Creation and Control of Political Narratives in Zimbabwe.

By Takura Zhangazha*

Zimbabweans are familiar with the historical question that relates to “What made us?” In most cases the historical answer is the first and second liberation struggles against colonialism. The other answer is the fact of our economic suffering after the first eight years of independence when we underwent rapid economic liberalisation at the behest of global financialised capital which we refer to as the ESAP period that took at least another ten years to take hold.

Where we take it take it a step further a number of us post ESAP children ask a key question “What made ‘me’?”, and how should we remember or reflect this question’s importance for a perceived  contemporary ‘individuality?’ As assumedly conscious adults and with the baggage of our own personal experiences as informing our attitudes to our contemporary lives and its attendant materialist, comparatively competitive demands.

This can come in many forms.  But it can be generally assumed to initially and in most cases sequentially  stem from our sense of belonging to family, cultural practices/language/religion, geographical location, history and contemporary political/economic placement in the society(ies) that we live in. 

The key point however would still remain that a majority of us assume we are somewhat societally ‘created’ to have a sense of being and belonging for some of the reasons cited above.  But even more importantly based on what we not only experience but also what we desire.   Be it in the form of recognition from family, the church you attend or in more cases now, the work and company you keep.  Or the comparative, competitive wealth that you are in adulation recognised by your immediate close and personal society to have made. 

These senses of ‘belonging’ and ‘being’ in Zimbabwe are however no longer static.  It appears that they depend on the fluidity of one’s individual economic or material circumstances.

One day you can be a firm believer in orthodox religion as it relates to your everyday work/employment or tomorrow you can wake up in an African Apostolic Faith church understanding of your existential circumstances. Or you can find yourself as a rabid or even moderate political activist on behalf of one party or the other for many years only to make an abrupt u-turn for in most cases what can be mainly a livelihood reason.  And in some rare cases, you can decide to be a neutral and cynic about many things and functioning on an abstract philosophical basis that each day brings what it will. So long you follow the money.

The essence of this argument being that however as we seek to personally identify or deem we are authentically socially created, we also have, in the contemporary, what can be considered “political personas”.  These being a combination of our personal political experiences (painful or placated), our preferred political beliefs and our more realistic material ones.

In our contemporary political elections we appear to be seeking more a reflection of ourselves and the language of what we personally consider our political and economic realities.  And this is completely understandable given the general direction our political processes are taking.  Zimbabwe is enthralled in what can be considered populist electoral politics.  Even when there is no immediate pending election which is made to seem closer than it legally is. (We are due for a constitutional one in 2028.)

And this is where the argument around ‘politically created personas’ emerges.  It is a straight-jacketed approach to our national politics based on the fact of who we think we are individually and finding others on social and other mediums like-minded persons.  Or alternatively people who believe what we  as friends believe until the next electoral defeat or the next ‘democratic angst’ at some sort of electoral defeat of the political side we chose.  As based on societal influences that either relate to our personal wealth, religious affiliation or general historical stature as sons/daughters of revered nationalists/ opposition activists or religious pastors.  In the past or in the present.

In this, we get lost to the fact that for all of our emotive conundrums and angst about what a future progressive Zimbabwe can or should look like, for the moment, it is not necessarily or progressively designed by us.  Mainly because we are all over the place ideologically, emotionally and economically. And there are many  jackals ready to take advantage to shape our thinking of the way forward.  Both in our politics and our economics'.  

We take what we are given by others and accept it into our own intrinsic cultural fabric to the point of personalised argument.  Even if we do not control the narrative. 

So those that create for us, in our own popular imaginations, those that they think  should lead us, will always have tea and a hearty laugh at the fact that they can create not only celebrity style leaders for us.  But also determine what we can consider as our political personas. Or who we can be politically. That is, who we can think we are and who we can be. As sophisticated as that may appear.

*Takura Zhangazha writes here in his personal capacity (takura-zhangazha.blogspot.com)