Online Reporter
Gibson Nyikadzino
To sustain colonial domination, European sociologists, anthropologists and self-styled missionaries advised colonial administrators to tribalise and ethnicise African societies in order to legitimise the divide-and-rule strategy.
Tribalism — or, in less judgmental terms, ethnicity — was deliberately deployed to manufacture divisions and rigid identities, which were then manipulated to incite conflict.
Since the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, Zimbabwe was not spared these external machinations.
With the arrival of the Pioneer Column on September 12, 1890, colonial invaders sought to dismantle and invalidate the pre-colonial coexistence that had long prevailed among the people living within the territory now known as Zimbabwe.
Tribal and ethnic narratives should, therefore, be recognised for what they truly are: racist impositions designed to keep Zimbabweans, both during colonial and post-colonial periods, mistrustful, doubtful and suspicious of one another.
These concepts were peppered with negative connotations, reinforcing portrayals of Africans as savage, uncivilised or primitive; stereotypes colonialists found convenient and profitable.
Even during the liberation struggle, colonial systems derived dividends from attempts to keep nationalist movements divided, thereby prolonging colonial rule.
Tribal and ethnic narratives were embraced by colonial apologists as useful tools to weaken unity and sustain domination.
Creating a new identity
Mozambique’s first post-independence President, Samora Machel, a close ally of Zimbabweans, made a powerful call for unity when he declared: “For the nation to live, the tribe must die.”
This statement reflected a broader post-independence realisation across Africa that colonial constructs of tribe and ethnicity served only to fragment societies and undermine nation-building.
Unity is an indispensable pillar of national development, stability and security.
A review of countries facing chronic instability often reveals a common denominator: disunity rooted in colonial-era frameworks that define African identities through divisive tribal and ethnic lenses.
The disunity has mainly been a result of the continued dependence on use of racist, colonial language frameworks that spell out African identities using tribal and ethnic connotations.
In Zimbabwe, following post-independence disturbances in the 1980s, unsubstantiated narratives emerged portraying those events as “tribal or ethnic conflict”.
Some even attempted to link them to the political composition of the two dominant political parties of the time, which, however, were diverse as they were made up of people from various backgrounds.
However, efforts to pit Zimbabwe’s diverse yet united communities against one another ultimately failed.
The signing of the Unity Accord on December 22, 1987 marked an acknowledgment that, in the early years of independence, Zimbabwe had briefly strayed from the path of national cohesion.
The accord decisively rejected racism disguised as “tribal or ethnic conflict” and reaffirmed unity as the foundation of nationhood.
Unity in Zimbabwe represents a new national identity, one that transcends colonial and neo-colonial labels intended to intellectually subjugate local populations.
When it comes to unity, stability, development and security, Zimbabwe must not accommodate or align itself with lingering elements of white dominance that promote division.
Conflicts, tensions and internal divisions among Zimbabweans must be firmly rejected. In the struggle against colonialism, nationalist leaders made sacrifices for every Zimbabwean.
Liberation was never framed as the preserve of any tribe, ethnic group or clan.
To do so would have undermined unity among both the nationalists and the masses.
No group within Zimbabwe’s diversity should be ethnicised or tribalised.
Just as many societies criminalise racism, there is a compelling case for rejecting — and even criminalising — acts and sentiments of ethnicism and tribalism, which alienate and prejudice Zimbabwe’s fundamentally cohesive society.
Colonialists actually actively tried to create “tribal politics” in Africa as a tool of subjugation.
Understanding this history is essential in resisting its continued use in modern political discourse.
Zimbabwe must also guard against the dangers of racism masquerading as tribalism.
Those who exploit tribal identity for political gain, sowing division for personal advancement, must find no sanctuary in the country.
Breaking prejudices, biases
Racists often cite Africa’s developmental challenges as evidence of black inferiority, while anti-racists argue that colonial exploitation is the primary cause of underdevelopment.
Regardless of perspective, Zimbabwe’s progress must never be framed through colonial narratives that divide its people.
Since independence, Zimbabwe has consistently upheld unity and diversity as core pillars of national healing.
Both the First and Second Republic have preserved the sanctity of the Unity Accord, ensuring it faces no existential threat.
These achievements stem from a collective commitment — by the people, their representatives and a consciousness of posterity — to dismantle systems that tolerate racism and perpetuate racial or ethnic prejudice.
The notion that tribalism is Africa’s equivalent of racism is a dangerous oversimplification that risks embedding deep-seated biases into society.
The Unity Accord remains a sacred covenant between the people, their leaders and future generations.
It is priceless and must be protected.
Zimbabweans must reject all negative constructs, let unity prevail and allow the nation to live.
Feedback: gibson.nyikadzino @zimpapers.co.zw
