‘I am a paramount chief, this land belongs to my ancestors’: the reconfiguration of rural authority after Zimbabwe's land reforms

Abstract

This article explores the reconfiguration of rural authority in the aftermath of Zimbabwe's Fast Track Land Reform Programme, particularly the way the programme has allowed local chiefs to deploy ancestral autochthony as a way of contesting state hegemony over the countryside. It argues that chiefs cannot simply be viewed as undemocratic remnants of colonial rule; instead, a nuanced understanding of their role in rural governance is required.

[« Je suis un chef suprême, cette terre appartient à mes ancêtres » : la reconfiguration des autorités rurales après les réformes foncières au Zimbabwe.] Cet article explore la reconfiguration de l'autorité rurale à la suite du programme accéléré de réforme foncière au Zimbabwe, en particulier la manière dont le programme a permis aux chefs locaux de développer l'autochtonie ancestrale comme un moyen de contester l'hégémonie de l’État sur les zones rurales. L'article soutient que les chefs ne peuvent pas être considérés simplement comme des vestiges non démocratiques de la loi coloniale ; au lieu de cela, il est nécessaire de comprendre de manière nuancée leur rôle dans la gouvernance rurale.

KEYWORDS:

• Chiefs
• fast track land reform
• indigenisation
• Mhondoro Ngezi
• ZANU PF
• Zimplats

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Chefs
• fast track land reform
• indigénisation
• Mhondoro Ngezi
• ZANU PF
• Zimplats

Acknowledgements

This paper is based on interviews conducted as part of a doctoral thesis submitted to the University of Edinburgh in March 2013 and ongoing fieldwork in the Mhondoro Ngezi district of Zimbabwe. The author would also like to thank Ndabezinhle Nyoni, who read the first draft of the paper.

Note on contributor

Grasian Mkodzongi is an A.C. Jordan Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town. He obtained his PhD from the University of Edinburgh (UK). His doctoral thesis, which was entitled ‘Fast tracking land reform and rural livelihoods in Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe’, focused on the dynamics of rural livelihoods after Zimbabwe’s Fast Track Land Reform Program. His current research focuses on the interface of agrarian change, mineral resource extraction and rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe and the southern African region.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Some names of informants have been changed to protect their identity.