A Review by Chris Kabwato

Becoming Zimbabwe is a book I have been waiting for. I had the privilege of being taught history at the University of Zimbabwe by eminent academics like Professor Chengetai Zvobgo, Professor R.S. Roberts and the late Professor David Beach.  Fascinating people with a fascinating obsession with the history of Zimbabwe.  Over the years I have collected some key history books on Zimbabwe but there was not a single one that attempted to encapsulate the whole history of the country. This is the strength of Becoming Zimbabwe. It is also its weakness.

But first things first. Becoming Zimbabwe was edited by Professors Brian Raftopoulos and Alois Mlambo (both Zimbabwean academics based in South Africa). The book’s aim is clearly spelt out in the introduction:

“ This book offers an overview of the history of Zimbabwe from the pre-colonial era to the present day, and tracks the idea of national belonging and citizenship over this period. Within these broad parameters we also set out to explore the nature of state rule, the changing contours of the political economy, and the regional and international dimensions of the country’s history. Thus, a central objective is to analyse the progress, challenges and continuing struggles over “Becoming Zimbabwe.”

Measured against its stated aim the book does achieve its key goals. It offers an overview of pre-colonial Zimbabwe via an interrogation of the writings of historians such as Beach, Terence Ranger, Stan Mudenge and others. By pointing out the pitfalls of nationalistic histories, it tries to warn the reader to the dangers of a history that romanticizes the past by attempting to paint a picture of a unified and homogenous people with a rather uninterrupted history.

From that pre-colonial era the book moves on colonialism and the early resistance movements. Again the approach is one of counterpoising the various arguments such as Julian Cobbing’s disputing of Mbuya Nehanda’s central role in the First Chimurenga Risings (1896-7) and Ranger’s argument of a unified spiritual force in both the Ndebele and Shona risings. By doing this the authors seek to show the difficulties in the historiography of Zimbabwean history.

The other chapters of the book cover the Second World War and the subsequent migration of white people to the then Rhodesia. The impact of this migration coupled with the growth of the urban settlements and the subsequent contestation by black and white people over space and land are explored in detail.

From the Unilateral Declaration of Independence by Ian Smith and the Rhodesian Front in 1965 the book traces the growing militant nationalism and its mutation into guerilla warfare. With independence in 1980 there is hope and euphoria and James Muzondidya traces the remarkable gains in education and health of the welfarist Zimbabwe. He points out the unsustainable nature of this trajectory given the debt-ridden economy, the lack of economic growth, the lack of transformation of ownership of both land and the economy and the inertia in the ruling government.

The last chapter of the book is what readers will rush to. It chronicles the Zimbabwe crisis from 1998 to 2008. The collapse of the economy and increasing repressive nature of the state due to a combination of factors is discussed. The causes and consequences are argued as including the unsustainable welfarism, untransformed economy, payment of war veterans, the war adventure in the Congo, the rejection of the draft constitution in 1999, the violent land occupations, the decimation of the judiciary, the birth of the national Constitutional Assembly, the violent elections of 2000, the change in citizenship laws, the hyperinflation, mass migration etc.

The book is then comprehensive enough to give both the scholar and the casual reader a good overview of Zimbabwean history. The book is well packaged in terms of design and layout and contains useful pictures and maps.  There is also a very useful chronology.

But that same chronology misses out some key events, for example, the battle at Entumbane in 1981 which pitched the Zimbabwe People’s Army (ZIPRA) against the Zimbabwe National Army against each other, the flight of Dr. Joshua Nkomo, leader of Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) into exile in 1983 (and even his death in 1999), the Willowgate Scandal of 1987 in which government ministers bought luxury vehicles at low cost and sold them off at inflated prices and the subsequent Sandura Commission into this Willowgate Scandal (a key turning point in the relationship between the government and the urban population).

The ambition of capturing the full history of a nation in a single slim and accessible volume means that some sacrifices have had to be done. Although pithy and concise most of the chapters tend to mention key events in a rather hurried couple of lines in order to cover all bases. For example, the events leading to the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement are skimmed over. The fact that African leaders Samora Machel (Mozambique) and Julius Nyerere (Tanzania) exerted pressure on Mugabe and Nkomo to negotiate is not recorded nor is the role of Nigeria in pushing for a settlement fully acknowledged. Yet these facts are material in understanding the compromises of Lancaster and how these came back to haunt the nation two decades later.  A crucial chapter that covers the period from 1965 to 1980 is mangled chronologically and thematically as it hurries to cover all themes and events.

Otherwise this is great book for both the student of history and the wider community who would like to understand Zimbabwe in a more nuanced way.

Becoming Zimbabwe is published by Weaver Press Zimbabwe and is available from www.weaverpress.com and from Exclusive Books Stores in South Africa.