Resistance, struggle and protest against genocide and incarceration: The case of Talitha Koum – Someone lied! and 1983 – Years Before and After

ABSTRACT

This article positions theatre as a site for victims and activists to action their resistance against Gukurahundi related incarceration and human rights abuse perpetrated in the 1980s. Through case studying Talitha Koum and 1983, we examine resistance strategies deployed through theatre performance to expose Gukurahundi violence, invigorate debate and hold public officials accountable. We submit that theatre performance offers a ‘liberation’ of cultural memory from state regimes of censorship and suppression. We observe that performances served as a form of agentic resistance against the original acts of violence perpetrated during the genocide, and the subsequent ‘psychological incarceration’ experienced by victims.

KEYWORDS:

• Gukurahundi
• alternative space
• Talitha
• 1983
• activism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 This is an African saying that intimates that the stories of the subaltern need to be told by those with experience and not those with political and economic power.

2 The Fifth Brigade refers to a ‘special’ brigade that was created by Robert Mugabe and trained by the North Korean Army specifically to attend to ‘insurgencies’ in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces. The Fifth Brigade only was operational during the Gukurahundi period (1982–1987) and was later disbanded, granted blanket immunity and integrated into other brigades located across the country.

3 The ‘I’ refers to Nkululeko Sibanda. Moyo has his own very personal encounters and experiences with Gukurahundi which relate to Talitha.

4 Growing up within such a historical context, we were given monikers that captured these painful moments. I was called ‘Ntolongweni’ (Jailbird) while my cousin sister was named ‘Ntombiyejele’ (Girl from Jail). There were many other families that were kept at these holding camps, some even getting separated for life.

5 We call these ‘unconfirmed’ because the state has blatantly refused to admit that there are mass graves in these areas just like the Gukurahundi genocide (see Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace - CCJP 2007; Maedza 2017).

6 This followed other outreach programmes by the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) hearings in 2018 which gave an opportunity for victims in Matabeleland to come forward. The Monhlante led Commission of Inquiry in 2018 also opened space for Gukurahundi victims to share their frustrations and experiences with the world. Yet this Commission of Inquiry was set to deal with the post-election violence that happened on the 1st of August 2020.

7 Most Gukurahundi related events have in the past been disturbed or stopped by state security agents who would have been ‘masquerading’ as audience members. We easily identified some of these agents in the auditorium.

8 This adopts an indigenous African spirituality that characterises the dead as the ‘living dead’ who provide spiritual protection and guidance to the physically alive.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nkululeko Sibanda

Nkululeko Sibanda holds a Ph.D. in Drama and Performance Studies and is currently a Drama Lecturer at the University of Pretoria. His research interests include applied theatre practice in Africa, African Theatre, alternative scenography, (African) scenographic practice and theory, alternative performance and identity and performance and memory.

Cletus Moyo

Cletus Moyo is a Drama Lecturer at Lupane State University and PhD (Drama and Performance Studies) Canon Collins Scholar at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). Moyo completed a Train – the – Trainer Course in Arts and Cultural Management at the African Arts Institute (AFAI) in Cape Town, South Africa.