Zimbabwe
The Sound of Struggle in Zimbabwe — with Thomas Mapfumo
“People are not supposed to be ruled. People are supposed to rule.” Days before Zimbabwe’s next election Thomas Mapfumo, the father of Zimbabwe’s Chimurenga music, joins New Lines magazine’s Kwangu Liwewe to talk about his 60-year career of music and struggle.
Zimbabwe’s Not-So-Secret Dictatorship — with Tsitsi Dangarembga
“The government manipulated the coup, getting people out into the streets to celebrate it. They were able to pretend it was not a coup. And I think that this ability to deny facts is something that works to Africa's detriment. I think it was up to the regional and continental bodies to do the right thing. Not to say that if you get people out into the streets, because the soldiers are gone, it is no longer a coup.”
Zimbabwe’s Long Quest for Democracy Trudges On
Five years after a coup in Zimbabwe ended Robert Mugabe’s 37 years of authoritarian rule, the democratic space has continued to shrink under President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the country is seeing mounting arrests of journalists and opposition leaders.