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Abstract
Studies of the politics and history of Zimbabwe since independence have neglected the significant role played by student activists. This article explores why and how this group of educated youth, who formed the first civic organisation to challenge ZANU(PF), was able to pierce gerontocratic social orders and play a political role in Zimbabwe's recent violent history. It argues that the university gave students a social and intellectual status which they used to pursue ‘self-mastery’ and participate in political activity from the 1980s. Between 2000 and 2008, however, conditions changed. State violence and the students' increasingly frustrated material position produced a particular form of political masculinity – that of ‘hardcore’ activism. ‘Hardcore’ male activists violently resisted state repression and sought to dominate other genders within the university. By exploring the skills, ideas and behaviour associated with student activism, this article gives an insight into the political background of many individuals in the highest circles of politics and civil society today.
Notes
*My special thanks to P. Zamchiya, W. Katema, R. Ngaiza and Oxford's African Studies Centre for their assistance in Zimbabwe, and to J. Alexander, L. Jones, and I. Little for their challenging and patient guidance.
1 Interview with Phillan Zamchiya, Oxford, 1 March 2010.
2 ‘CIO Agents Move In to Finish Off Hospitalised Student Leader’, Daily News, 23 October 2004, available at http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/oct23_2004.html, retrieved 5 April 2011.
3 Interview with Phillan Zamchiya, Oxford, 1 March 2010.
4 M. Mamdani, ‘Intelligentsia, the State and Social Movements in Africa’, in M. Diouf and M. Mamdani (eds), Academic Freedom in Africa (Dakar, CODESRIA, 1994), p. 259.
5 N. Kriger, ‘The Zimbabwean War of Liberation: Struggles within the Struggle’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 14, 2 (1988), p. 319.
6 For histories of the student movement see L. Zeilig, ‘Student Politics and Activism in Zimbabwe: The Frustrated Transition’, Journal of Asian and African Studies, 46, 215 (2008), p. 218; S. Federici and G. Caffentzis, ‘Chronology of African University Students’ Struggle: 1985–1998', in S. Federici, G. Caffentzis and O. Alidou (eds), A Thousand Flowers: Social Struggles Against Structural Adjustment in African Universities (Trenton, Africa World Press, 2000), p. 124.
7 See M. Gelfand, A Non-Racial Island of Learning: A History of the University College of Rhodesia from its Inception to 1966 (Salisbury, Mambo Press, 1978); A. Mlambo, ‘Student Protest and State Reaction in Colonial Rhodesia: The 1973 Chimukwembe Student Demonstration at the University of Rhodesia’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 21, 3 (1995); T. Barnes, ‘Politics of the Mind and Body: Gender and Institutional Culture in African Universities’, Feminist Africa, 8 (2007), p. 13.
8 Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Human Rights Research Unit: Annual Report (2003), available at http://www.hrforumzim.org/publications/annual-reports/research-unit-2004/, retrieved 20 January 2012.
9 L. White, ‘Separating the Men from the Boys: Constructions of Gender, Sexuality, and Terrorism in Central Kenya, 1939–1959’, Journal of African Historical Studies, 23, 1 (1990), p. 2; C. Glaser, ‘Managing the Sexuality of Urban Youth: Johannesburg 1920s–1960s’, International Journal of African Historical Studies, 28, 2 (2005); J. Jones, ‘“Nothing is Straight in Zimbabwe”: The Rise of the Kukiya-kiya Economy 2000–2008’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 36, 2 (2010).
10 J. Butler, ‘Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory’, Theatre Journal, 40, 4 (1988), p. 519.
11Ibid., p. 528.
12 R. Morrell, Changing Men in Southern Africa (Pietermaritzburg, University of Natal Press, 2001), p. 7; C. Shire, ‘Men Don't Go to the Moon: Language, Space, and Masculinities in Zimbabwe’, in A. Cornwall and N. Lindisfarne (eds), Dislocating Masculinity: Comparative Ethnographies (London, Routledge, 1994), pp. 146–58.
13 Morrell, Changing Men, p. 7.
14 R. Connell, Gender and Power: Society, the Person and Sexual Politics (Palo Alto, University of California Press, 1987), p. 183.
15 R. Morrell, ‘Of Boys and Men: Masculinity and Gender in Southern African Studies’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 24, 4 (1998), p. 184.
16 M. Foucault, ‘Is it Useless to Revolt?’, in J. Afary and K. Anderson, Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seductions of Islamism (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2005), p. 265.
17 A. Mbembe, On the Post-Colony (Berkeley, University of California Press, 2001), p. 103.
18 B. Raftopoulous, ‘Zimbabwe: The Shadow of Elections’, African Arguments (9 March 2012), available at http://africanarguments.org/2012/03/09/zimbabwe-the-shadow-of-elections-by-brian-raftopoulos/, retrieved 11 June 2012.
19Ibid.
20 R. Muponde and K. Muchemwa, ‘Introduction’, in R. Muponde and K. Muchemwa (eds), Manning the Nation: Father Figures in Zimbabwean Literature and Society (Harare, Weaver Press, 2007), p. xx.
21 D. Durham ‘Youth and the Social Imagination in Africa: Introduction to Parts 1 and 2’, Anthropological Quarterly, 73, 3 (2000), pp. 113–20.
22 R. Waller, ‘Rebellious Youth in Colonial Africa’, Journal of African History, 47 (2006), p. 80; K. Benson and J. Chadya, ‘Ukubhinya: Gender and Sexual Violence in Bulawayo, Colonial Zimbabwe, 1946–56’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 31, 3 (2005), pp. 587–610; A. Burton, ‘Urchins, Loafers and the Cult of the Cowboy: Urbanisation and Delinquency in Dar es Salaam, 1919–61, Journal of African History, 42 (2001), pp. 199–216.
23 S. Miescher and A. Lindsay, Men and Masculinities in Modern Africa (Portsmouth, Heinemann, 2003), p. 7.
24 Barnes, ‘Politics of the mind and body’, p. 12.
25 Miescher and Lindsay, Men and Masculinities, p. 20.
26 Miescher and Lindsay, Men and Masculinities, p. 8.
27 Shire, ‘Men Don't Go to the Moon’, pp. 146–58.
28 Interview with Dewa Mavhinga, London, 21 February 2010.
29 Waller, ‘Rebellious Youth in Colonial Africa’, p. 80.
30 Robert Morrell, for instance, in Changing Men in Southern Africa, has explored the masculinity associated with South African Tsotsi gangs’ violent rejection of traditional controls, middle-class respectabilities, and restrictive administrative policies.
31 M. Kesby, ‘Arenas for Control, Terrains of Gender Contestation: Guerrilla Struggle and Counter-Insurgency Warfare in Zimbabwe 1972–1980’, Journal of Southern African Studies, 22, 4 (1996), p. 572.
32 Waller, ‘Rebellious Youth in Colonial Africa’, p. 80.
33 J-F. Bayart, The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly (Cambridge, Polity Press, 2009), pp. 182–5.
34 M. Burawoy, ‘Consciousness and Contradiction: A Study of Student Protest in Zambia’, British Journal of Sociology, 27, 1 (March 1976), p. 78.
35Ibid.
36 R. Mugabe, The Role of the University in the Process of Social Transformation (Harare, University of Zimbabwe Press, 1983), p. 3; A. Ivaska, ‘Of Students, “Nizers”, and a Struggle over Youth: Tanzania's 1966 National Service Crisis’, Africa Today, 51, 3 (2005), p. 85.
37 Mugabe, The Role of the University, p. 5.
38 R. Zvobgo, Transforming Education: The Zimbabwe Experience (Harare, The College Press, 1986), p. 128.
39 Zeilig, ‘Student Politics and Activism in Zimbabwe’, p. 217.
40Ibid., p. 218.
41 Zvobgo, Transforming Education, p. 128.
42 Republic of Zimbabwe, Growth with Equity: An Economic Policy Statement (Harare, Government Printer, 1981), p. 11.
43 A. Mlambo, ‘Post-Colonial Higher Education in Zimbabwe: The University of Zimbabwe as a Case Study 1980–2004’, Kleio, 37 (2005).
44 For the shifts in intakes, see ibid., p. 121; UNDP, Human Development Report – Zimbabwe (Harare, 1999), p. 40; Republic of Zimbabwe, Growth with Equity, p. 11.
45 Interview with Clever Bere, Harare, 24 March 2010.
46 Interview with Steve Chivusi, Harare, 31 March 2010.
47 Interview with Mlilo Mafundo, Harare, 1 April 2010.
48 Interview with Steve Chivusi, Harare, 31 March 2010.
49 Interview with Mlilo Mafundo, Harare, 23 March 2010.
50 Interview with Phillan Zamchiya, Oxford, 3 March 2010
51 Interview with Gladys Hlatshwayo, Harare, 27 March 2010.
52 Interview with Nixon Nyikadzino, Johannesburg, 14 April 2010.
53 Interview with Mlilo Mafundo, Harare, 1 April 2010.
54 J.L. Cefkin, ‘Rhodesian University Students in National Politics’, in W.J. Hanna and J.L. Hanna (eds), University Students and African Politics (New York, Africana Publishing Company, 1975), p. 149.
55 See Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and Legal Resources Foundation, Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace: A Report into the Disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands, 1980–1988 (CCJP and LRF, 1999); J. Alexander, J. McGregor and T. Ranger, Violence and Memory: One hundred years in the ‘dark forests’ of Matabeleland, Zimbabwe (Oxford, James Currey, 2000).
56 M. Muzondidya, ‘From Buoyancy to Crisis: 1980–1997’, in B. Raftopoulos and A. Mlambo (eds), Becoming Zimbabwe: A History from the Pre-Colonial Period to 2008 (Harare, Weaver Press, 2009), p. 183.
57 In September 1988, five ministers – including the Minister for Higher Education, Dzingai Mutumbuka – were found to be involved in illegal car sales.
58 A. Mutambara, ‘In Search of Meaning and Significance: An Autobiography of Thought’ (unpublished ms., n.d.), p. 67.
59Ibid.
60 B. Raftopoulos, ‘The Labour Movement and the Emergence of Opposition Politics in Zimbabwe’, in B. Raftopoulos and L. Sachikonye (eds), ‘Striking Back’: The Labour Movement and the Post-Colonial State in Zimbabwe 1980–2000 (Harare, Weaver Press, 1992), p. 72.
61 L. Madhuku, ‘Overzealousness verses sobriety in U.Z. Student Politics’, Focus Magazine (1989).
62The Herald, 1989 (exact date unknown).
63 Mutambara, In Search of Meaning, p. 69.
64The Herald, 7 October 1989.
65 Muponde and Muchemwa, ‘Introduction’, p. xx.
66The Herald, 7 October 1989.
67 Mutambara, In Search of Meaning, p. 67.
68The Worker, 1993 (exact date unknown).
69Focus, 1989 (page reference unknown).
70Focus, 1988, p. 29.
71 Mutambara, In Search of Meaning, p. 70.
72Ibid., p. 72.
73The Herald, 6 January 1995.
74 Muzondidya, ‘From Buoyancy to Crisis’, p. 196.
75 Mlambo, ‘Post-Colonial Higher Education in Zimbabwe’, p. 121.
76Ibid.
77 Interview with Nixon Nyikadzino, Johannesburg, 14 April 2010.
78 Interview with Mlilo Mafundo, Harare, 1 April 2010.
79 J. Alexander and J. McGregor, ‘Elections, Land and the Politics of Opposition in Matabeleland’, Journal of Agrarian Change, 1, 4 (2001).
80 Human Rights Watch (HRW), You Will Be Thoroughly Beaten: The Brutal Suppression of Dissent in Zimbabwe, 18, 10A (2006), pp. 16–19; Solidarity Peace Trust (SPT), Policing the State: An Evaluation of 1,981 Political Arrests in Zimbabwe: 2000–2005 (Johannesburg, SPT, 2006); Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Only Bruises on the Soles of their Feet! Torture and Falanga in Zimbabwe (Harare, 2009); interview with Brian Mtisi, Bulawayo, 11 April 2010.
81 Interview with McDonald Lewanika, Harare, 30 March 2010; interview with Phillan Zamchiya, Oxford, 1 May 2010.
82 HRW, You Will Be Thoroughly Beaten, p. 18.
83 Interview with Clever Bere, Harare, 24 March 2010.
84 Interview with Vivid Gwede, Bulawayo, 10 April 2010; interview with Phillan Zamchiya, Oxford, 3 March 2010; interview with Sampson Nxumalu, Bulawayo, 11 April 2010; interview with Blessing Vava, Harare, 26 March 2010.
85 Interview with Tawanda Mudeza, Harare, 24 March 2010.
86 Interview with Phillan Zamchiya, Oxford, 1 March 2010.
87Daily News, 10 April 2001.
88 Interview with Tawanda Mudeza, Harare, 24 March 2010.
89 ZINASU, Summary of Issues in Higher Education and the Formulation of an Alternative Education Policy (Harare, n.d.), p. 5.
90 Students Solidarity Trust, State of the Education Sector in Zimbabwe 2008: Inside Pandora's Box (2008), p. 42; interview with Blessing Vava, Harare, 26 March 2010.
91 Interview with Blessing Vava, Harare, 26 March 2010.
92 Interview with Joram Chikwadze, Bulawayo, 10 April 2010.
93 Interview with Brian Mtisi, Bulawayo, 11 April 2010.
94 Interview with Blessing Vava, Harare, 26 March 2010.
95 Interview with Sendisa Sendura, Harare, 28 March 2010.
96 Muponde and Muchemwa, ‘Introduction’, p. xx.
97 P. Zamchiya, ‘The Journey To and From Harare Remand Prison’ (unpublished ms., 2009), p. 5.
98 Interview with Phillan Zamchiya, Oxford, 1 March 2010.
99 ‘Talking with Tatchell’ (2007), available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v = QiKCdlWbsuM, retrieved 3 October 2012.
100 Interview with McDonald Lewanika, Harare, 30 March 2010.
101 Interview with Job ‘Saro-Wiwa’ Sikhala, Harare, 28 March 2010.
102 Interview with McDonald Lewanika, Harare, 30 March 2010.
103 Interview with Washington Katema, Harare, 28 March 2010.
104 Interview with Joram Chikwadze, 10 April 2010.
105 ‘ZINASU scores victory against diabolic tendencies’, The Students' Vuvuzela – ZINASU weekly e-newsletter, 29 October 2010.
106 K. Chakabva, ‘ZINASU Leaders to Appear in Court’, ZINASU media release, 28 October 2010.
107 K. Chakabva, ‘Former ZINASU president Clever Bere readmitted at the National University of Science and Technology’, ZINASU media release, 27 October 2010.
108 Interview with Nixon Nyakdzino, Johannesburg, 14 April 2010.
109 Interview with Nigel Johnson, Bulawayo, 5 April 2010.
110Ibid.
111 N. Johnson, The Future of Student Demonstrations (Harare, Prestage House, 1992), p. 3.
112 Interview with Tawanda Mudeza, Harare, 24 March 2010.
113 Interview with Mlilo Mafundo, Harare, 1 April 2010.
114 Interviews with Phillan Zamchiya, Oxford, 1 May 2010; Nixon Nyikadzino, Johannesburg, 14 April 2010; Nigel Johnson, Bulawayo, 5 April 2010.
115 ‘Nose brigade’ was a pejorative term used for middle-class students who were perceived to be altering their intonation to sound more ‘white’, i.e., speaking through the nose. ‘Salads’ was another pejorative term based upon perceived middle-class diets. The label ‘SRB’ implied backward, unthinking, and vulgar characteristics.
116 R. Gaidzanwa, ‘The Politics of the Body and the Politics of Control: An Analysis of Class, Gender and Cultural Issues in Student Politics at the University of Zimbabwe’, Zambezia, 20 (1993), p. 31.
117Ibid., p. 22.
118 Interview with Mlilo Mafundo, Harare, 1 April 2010.
119 Gaidzanwa, ‘The Politics of the Body’, p. 29.
120Ibid., p. 32.
121 F. Chakaredza, ‘There is Blood in my Eye.…’ (1994), typed manuscript press release.
122 Interview with Nixon Nyikadzino, Johannesburg, 14 April 2010.
123 Interview with Father Nigel Johnson, Bulawayo, 5 April 2010.
124 Tichawangana, Ha! Ha! Ahoy!: The Indispensible Oh-My-Goodness-Life-Is-Not-So-Bad Guide to Survival at the University of Zimbabwe (Harare, Prestage House, 1998).
125UZ Informer (1997), p. 15.
126 Interview with Brian Mtisi, Bulawayo, 11 April 2010.
127UZ Informer (May 1997), p. 2.
128 Interview with Nixon Nyikadzino, Johannesburg, 14 April 2010.
129 Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe, ‘Media Update # 2001/21’, 18 June 2001, Issue 26, available at http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/1640, retrieved 7 January 2013; ‘Mourning students want Mugabe out’, Daily News, 27 November 2001, available at http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/nov28_2001.html#link9, retrieved 7 January 2013.
130 Interview with Phillan Zamchiya, Oxford, 1 March 2010.
131Ibid.
132Ibid.
133 Interview with Dewa Mavhinga, Johannesburg, 17 April 2010. The SEC replaced the SRC in 1998.
134 Interview with Phillan Zamchiya, Oxford, 1 May 2010.
135 Interview with Madock Chivasa, Harare, 26 March 2010.
136 Interview with McDonald Lewanika, Harare, 30 March 2010.
137 Interview with Phillian Zamchiya, Oxford, 1 May 2010.
138 Interview with Tawanda Shuwarara, Harare, 31 March 2010.
139 Interview with Marlene Gadzirayi, Harare, 25 March 2010.
140 Interview with McDonald Lewanika, Harare, 30 March 2010.
141Ibid.
142 Interview with Gladys Hlatshwayo, Harare, 27 March 2010.
143 Interview with Sendisa Sendura, Harare, 28 March 2010.
144 Interview with Sampson Nxumalu, Bulawayo, 11 April 2010.
145 Interview with Marlene Gadzirayi, Harare, 25 March 2010.
146 Interview with Vivid Gwede, Bulawayo, 10 April 2010.
147UZ Informer (June 1997), p. 14.
148 Interview with Munjodzi Mutandiri, Johannesburg, 16 April 2010.
149 Interview with Gladys Hlatshwayo, Harare, 27 March 2010.
150 SayWhat, The SayWhat Observer: Annual Report 2009 (Harare), p. 7.
151 Interview with Mlilo Mafundo, Harare, 1 April 2010.
152 D. Blair, ‘Student dies over “sugar daddies”’, The Telegraph, 11 April 2001.
153 Interview with Madock Chivasa, Harare, 26 March 2010.
154 P. Zenenga, ‘Boys: Performing Manhood in Zimbabwean Drama’, in Muchemwa and Muponde (eds), Manning the Nation, p. 135. Even Learnmore Jongwe, the former SRC president and MDC MP, had his car overturned by UBAs.
155 Interview with Madock Chivasa, Harare, 26 March 2010.
156 Interview with Gladys Hlatshwayo, Harare, 27 March 2010.
157 Interview with Mlilo Mafundo, Harare, 1 April 2010.
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Dan Hodgkinson
Dan HodgkinsonUniversity of Oxford, St. Antony's College, 62 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6JF, United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected]