Zimbabwe: Place, Space, and Society in Sub-Saharan Africa

Introduction

Zimbabwe is a unique place in Sub-Saharan Africa because it is a relatively new country in terms of political organization. Prior to the Rhodesian civil war, Zimbabwe did not exist as it does today. Its existence came about as a result of a peace agreement brokered by the British government in 1979 between the warring factions: Ian Smith's white Rhodesian government and Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) political faction (Norman, 2008). Mugabe embraced the use of violence to gain control of Rhodesia, and he did not stop using violence to remain in power (Meredith, 2002). Zimbabwe today is marked by violence throughout society, with machete gangs roaming the districts and corruption throughout the government allowing it to continue (Tinhu, 2020). As a place, Zimbabwe may be independent from colonial rule and influence, but it is also a far deadlier and less stable country in its current form than it was under the governance of Rhodesia prior to the civil war.

Understanding Place and Space in Zimbabwe

The physical space of Zimbabwe is formidable. Much of it resembles the brush of South India, with high heat, an elevated inland plateau, a valley in the north, and a dry climate. Its natural resources make it well-suited for mining gold, coal, lithium, and other metals. Zimbabwe has many gold mines — but due to political instability, many of these mines have been abandoned and now serve as refuges for criminal gangs (Howell, 2010; Ndlovu, 2020).

Language in Zimbabwe is diverse, as there are more than a dozen official languages in the country, ranging from English to Chewa. Approximately 70% of inhabitants speak Shona, while 20% speak Ndebele. English is used in schools and government, reflecting the colonial past of the region (World Atlas, 2020). Shona is a Bantu language. White Zimbabweans generally speak English, as they tend to be Rhodesian holdovers; English also serves as a second language for most Black Zimbabweans. Some white Zimbabweans also speak other European languages, such as Greek, Italian, and Portuguese.

It is therefore not surprising that Christianity is the predominant religion in Zimbabwe, with more than 80% of religious practitioners holding to this faith. Less than 1% of the population identifies as Muslim, while more than 10% reports no religious affiliation whatsoever (US State Department, 2021). Religion in Zimbabwe also reflects its colonial roots, as Rhodesia was the successor state of the British colony. To this day, the government of Zimbabwe remains wary of religious groups, even though the constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The US State Department (2021) reports, for example, that "in August, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa called the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference (ZCBC) 'evil-minded… reckless regime-change agents' who seek to incite the public to rise against the government and 'sow seeds of internecine strife as a prelude to civil war'" after the group issued a pastoral letter calling on the government to build peace, eradicate corruption, and strive for stability and good governance. The government's characterization of Catholic bishops as agents of regime change reflects the overarching spirit of paranoia that defined the Mugabe government for decades. There is a clear gap between the political and governmental posture of the state and the beliefs and religious practices of ordinary people.

The history of Zimbabwe prior to its becoming a state partly explains the deep distrust between government and religion. When it existed as Rhodesia, the country was largely governed by a white minority that wielded power over the majority Black population. The independence movements that swept across Africa in the mid-twentieth century changed all that: Black nationalist political parties, activists, and groups united to oppose white minority rule. They resorted to violence — for instance, in driving white farmers and landowners from their Rhodesian properties — and waged war against the Rhodesian government for control of the land (Onslow, 2014). The fundamental conflict between the two sides was rooted in culture and in competing visions of who should control the state. Activists led by figures such as Mugabe believed the state should be governed by the majority Black population. Yet when Mugabe came to power, he resorted to violence, oppression, and corruption to maintain that power over the very majority he claimed to represent (Maclean, 2002). Mugabe had to keep Zimbabwe on a permanent war footing in order to justify his decades-long dictatorship. He needed a constant enemy — one he could point to politically as the reason for defying the democratic ideals that the Black majority had once held as aspirations.

All of this produced a chaotic and unstable Zimbabwe. The British and, later, the white minority government of Rhodesia may not have reflected the native values of the Black majority, but they provided some governmental stability. The decades that followed saw Zimbabwe's economy collapse. The hyperinflation that occurred under Mugabe is still invoked today as a cautionary tale whenever central banks print fiat currency too freely. Mugabe presided over the destruction of the Zimbabwean currency, leaving a lasting mark on both the people and the country as a whole. What had once been a relatively peaceful and productive state descended into factional conflict and revolution.

The climate of Zimbabwe ranges from tropical to humid subtropical, but the majority of the country consists of plateau terrain where the air is warm and semi-arid. The northern valley experiences some tropical weather patterns. This climate, while challenging for agriculture, is consistent with the landscape's suitability for mineral extraction.

Architecture

The geographical character of Zimbabwe has informed its architecture, which generally features a blending of natural elements and constructed shelter. The pre-colonial period, associated with Great Zimbabwe, was characterized by the use of locally available natural resources for housing and security — including great free-standing stone walls, huts with mud walls and thatch roofs, and homes built from sun-dried bricks with open rectangular spaces for entry and exit (Pikirayi, 2013).

Post-colonial architecture has been influenced by the communist ideological roots of the movement that brought Mugabe to power. This is reflected in Zimbabwe's engagement of North Korean artists to design the National Heroes' Acre, a monument intended to preserve the spirit of Zimbabwe's liberation fighters and commemorate the independence movement. In rural villages throughout the country, however, one can still find the modest thatched-roof huts that have long been traditional in the region.

Conclusion

Zimbabwe came into existence as a result of the liberation movement that brought Mugabe to power in 1980. He ruled for nearly four decades before a military coup removed him. In that time, the people of Zimbabwe endured oppression, catastrophic hyperinflation, and widespread starvation. The land is not well-suited to large-scale agricultural development, but it sits atop substantial mineral reserves, including gold and lithium. The mines that were once legally operated are today largely controlled by illegal machete gangs who use them as bases and exploit them for illicit extraction. The government tolerates this because it is bribed with a share of the proceeds. Corruption remains a defining feature of Zimbabwean governance.

Nevertheless, the country's geography and resources offer genuine possibilities. The culture is divided, but English remains the administrative language — meaning Zimbabwe could engage Western partners to restore legitimate mining operations and improve national stability. The current trajectory remains bleak, and although Mugabe's rule has ended, the country still faces an enormous task of reconstruction. The stability and prosperity last seen in the era of Rhodesia have not returned, but with the right international support and domestic reform, Zimbabwe could begin to move in a more hopeful direction.

References

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Maclean, S. J. (2002). Mugabe at war: the political economy of conflict in Zimbabwe. Third World Quarterly, 23(3), 513–528.

Meredith, M. (2002). Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe. New York: Public Affairs.

Ndlovu, N. (2020). The political rise of southern Africa's machete gangs. Retrieved from https://www.thearticle.com/the-political-rise-of-southern-africas-machete-gangs

Norman, A. (2008). Mugabe: Teacher, Revolutionary, Tyrant. Stroud: The History Press.

Onslow, S. (2014). War and interrogation: the Rhodesian bush war. In Interrogation in War and Conflict (pp. 205–228). Routledge.

Pikirayi, I. (2013). Stone architecture and the development of power in the Zimbabwe tradition AD 1270–1830. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 48(2), 282–300.

Tinhu, S. (2020). Why is Zimbabwe doing so little to tackle growing gang violence? Retrieved from https://africanarguments.org/2020/02/zimbabwe-gangs-mashurugwi-mnangagwa-chiwenga/

US State Department. (2021). 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom: Zimbabwe. Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/zimbabwe/

World Atlas. (2020). What languages are spoken in Zimbabwe? Retrieved from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-zimbabwe.html