, Government of Zimbabwe, Shona people, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, In Zimbabwe, Foreign relations of Zimbabwe

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Nov.7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimbabwe is sticking to its economic reforms despite the headwinds caused by natural disasters and sanctions.

Key Points: 
  • HARARE, Zimbabwe, Nov.7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimbabwe is sticking to its economic reforms despite the headwinds caused by natural disasters and sanctions.
  • "We wanted to achieve fiscal consolidation Zimbabwe was earlier running deficits of double figures and to control our trade deficit.
  • President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over in 2017, has made implementing structural reforms a priority, despite inheriting a struggling economy marked by hyperinflation, cash shortages and endemic corruption under former president Robert Mugabe.
  • Despite these setbacks, the government continues to open up the country's economic, political and media spaces.

Zimbabwe Sticks to Reforms Despite Short-term Economic Pain

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Africa, Countries, Government of Zimbabwe, Shona people, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, In Zimbabwe, Foreign relations of Zimbabwe

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Nov.7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimbabwe is sticking to its economic reforms despite the headwinds caused by natural disasters and sanctions.

Key Points: 
  • HARARE, Zimbabwe, Nov.7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimbabwe is sticking to its economic reforms despite the headwinds caused by natural disasters and sanctions.
  • "We wanted to achieve fiscal consolidation Zimbabwe was earlier running deficits of double figures and to control our trade deficit.
  • President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over in 2017, has made implementing structural reforms a priority, despite inheriting a struggling economy marked by hyperinflation, cash shortages and endemic corruption under former president Robert Mugabe.
  • Despite these setbacks, the government continues to open up the country's economic, political and media spaces.

Zimbabwe Calls for Lifting of Sanctions With a Public Holiday

Retrieved on: 
Friday, October 25, 2019
Africa, Countries, Government of Zimbabwe, Shona people, Republics, Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Robert Mugabe, Foreign relations of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean coup d'état

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Oct.25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimbabwe has called a public holiday Friday to highlight the toll that sanctions are taking on its fragile economy.

Key Points: 
  • HARARE, Zimbabwe, Oct.25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimbabwe has called a public holiday Friday to highlight the toll that sanctions are taking on its fragile economy.
  • Zimbabwe's president Emmerson Mnangagwa has called these Robert Mugabe-era sanctions counter-productive, hurting his efforts to turn Zimbabwe around after decades of isolation and mismanagement.
  • But all this is at risk with Zimbabwe remaining shut out of international finance and expertise due to the sanctions.
  • The Southern African Development Community has expressed solidarity with Zimbabwe, calling for an end to the crippling sanctions.

Zimbabwe Calls for Lifting of Sanctions With a Public Holiday

Retrieved on: 
Friday, October 25, 2019
Africa, Countries, Government of Zimbabwe, Shona people, Republics, Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Robert Mugabe, Foreign relations of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean coup d'état

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Oct.25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimbabwe has called a public holiday Friday to highlight the toll that sanctions are taking on its fragile economy.

Key Points: 
  • HARARE, Zimbabwe, Oct.25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimbabwe has called a public holiday Friday to highlight the toll that sanctions are taking on its fragile economy.
  • Zimbabwe's president Emmerson Mnangagwa has called these Robert Mugabe-era sanctions counter-productive, hurting his efforts to turn Zimbabwe around after decades of isolation and mismanagement.
  • But all this is at risk with Zimbabwe remaining shut out of international finance and expertise due to the sanctions.
  • The Southern African Development Community has expressed solidarity with Zimbabwe, calling for an end to the crippling sanctions.