Those born yesterday think that
the struggle started yesterday. They do not know that before them, there was
yesteryear. Those born today think that the struggle started when they were
born. They do not know that before today, there was yesterday. Those born
tomorrow will think that the struggle begins when they are born. They do not
know that they will also become yesterday one day. It is all lies and deceit.
Yesteryear, yesterday, today and tomorrow need each other in the fight against
dictatorship. There will be no magic bullet activism that will liberate
citizens from a dictatorship and the faster Zimbabwean progressives realise the
better. The struggle for freedom can
never be privatised, it has always been the commons. Those who try to claim
title deeds to the struggle have always failed to finish the race. This piece
is prompted by the many mini-wars and private conversations with some fellow
comrades regarding the events in Zimbabwe. Some have argued the birth of a new
era where social media has replaced traditional activism. This argument has
based its logic on the events in the Middle East now popularly known as the
Arab Spring where it was argued to have been the magic bullet. Recent
studies however, debunk this myth on the magic bullet effect of the social
media in the Middle East. The politics preceded everything and social media
gave it impetus. In this piece, I argue that there is no new or old phenomena
in Zimbabwe. It’s only the coordinates of democratisation that have
reconfigured themselves from the hostage of party based politics; a cancer that
had undermined active and responsible citizenship. I further argue that the
social media has not given rise to any new politics but has refined and nuanced
the politics. It has become the extension and continuation of politics by other
means.
Ever since the emergence of
#ThisFlag Campaign, there has been a debate on the potential obsoleteness of
mainstream democracy and advocacy based civil society and political parties
that have dominated Zimbabwe’s quest for democratisation. Others were bold
enough to write an obituary of mainstream and opposition parties. This thinking
was further given currency by ascribing
success of the #ZimShutdown of the 06th and 7th July
2016 to the power of social media and #ThisFlag. Such an approach sounded very
elisionistic and if not opportunistic. It negates that social media does not
substitute politics but rather edifies it. The reductionist approach to the efficacy of
#ThisFlag was unpacked in Lenin
Chisaira’s article where he stressed the importance of the trade unions and
kombi drivers and touts to ensure the success of the #ZimShutdown of the 06th
of July 2016. The material conditions preceding the 06th of July
#ZimShutdown had created a ripe situation for the coalescing of social forces
in Zimbabwe. The factionalism
in Zanu PF had managed to undermine and create lack of cohesion within the
party- state and securocrat complex. The continuous prodding by the opposition,
has always made sure the cost of authoritarianism remains high as argued by Alfred
Stepan on the roles of the opposition. The protests by Kombi drivers in Mutare
and in Harare
against police extortionist roadblocks further psyched the national mood. The
impact of S1 64 of 2016 which had adverse effects on cross-border traders and ordinary
citizens saw riots erupting in Beitbridge. The failure
of paying the June salaries by government to civil servants saw the civil
service unions organising a crippling stayaway.
However, some sections wittingly or unwittingly sought to appropriate the
stayaway success under the banner of social media groups such as #Tajamuka and
#ThisFlag. The result was fractionalisation of supposedly natural allies as the
unions
distanced themselves from the second call for a #ZimShutdown. The result
was a flop, but the gods seemed to have been favourable to the pro-democracy
movement as the arrest of pastor Mawarire galvanised people together in a show
of solidarity. Lawyers under the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights banner provided
both legal and moral support, whilst the democracy pressure groups and churches
organised the numbers to provide the much needed solidarity. For prisoners of
conscience, solidarity and support at the court means a lot and is a proven
motivator for activists to keep going the extra-mile.
Notwithstanding the roles of
mainstream civil society organisations and unorganised social classes; #ThisFlag
managed to galvanise Zimbabweans on the social media and re-internationalise
the struggle for democratisation. It managed to re-energise the pro-democracy
movement and bring in a platform where citizens could engage outside the
political parties and sometimes mainstream civil society organisations’ often
partisan and circumscribed platforms. In addition, #ThisFlag challenged the old
timers to be inventive and broaden their strategies. A cross sectional survey
of the faces that came to give solidarity to Pastor Mawarire’s court trial
reveal a mixture of the old and new timers. This offers hope that a new
Zimbabwe is possible if organic organising and social media are harnessed
together towards a common purpose. The celebration of the failure of the second
#ZimShutdown by the Herald becomes a non-event as Pastor Mawarire’s court
appearance authored a new narrative full of positive possibilities. Indeed it
was a show of people power and the strength of the collective in dealing with
national matters. Going forward there is a need for leaders from the mainstream
civil society, opposition parties and social media movements to realise that
they are more powerful in their collective. Social Media organisations and -organisation play complimentary and not conflictual roles. Therefore, there is
need to exercise extreme caution and avoid being carried by the moment. The
language of useless
marches and illegitimate/unauthentic
social media pastors is misguided and ill-informed. The two are mutually
inclusive and not exclusive. Attempts at glory seeking and pushing for selfish
narratives will not get us anywhere. There is a danger of missing seeing our
many potential complimentary confluences and focus on minor differences. There
can’t be and there shan’t be any magic bullet activism in liberating
Zimbabweans from the Mugabe dictatorship. The War Veterans did it and enjoyed
their honeymoon but have become on the receiving end of the same politics that
they advocated for. The War Veterans adopted a selfish agenda when Mugabe
gave them ZW$50,000 (US$4,000) in 1997 and dumped the ordinary people’s
struggles against a leadership that had become selfish and lost the moral
campus to govern. War Veterans parochially claimed to have single-handed
liberated people in a Rambo/Spiderman
Style and thus could go around propping an illegitimate regime. They forgot
the povo (ordinary people) fed them
with their hard earned livestock and food, and at times provided real time
intelligence and cover. The War veterans thought they were a magic bullet,
until ZANU PF factional and succession politics neutralised them.
In conclusion, the realities of
the challenge at hand, calls for a broader and united democratic front typical
to the South
African one. Therefore, there is need to realise that, the more the merrier
and the better. Revolutionary consciousness should whip in the conduct and
practices of supposed/potential allies not to spend their ammunition fighting
each other. There is a danger that continuing in-fighting will render us into
the proverbial fools that fought on how to share duiker that had not yet caught
during a hunting party. The old and the new we are dancing to the same song and
driven by a similar objective: the pursuit of happiness.
