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ABSTRACT
An attentive analysis of the dynamics of communication and its contents through digital media reveals the multiple publics and counterpublics shaped and constituted in online fora. They develop through a ‘networked sociality’, which is both local and global, involving also diasporic Zanzibaris who debate and participate in common public concerns. Drawn from the notion of baraza as a relevant example of Zanzibari’s public sphere, cyberbaraza is a ‘locally’ grounded concept forged to understand the construction of publics on the Zanzibar islands through digital media. Focusing on online public discussions that contested or legitimized official decisions concerning the 2015 elections, the study critically examines how the cyberbaraza comes into being a public, as part of a multiplicity of existing public spheres.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Founder member of the Civic United Front, he is the general secretary of the opposition party and first Vice President of Zanzibar. He had served, under the Revolutionary Party, in different ministries and as a member of various institutions until 1988.
2 Formed in 1992, ‘CUF […] is a conglomeration of diverse political forces, including disgruntled elements originating from ZNP and ZPPP’. Bakari and Makulilo, “Beyond Polarity,” 215 [respectively, Zanzibar Nationalist Party and Zanzibar and Pemba’s People Party].
3 The CCM was formed in 1977 by the fusion of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) and the Zanzibar Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP).
4 Loimeier, “The Baraza,” 26.
5 Schmidt, “Blogging Practices,” 1411.
6 Ibid., 1419.
7 De Zúñiga et al., “Social Media Use,” 331.
8 Warner, Publics.
9 The notion of Viswahili (plurality of Swahili languages) allows the avoidance of hierarchic definition of the Swahili language. Said A. Mohamed suggests that the Swahili language expands continuously embracing the variety of contexts in which it is spoken. See Mohamed “Utangulizi,” xxvi.
10 Hunter, Political Thought, 9.
11 See Askew and Wilk, The Anthropology of Media; Dickey, “Anthropology and Its Contributions”; Willems, “Interrogating Public Sphere.”
12 See Kresse, Philosophising, 55–6.
13 The Zanzibar archipelago experienced quite a different history in the context of the struggles for independence that characterized many African countries in the 1960s: for centuries Zanzibar has been a gateway to the African mainland and has seen a continuous flow of commodities and peoples. After gaining full self-government as an independent country in December 1963, the islands experienced an extremely violent revolution (January 1964), which resulted in the establishment of a one-party state led by Abedi Amani Karume (1964–1972) and a Revolutionary Government. The new government installed a regime of terror. See Glassman, War of Words; Burgess, “Cinema, Bell Bottoms”; Sheriff, Dhow Culture.
14 The ASP was founded in 1957, under the name of Afro-Shirazi Union, a coalition between the African Association and the Shirazi Association. Its ideology was mainly African nationalism as opposed to the broader multi-ethnic pan-Zanzibari nationalism of the ZNP. See Glassman, War of Words; Shivji, Pan-Africanism.
15 See Bakari, The Democratisation Process; Glassman, War of Words; Shivji, Pan-Africanism.
16 See Bakari and Makulilo, “Beyond Polarity”; Glassman, War of Words.
17 See Bakari, “Understanding Obstacles”; Glassman, War of Words.
18 A third agreement was afterwards negotiated but never translated into a formal accord. The two parties involved never accepted electoral defeat; the political leaders and actors involved were not genuinely committed to power-sharing, moving in a political environment affected by distrust, alienation and resentment. See Anglin, “Zanzibar: Political Impasse”; Bakari, “Understanding Obstacles”; Bakari and Makulilo, “Beyond Polarity”; Matheson, “Maridhiano.”
19 See Moss and Tronvoll, “We Are All Zanzibari!”
20 Ibid.
21 Yet different irregularities, mainly in granting electoral identification cards, have been denounced. See Matheson, “Maridhiano”; Nassor and Jose, “Power-sharing”; Moss and Tronvoll, “We Are All Zanzibari!”
22 Tume ya Uchaguzi ya Zanzibar. Ripoti, 50–1.
23 See Tume ya Uchaguzi ya Zanzibar. Ripoti, 51.
24 Topan, “From Coastal,” 65.
25 The website is not up to date. Accessed on November 30, 2016. http://www.zanzinet.org.
26 Literally cement bench (outside a house), sitting, verandah, but also council, assembly, law court, college, association and house in House of Representatives (Baraza la Wawakilishi).
27 Loimeier, “Baraza as Markers,” 180.
28 Ibid., 178–82.
29 Ibid., 182.
30 Cohen, “Cyberspace,” 210.
31 Loimeier, “The Baraza,” 26.
32 Ibid., 27.
33 Kresse, “Knowledge,” 152. See also Glassman, “Sorting out”; Glassman, War of Words; Kresse “Muslim Politics”; Kresse, Philosophising.
34 Kresse, Philosophising.
35 Ibid.
36 Loimeier, “The Baraza in Zanzibar,” 161.
37 Gagliardone, “New Media.”
38 Arnold, “Placing the Shameless”; Bryceson, “Dar es Salaam as a ‘Harbour of Peace’”; Caplan and Topan, Swahili Modernities; Fair, Pastimes; Larsen, “Spirit Possession”; Larsen, Knowledge; Mazrui and Shariff, The Swahili; Topan, “From Coastal.”
39 Ogola, “Kenya’s Diasporic.”
40 The shared use of one mobile phone, or the initiative Facebook Zero, through which users can access Facebook for free, even without airtime. See De Bruijn et al., Mobile Phones; Ekine, SMS Uprising, Wasserman, “Mobile Phones.”
41 During the 2015 elections, despite official declarations, there was evidence of violence perpetrated against the citizens by security forces, documented through different media – photos, videos, audio, eye-witness accounts – and shared on the digital social networks.
42 Eko, “The Art of Satirical”; Mustapha, “The Public Sphere.”
43 Fenton, “New Media,” 63.
44 Different newspapers have published about these events, reporting the related rumours.
45 Glassman, War of Words.
46 Diepeveen, “Politics in Everyday.”
47 Warner, Publics.
48 Ibid.
49 Habermas et al., “The Public Sphere.”
50 Topan, “From Coastal.”
51 ‘The term ‘local’ may qualify the specific regionally valid contexts, webs and traditions of meaning making within which people operate.’ Kresse, “Kenya: Twendapi?,” 4.
52 Ibid.
53 Ally Saleh introduces himself also as a lawyer and writer on his Facebook page. He was a cofounder of Dira (literally, vision), a newspaper started in 2002 to overcome the strong censorship imposed by the regime within the Zanzibar media context. Perceived as a threatening tool, Zanzibar authorities eventually banned it in December 2003. See Fouéré, “Reinterpreting.”
54 October 28, 2015, 19:36. Accessed on November 30, 2016. https://www.facebook.com/ally.saleh.5.
55 All translations from Swahili are mine; ellipses, orthography and punctuation as appearing in the Swahili posts. English translation reported with my punctuation added for understanding. October 28, 2015, 21:01. Accessed on November 30, 2016. https://www.facebook.com/ally.saleh.5.
56 Glassman, War of Words, 296.
57 October 28, 2015, 14:00. Accessed on November 30, 2016. https://www.facebook.com/ally.saleh.5.
58 The process of revision of the Tanzanian Constitution (that applies to both the mainland and Zanzibar) officially began in December 2011, when the then president Jakaya Kikwete declared his intent to embrace it. The first draft of the proposed constitution (2013) was submitted to an appointed constituent assembly in 2014. Although the draft passed all the due stages, the referendum for its final approval has yet to be set. The new constitution issue evolves around the Union matter, among others.
59 November 16, 2015, 08:23. https://www.facebook.com/ally.saleh.5.
60 Ibid., October 28, 2015, 11:02.
61 My ellipses.
62 Glassman, War of Words, 296.
63 Ibid., 62.
64 Warner, Publics.
65 November 26, 2015, 07:22. Accessed on November 30, 2016. https://www.facebook.com/ally.saleh.5.
66 Ibid., 18:27. Accessed on November 30, 2016.
67 Ohly, “Swahili-English,” 5.
68 Mazrui, “Conservationism,” 92.
69 For social imaginary I mean ‘the creation of significations through which a given society and the creation of images and figures that support these significations’, which are carried in implicit understanding that underlie and make possible common practices. See Castoriadis, The Imaginary Institution, 238.
70 Mbembe, On the Postcolony; Nyamnjoh, “Press Cartoons.”
71 Bakhtin, The Dialogic Imagination, 23.
72 Hariman, “Political Parody,” 264.
73 The newly coined term ujecha was adopted soon afterwards and adapted into ujechaji as we can read in an article’s title published on the website Zanzibar Yetu: Nyerere na ‘ujechaji’ wa haki za umma, (Nyerere and the ujechaji of the public rights). May 5, 2016. Accessed on November 30, 2016. https://zanzibariyetu.wordpress.com/2016/05/05/nyerere-na-ujechaji-wa-haki-za-umma/.
74 Hariman, “Political Parody.”
75 English language in the original text message. Shared on ‘likonde alumni.org’, WhatsApp group created in 2015.
76 Loimeier, “The baraza in Zanzibar.”
77 January 25, 2016, #1. Accessed on November 30, 2016. http://www.jamiiforums.com/threads/uchaguzi-zanzibar-hongera-rais-magufuli-kwa-msimamo-sahihi.1002520/page-16.
78 ‘Zanzibar matter’ refers to the way Julius Nyerere used to refer to the archipelago in reference to the Union.
79 Accessed on November 30, 2016. http://www.jamiiforums.com/.
80 January 25, 2016, #1. Accessed on November 30, 2016. http://www.jamiiforums.com/threads/uchaguzi-zanzibar-hongera-rais-magufuli-kwa-msimamo-sahihi.1002520/page-16.
81 Ibid.
82 Nyerere’s worries about the Zanzibar political position in the Union appear clear as quoted by Smith: ‘If I could tow that island out into the middle of the Indian Ocean, I’ll do it’. See: Smith, Nyerere of Tanzania, 90.
83 January 25, 2016, #1. Accessed on November 30, 2016. http://www.jamiiforums.com/threads/uchaguzi-zanzibar-hongera-rais-magufuli-kwa-msimamo-sahihi.1002520/page-16.
84 Ibid., February 19, 2016, #311. Accessed on November 30, 2016.
85 Ibid., #312. Accessed on November 30, 2016.
86 Biersteker, Kujibizana, 21.
87 Mbembe, On the Postcolony.
88 Werner, Publics, 119
89 January 25, 2016, #313. Accessed on November 30, 2016. http://www.jamiiforums.com/threads/uchaguzi-zanzibar-hongera-rais-magufuli-kwa-msimamo-sahihi.1002520/page-16.
90 Sharif Hamad in his speech Kwa nini Napinga Kurudiwa Uchaguzi (Why I oppose new elections to be run), published on the journal Raia Mwema on 13 January 2016. Accessed on November 30, 2016. http://www.raiamwema.co.tz/maalim-seif-kwanini-napinga-kurudiwa-uchaguzi/
91 Tume ya Uchaguzi ya Zanzibar. Ripoti, 79.