Dilemmas of Zimbabwe’s Popular Urban Culture

 By Takura Zhangazha*

Trying to explain or analyze contemporary urban culture in Zimbabwe is not an easy task.  Mainly because it is the sum total of a number of issues.  Be they historical (colonialism), ideological (globalised neoliberalism) and/or as the relate to expectations of what I would refer to as raw individual materialism/consumerism that can be considered a direct result of the aforementioned.

In Zimbabwe, the primary genesis of what we would want to refer to as ‘urban cultural history’ is essentially colonial.  This is mainly because the ‘city’ in its current physical/geographical and cultural format is decidedly a creation of colonialism.   And by cultural import here I am referring to how the majority of our urban lives are shaped to a greater extent. From the politics through to the sport, education, religion, music and attitudes toward modern ‘work’.  And by ‘work’ here I mean it as it applies to both bosses/business-capital owners and employees/workers. 

Within this framework we also know that in our own Zimbabwean context urban culture is pretty much fluid.  It tends to follow modernist and consumerist winds. As determined by what happens in global metropolises of global superpowers and what either history thrusts upon us or in the current, what we most admire about these historically powerful cities and their urban culture.  Even while turning a blind eye to their mistakes or even in some cases poverty inducing ideological frameworks.    

So we are burdened by the history of the colonial city and our aspirations within it.  Even in the contemporary. Arrival and material success in the urban remains a critical national measurement of individual (material) progress or at least arrival at success.  Which in part reflects our contradictory admiration and/or mimicry of the lifestyle of our former colonial ‘other’. 

There are many economic historians that have outlined how our cities, towns and peri-urban centres legally came into existence.  A few other cultural historians have written on the changing cultures that these urban settlements brought to our music, religion, literature and sporting competitiveness. 

But I am certain none would have anticipated what we have had to experience in the contemporary around an emerging urban culture.

I will start with the political.  We have always assumed that the enlightened African requires the urban experience. Historically and in the contemporary.  And in this experience, there must be a demonstration of material and educational success.  This is as historical an attitude if there was any when we consider Zimbabwe in 2021.  Very few of our national politicians, even those that are still serving after having fought in the liberation struggle, do not subscribe to assumptions of material success as residing in the urban.  Even though they may have grown further by coming into organic national consciousness via the rural.   Hence in part when we discuss what we consider a progressive national consciousness, its expansive populist origins were the nascent cities (at home and in apartheid South Africa). This not only in terms of initially borderline celebrity politics but also on a desire for recognition by the urban based political powers that be.  Even though eventually it was the rural consciousness that came to be the bedrock of successful liberation struggles we again in our post independent/colonial times have reverted to the urban as being the source of consciousness.

Also when we then crosscheck traditional religion and attendant spirit mediums roles in our society, in the contemporary we remain enamoured to ‘prophets’ and their attendant gospel of prosperity.  Mianly because it fits snugly into our current populist urban culture.  And it also stubbornly insists that individualism is the best sort of lifestyle at a time when we should be trying to find collective solutions to common problems.   

In music, again our urban popular culture fell into the trap of mimicry. Even though it had in the early years of independence had sought to reflect our local context. And where we tried to push local music and its original composition to greater heights.  With the onset of economic structural adjustment in the 1990s and escalating urban poverty our tastes for music became more globalized and less local. Except for language. Hence the phenomenal rise of ‘urban grooves’ and more recently ‘Zimdancehall’.  These genres have both been a reflection of our lived realities as they have also engendered a mimicry celebrity culture in young Zimbabweans.  Whether we think of the hip hop culture in the United States of America or the dancehall culture in Jamaica.  And in most cases, these are tidal waves of emotive and entertainment consciousness that reflect more our contemporary political economy and feelings toward it in the immediate.  As it does in many other countries including those the origins of these genres. 

In our literature/movies we have to regain the ability to write as broadly as we possibly can of our global experiences. And allow various voices to emerge beyond those recognized only by awards determined by the global north.  While remaining cognizant of the fact that our life stories in their creativity are not designed for poverty exhibitionism to others but where it occurs it must be to ourselves.  Hence the need to allow free expression to continually flourish to enable us to imagine our society and experiences therein to be appreciated in posterity.  Not only by Zimbabweans but also others who would seek to learn from us. 

In sport as a key component of urban culture we again reflect the former colonial center.  And that is all understandable.  Our sports leagues are designed that way because sport is now a global phenomenon and industry.  It cannot be wished away for identity alone.  Though it is still plagued with racism and the ‘beastifying of the black body’, it represents an important counter-narrative to false assumptions of superiority and in part humanizes us all by common performance standards and competition.  And the emerging hopes of many a parent this side of the world that they have the next Serena Williams or Usain Bolt under their wings. 

 We probably need to take our popular urban culture much more seriously.  Not just by way of promoting it in its various forms but more by querying its relevance to our own context.  But not as a form of censorship.  Instead as a form of a renewal of collective self-discovery that transcends the immediate.  Or the popularly felt.  Where we do this, it means we will reflect our lives, our history and our controversies in the same much better for future generations.  And then we may possibly be less casual with who we are. 

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

Zim's International Relations: History, Context, Agency Matter.

 By Takura Zhangazha*

Linking Africa and African history to its contemporary placement in international relations is now rarely done.  Not least in Zimbabwe’s case with its peculiar pariah status globally.  Particularly where it concerns its relationship statuses with its former colonial power, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK).  Or the United States of America (USA) and the European Union(EU) who in all likelihood followed the lead of the UK in how they approach their relations with Zimbabwe. 

On the other hand there are at least two other global superpowers that have generally differed with the more hegemonic ones in how they relate with Zimbabwe.  These are the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Russia Republic (Russia).  They have both taken a different view on Zimbabwe. The most demonstrable difference with their superpower counterparts was when they jointly vetoed a draft United Nations Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution to sanction Zimbabwe’s political leaders and their allies in 2008. 

In either global hegemonic camps' intentions it can all be considered as being fair enough in love and (diplomatic) war.  As we were taught at university, in international relations there are not permanent friends but permanent interests. 

So in the case of the differing global hegemons’ approach to Zimbabwe the key question is not what their intentions are because these are generally the same in the final analysis. That is where they can, they will extract or negotiate extraction in their own interests.  It is more important to ask what our own interests are in our relations with them. Or to put it more simply the responsibility of agency in these relations remains primarily with us and not them. 

Even where we would argue that Zimbabwe has been the proverbial grass that suffers when elephants fight, it would still be remiss to assume we are mere pawns in the game.  We also make decisions about who to interact with and why.

In this, I will give a specific example of how as an example, in 1966 at the Havana Tri-Continental Conference, the inimitable African revolutionary Amilcar Cabral explained the following (and I quote him at length for clarity) :

 “It is useful to recall in this Tricontinental gathering, so rich in experience and example, that however great the similarity between our various cases and however identical our enemies, national liberation and social revolution are not exportable commodities; they are, and increasingly so every day, the outcome of local and national elaboration, more or less influenced by external factors (be they favorable or unfavorable) but essentially determined and formed by the historical reality of each people, and carried to success by the overcoming or correct solution of the internal contradictions between the various categories characterising this reality...”

We know and even knew upon attainment of our national independence that no matter the amount of help we received mainly from China and Russia as well as Scandinavian Europe, none of these countries that came to our aid defined the revolution for us.  They helped but they did not own it.

Where we come to our contemporary Zimbabwean placement in the world, we may have now forgotten historical aspects to how we got here.  Both in the recent as well as distant past.  And its all understandable given global developments such as the crumbling of the Soviet Union, now Russia or the rise of China as a global superpower and the continually dramatic rise of the neoliberal and nationalistic right in the global west. 

In this, the Covid19 pandemic as it continues to change our lives also reshapes global relations and priorities.  With the most apparent element to this being the issue of what the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has referred to as ‘vaccine nationalism’ and the politicization of its distribution. 

Zimbabwe recently received a donated consignment of the SinoPharm vaccine from China. Even as it awaits another paid for consignment from the same. Social media went slightly apoplectic at the fact that the government had decided to source the vaccine from China. Some opposition politicians remained highly suspicious of the fact that the vaccine came from China and therefore cannot be considered viable without clear scientific justification. And probably just demonstrating abstract preference for sourcing the vaccine from the west or at least western pharmaceutical companies.

At the same time government has insisted that it made the correct decision and has emphasized its longstanding relationship with China as a key reason for trust in the latter’s science.

In either case what is important is our application of our minds to our own context. Within the framework of a pandemic.  We know we need all the help we can get.  But as is wont with everything that we do, we tend to politicize things that are essentially about the lives and livelihoods of our people.   

In this we may sometimes find ourselves thinking on behalf of those with whom to seek to curry favour.  Or choosing to argue on behalf of one or the other global hegemonic side as of old. In most instances this will relate to the given global narratives around what/who China or Russia are perceived or known to be. Especially as captured by global mainstream media narratives. 

It however remains imperative that we avoid falling into the trap of these narratives as easily as we would have before Covid19 struck us.  Instead we must, in a Cabralist sense, begin to apply our minds more assiduously to our local context in order to find sustainable solutions as to how we deal with the pandemic.  While at the same time remembering that in international relations and where we seek help from others, it is our own agency that matters the most.

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

A Zimbabwean Contextual Critique of Trump’s 2nd Impeachment Trial

 By Takura Zhangazha*

For a second time former president of the United States of America (USA) Donald Trump is currently facing charges that could lead to his impeachment in the US Congress.

These charges relate to the 06 January 2021 storming/breaching of the Capitol hill by his supporters.  In this, USA Democratic party legislators are arguing that the former president failed to fulfill his constitutionally given role as commander in chief.  They argue that Trump failed to not only protect another branch of government (Congress) but also actively incited the attack not only on the day but over a prolonged period of time after the November 2020 elections. 

The impeachment trial has been relatively fascinating to watch as it is shown live on US media channels.  Especially the case of the prosecution which has featured video footage that had previously no been seen.  While the defence may not have as either dramatic footage or more elaborate arguments beyond referring to Trump’s right to free expression and issues of due process. Or even making the argument which however appears to be lost by the fact of the impeachment trial itself that Congress cannot impeach a person who is no longer a sitting president. 

Either way, the impact of the fact of his impeachment has had a far reaching impact of how the USA handles its politics at the highest levels internally.  Or how it presents itself to world as of old as a ‘beacon’ of democracy. 

This side of the world, particularly in Zimbabwe, we are wont to view this almost as though it were a movie or dramatic documentary of sorts. Because that’s how Trump tended to present himself anyway in the late 90s  through to reality shows in the 2000s. Even to us here in the global south to the extent that he surprisingly has many admirers in the most unlikely of places within Zimbabwean civil society. Those that would claim to be more enlightened among us may have an opinion or two but largely based on historical and cultural admiration of what we have been sold as the ‘American dream’. 

Fewer among us would want to examine this impeachment trial with the comparative criticality to our own context it deserves.

I would propose that we do the latter in at least three ways.

Firstly we need to understand that as with a lot of our own elections here in Zimbabwe and in some of our sister African countries, the current impeachment trial of Trump has its root cause in an electoral dispute.  While it has been previously unimaginable that this would happen in the USA, the reality of the violent march on the Capitol hill that we saw on 06 January cannot be wished away.  Losing candidates can whip up the emotions of their supporters, fail to provide legally required evidence of electoral rigging but still insist that they won. Now the most obvious argument is that the electoral system of the USA is more credible and historically tested than for example Zimbabwe’s.  Fair enough.  But that does not make their politics or politicians always cognizant of this fact.  Hence we can easily compare political celebrity and populist cultures in the contemporary between for example these two countries.

In the second instance what can be inferred from the ongoing impeachment trial is an attempt at a return to democratic normalcy.  Almost as though to present Trump as an aberration and restore dignity and gravitas to not only the US Congress but try to ensure that there is never again another president or presidential candidate like Trump.  In this, there has been direct reference on both sides of the trial to not only the constitution but also legal reference points such as the ‘Federalist Papers’.  All in an attempt to show the depth of American democracy that requires that where it is violated as it was on 06 January, the perpetrators, including Trump, cannot go unpunished. Or else they become the norm and the constitutional values became the aberration. 

A quick comparison with our own Zimbabwean context would quickly identify this as a key difference with electoral disputations. While we did not have a sitting president dispute an election, the discourse around the 2018 election results was rarely about values, history or the intentions of our own country’s founding fathers/mothers. Let alone the significant expected role of mainstream media to be credible announcers of same said electoral results.  Our constitution is therefore more technical than it would be historical where and when it comes to the meaning of not only elections but also the finality of the electoral process. And our media does not have a similar credibility from the public.   While we cannot mimic the history of American constitutionalism and its values, we can still critically compare given the fact that both of our countries are republics. 

In the third instance where we continue to watch the ongoing second impeachment trial of Trump there is the troubling issue of assumptions of elections and electoral processes as almost evangelical ruptures.  The clear mixture of God and politics and the charismatic candidate is partly what got not only Trump to where he now finds himself.  But also his supporters who now face multiple criminal charges.  This absolutist perspective and angle where elections come to mean more than what they actually are.  That is periodic competitions for the levers of state power, is a troubling development across the globe.  Indeed they can be transformative depending on the elected leaders intentions. But only after the fact of the election.  Not because of it. Trumps supporters held placards extolling Jesus and assuming they had come back with finality to take back their country as they stormed the Capitol. Their absolutist understanding of their mission in part eventually failed them. They have to wait for next time, as even Trump himself now appears intent on. A possibility which the prosecutors in his trial are hoping to prevent. 

We also have been mixing religion, celebrity approaches and materialism with our own politics either side of the political divide. A political culture which is not only unsustainable but does not help foster a long duree organic democratic culture that transcend the elections as periodic events.

In conclusion, it is important that as Zimbabweans observing political developments in the USA  over the Trump impeachment we also learn key lessons that apply to our own context.  Lessons that may also allow us to not seek a shallow mimicry of a politics that may have trends that we may need to avoid as opposed to accept. And that we must seek solidarities that remain more organic than populist. 

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

Dystopia, Mortality and Zimbabwe’s Covid19.

Dystopia, Mortality and the Political Economy of Zimbabwe’s Covid19.

By Takura Zhangazha*

Zimbabwe is currently in its second national lockdown as caused by a rapid expansion of the #Covid19 pandemic. Many Zimbabweans have lost loved ones or are at least trying their best to ensure the latter survive this pandemic in this moment.  It is as depressing as it is dystopian.  Or even unbelievable that this is possibly our new reality in the immediate.  

One in which we cannot mourn our lost loved ones normally or in most cases cannot afford support for further treatment measures for them when they fall ill from Covid19 complications.  While having to function on a wing and a prayer that they will hopefully get well soon. 

The pain of the latter experience has numbed some of us.  I know of comrades who no longer check their social media accounts/feeds for fear of receiving the terrible news of losing a loved one.  Or for fear of even further trauma via some people assuming ‘main actor tendencies’ about the death of others as though they will never be directly affected by the pandemic. 

In most cases however I reflect on the frontline workers in this pandemic.  The nurses, doctors, support staff and even those that are in the funeral services business. Not only in relation to their safety and health but also the fact that they have to deal with the potential and reality of mortality on a regular basis.  Hence it is important, always to salute their sterling work which they do at great risk to themselves and their families. All for our betterment.

As with any national health crises wrought by Covid19, we are wont however to try and behave in what we consider our ‘normal ways’.  Even when we should not. Either based on contradicting the science or refusing to accept the basic understanding that mortality in the time of a pandemic is not selective.  No matter how rich or how poor you may be. 

But we tend to miss this key point because of our desires to live beyond the pandemic.  To assume that we, either individually or collectively, cannot fall victim to it.  Until we arrive at a Saul on the road to Damascus moment.  Except that it always comes with terrible news about a loved one. 

But again we must begin to ask ourselves important questions about our Covid19 realities.  Particularly as they reflect on our Zimbabwean national political economy.

In these reflections we must understand at least two key points.

The first being that #Covid19 has no political affiliation.  It does not remember history nor does it function for a progressive future.  It is us, the humans, that can do so.  But that doing so involves us re-thinking about dismantling not only colonial or neoliberal approaches to public health and safety but also getting over our own inferiority complexes where it comes to not only to anticipating solutions from the global north but also within or own midst.  Wherein we assume that religion will pull us through this and not our own concerted, conscious and organic national agency.

Secondly we must come to terms with the reality that Covid19 will disrupt our relationships with our families.  Both within the immediate and long duree.  It will challenge previous cultural practices that we have been used to and create a more concentrated individualism that this time last year we would never have anticipated.

But we have to challenge these developments as they have emerged. And in doing so we must revert to the centrality of the state in looking after its inhabitants.  In this, we must understand that the state is fundamental to tackling the Covid19 pandemic.  Even in we prefer public private partnerships.  It is the state that remains the guarantor of human life.  Not those that are functioning for private profit.

For many Zimbabweans on social media our approach would be simply one of stemming corruption in the public service tender provision system.  The reality of the matter is that this is not what it is only about.  We need a holistic structural re-alignment of what we mean when we say public health is a human right in Zimbabwe.

To explain further, the right to public health is not an emotional feel good issue. It is more ideological than it is about who recognizes your social media write ups and/or persecution.

Those in the ruling Zanu Pf party or the mainstream MDC opposition need to realise this with the urgency it deserves.  While we may not claim to have a solution to the actual affliction of Covid19, we can act to make our preparedness for its societal impact much more organic and therefore better. 

Every life matters regardless of class, material wealth or geographical location.  Sally Mugabe Hospital is as important as the private ward at a Parirenyatwa referral hospital or the Avenues Clinic. 

Where we understand our basic humanity in this pandemic, we will be better for our own Zimbabwean humanity. While keeping in mind that we need to nationalize the entirety of our public health delivery system. For the many. Not the few.  

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