NewsHawks 25 February 2022

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 51

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

labour for the South African econo- corroborated by the liberation move- ly to persist as long as people living cratic deficits as the governments get countries have ratified the SADC pro-
my. This is as true of the vast major- ment political parties. The tendencies in poverty remain uninsulated from away with misgovernance and unac- tocol on the facilitation of movement
ity of Zimbabwean migrants in low- towards violence, commodification shock economic events. countability. This is why the greater of people. There are gaps in policy,
skilled wage labour as it is for highly of labour, extreme inequality and un- part of the solution to the resolution legislation and systems for economic
skilled professional workers in South just labour relations inherent in the As pointed out earlier, anti-immi- of the migrant crisis in South Africa migration linked to national and re-
Africa’s industrialised economy. Prior migratory labour system are all con- grant policies are now part of the plat- lies in collective efforts to challenge gional development that Sadc has to
to the fast-track land reform in 2000, sistent with the predatory practices form for virtually every South African both the political and economic sys- engage member states on.
commercial agriculture in Zimba- of primitive accumulation that exist political party, so the scapegoating for tems that have exacerbated xenopho-
bwe benefitted from the immigration in both countries. The majority of policy failure has an expedient target. bia in general, and Zimbophobia in The regional bloc must take respon-
of Malawians and Mozambicans to immigrant workers in low-wage jobs, particular, since 2008. sibility to engage with the Zimbabwe-
white-owned commercial farms. such as waiters and farm workers, are The system is the same in both an authorities to end the protracted
typically stripped of their rights and countries The dehumanising inse- Sadc has a protocol that has not social, economic and political crises
The Zimbabwean ruling elite bene- denied the means to seek fair compen- curity experienced by Zimbabwean been fully implemented to facilitate which elections have failed to resolve.
fits from this migration at four levels. sation or claim access to public goods migrants constantly at risk of dis- the protection of migrants in South The people of Zimbabwe from differ-
Firstly, there is a release from fiscal and services at the same level as their placement and violent attack is not Africa. At national level, South Af- ent quarters have called on Sadc to
pressure in creating employment, so- South African compatriots. Howev- unlike the felt experience of their rica has not done much to legislate intervene and lead in mediation and a
cial security and basic social services as er, the paradox is that the contribu- compatriots of the Shangaan tribe against xenophobia. In Zimbabwe, national dialogue to deal with the dif-
citizens leave to look for opportunities tion of these migrant workers into in Chilonga in Zimbabwe, current- the shrinking civic, political and eco- ferent standpoints that exist in Zim-
in neighbouring countries or hustle the Zimbabwean economy by way ly facing imminent displacement to nomic space for the majority has cre- babwe if the crisis is to be dealt with.
for survival in the informal economy of remittances, in turn, cross-subsi- make way for a lucerne grass project. ated a governance crisis which Sadc This includes ensuring that the trend
locally. This was cynically put across dises a criminally austere government Neither are they unlike the 800 000 has not dealt with despite calls for its of disputed elections is addressed by
by the then Security minister  Didy- responsible for the harshest cutbacks people caught in the middle of mili- intervention to facilitate an  inclusive ensuring free, fair and democratic
mus Mutasa in 2005  when he said: to public health, education and so- tary violence triggered by the largest dialogue process to resolve the crisis. elections in Zimbabwe.
“We would be better off with six mil- cial services in the expectation that foreign investment project in Africa
lion people, with our own people who households will use their remittances for the extraction of gas from Cabo The Sadc region is becoming a more At national levels, both Zimbabwe
supported the liberation struggle”. to cover the gap. Delgado for export into the South Af- and more unequal society. Extreme and South Africa have a duty and
Migration and xenophobia rican market and abroad. The primi- poverty is becoming a trend and the responsibility to deal with their gov-
Secondly, since the late 1990s as Without a doubt, South Africa does tive accumulation at the heart of cap- economic model has drastically been ernance frameworks that have made
workers became increasingly disgrun- have a xenophobia crisis. Videos italist development in the Sadc region consolidated to serve large businesses it tough for their citizens to access
tled, with many thrown out of em- are circulating of the organised and has the proven capacity to undermine that create precarious employment for opportunities to participate mean-
ployment on farms, the progression worrisomely militarised "South Af- the progressive normative frameworks both locals and migrant workers. In- ingfully in the political and econom-
of the obliteration of the middle class rica for South Africans" campaign in place to safeguard the rights of mi- ternal displacements of communities ic spheres. Both governments suffer
through migration has created diffi- conducting door-to-door raids to grant workers whilst finding ways to for mega-deals are the norm. Resil- a crisis characterised by predatory
culties for the workers to organise and hunt down foreign immigrants. This absolve itself of the harmful impacts ience mechanisms to climate shocks, state tendencies that have not fully
challenge the government on the ab- self-organised initiative explicitly on marginalised groups. pandemics and other disasters are ter- responded to the triple problems of
rogation of its mandate to guarantee views itself as a complimentary ac- ribly weak, further exacerbating the inequalities, extreme poverty and un-
basic human rights across the spec- tion in support of the South African A closer look of the narratives humanitarian and human rights crisis employment. There is lack of a devel-
trum of different generation of rights. government’s clampdown on illegal shaped by the nationalist politicians, faced by the many peoples in the re- opmental model that respects human
immigrants. Nationalist politicians both in Zimbabwe and South Africa, gion. rights fully. This has been missing
Thirdly, the diaspora has been de- and other groups have encouraged shows that the precarious conditions in both countries and this has to be
prived of the vote despite the advoca- popular narratives blaming foreign created across both borders emanate Sadc as a bloc, therefore, has a duty addressed by national legislation for
cy and engagement to allow them to nationals for the increased hardships from the need to protect and main- and a mandate to go beyond put- people-centred policies that put hu-
exercise their right to the vote. experienced by poor South Africans. tain political power. On both ends, ting in place normative frameworks man rights at the centre of economic
This notwithstanding that the foreign populism is adopted as policy when to address migration in the region. development. Populism which serves
This means millions of Zimba- immigrant population constitutes an political power is under threat and The following suggestions are key in the ruling elite does not combat the
bweans have been disenfranchised. estimated 2.9 million people or 5% of there is voter disgruntlement. When coming up with solutions that protect xenophobic attacks. It causes anarchy
Lastly, the diaspora remittances have the 60 million people in South Africa. populism is adopted as policy, it migrants in the region and end xeno- and endangers the future of the entire
sustained the status quo by subsiding Shock moments such as the prevailing births fascism and violence, and both phobic attacks on fellow citizens in region.
the government where the authorities Covid-19 pandemic and its devastat- have been experienced in South Afri- the region.
have fallen short in the provision of ing impacts on the poor through loss ca and Zimbabwe. There are tangible Dealing with negative effects of mi- —jznotes.com
services. In fact, diaspora remittances of incomes, coupled with heavy infla- and intangible pacts between the po- gration
in Zimbabwe are a major source of tionary pressures have contributed to litical and economic elites to create Sadc must strengthen cohesion to *About the writer: Janet Zhou is
forex -- ranking second in contribu- xenophobic violence by heightening narratives that set up those living in address the economic model that executive director of the Zimbabwe
tion size after platinum group metals. tensions in communities and infor- extreme poverty.  When agency has currently exists. The region has not Coalition on Debt and Develop-
mal sector spaces. This trend is like- been taken away by marginalising the developed a coherent policy response ment. She is an avid social and eco-
Understanding Karl Marx’s frame- majority, the only way to misdirect to migration beyond an agreement nomic human rights defender, and
work of "primitive accumulation" energy and citizenship rights is to set to work towards the freer movement a development practitioner who is
provides a useful framework to un- them against each other by count- of people within Sadc once sufficient passionate about building people
derstanding the processes involved er-narratives, thereby creating demo- power.
in South Africa and Zimbabwe’s neo-
liberal capitalist development now

Page 52 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

VIMBAI CHINEMBIRI Zimbabwe sees a rise in
crypto-trading, crypto-scams
WHEN her sister fell ill with
cancer two years ago, Bertha de- Inflation and distrust in the banking industry make cryptocurrencies par-
cided to take a chance. She in- ticularly attractive to Zimbabweans. But many are unaware of the risks.
vested money earmarked for her
child’s school tuition in bitcoin Confidence Nyirenda monitors cryptocurrency prices from his laptop. The 27-year-old computer science graduate runs a cryptocurrency exchange service in Zimbabwe.
through a company operating Credit: Vimbai Chinembiri/Global Press Journal.
from central Harare. Her hope
was to clear enough profit to pay crypto currencies’ growing pop- but also facilitate payments and price volatility, irreversibility of innovations in the financial sec-
for the hospital bills and eventu- ularity could undermine over- withdrawals. transactions and the difficulty of tor, crypto and digital currencies
ally the tuition. sight of monetary policy, capital enforcing accountability when no were listed as ineligible for inno-
flows and illicit activity if left un- As of November 2021, the third-party regulator is involved. vation. In his email, Shirichena
After an initial investment checked.” Zimbabwe Republic Police had explains that they were excluded
turned a profit of ZW$9 700 received 892 complaints related Despite its risks, cryptocur- because “crypto assets and digital
(about US$120), Bertha invested As cryptocurrencies go main- to cryptocurrency scams, says rency has the potential to be a currencies are novel innovations
ZW$162000 in October 2020. stream, more countries are mov- spokesperson Paul Nyathi. While lifeline for people globally, either in the world of finance whose
“That was the beginning of a ing to regulate the market in or- Zimbabwe’s laws on fraud could for receiving remittances from risks to the financial system are
nightmare,” she says. The com- der to wield some control over apply to such cases, tracing the abroad or for securing savings not yet fully known.”
pany vanished without paying these assets without completely scammers in these informal in- amid acute local currency deval-
investors. hindering innovation. But reg- vestment schemes is difficult, as uation. For now, Shirichena says, the
ulating a highly volatile and they operate anonymously. bank has adopted a “cautious ap-
Bertha, who asked to be re- decentralised system remains a More data by Chainalysis, the proach” to “study and understand
ferred to by her middle name due challenge for most governments. “Desperation by Zimbabweans research firm,  shows  that “Cen- crypto assets and digital curren-
to fears of stigma, seems to have In Zimbabwe, experts say, pro- has led them to being this gull- tral and Southern Asia, Latin cy.” He adds that scams and fraud
been swindled through one of hibition has made it easier for ible,” says Confidence Nyirenda, America and Africa send more “should be dealt with separately
myriad fraudulent cryptocurren- scammers to proliferate. a 27-year-old Zimbabwean who web traffic to peer-to-peer [cryp- by the necessary legislation.”
cy schemes. With the rise in pop- since 2017 has run a cryptocur- to exchange] platforms than re-
ularity of these currencies and the “There is no way of having rency exchange company in Ha- gions whose countries tend to The ministry of Finance and
underlying blockchain technolo- oversight over these assets given rare. “Cryptocurrency is not a have larger economies, such as Economic Development declined
gy, scammers around the world the ban on banks from getting get-rich-quick scheme. If it’s too Western Europe and Eastern to comment, instead referring all
are cashing in on the buzz with involved,” says Mwedzi. “If the good to be true, then it’s a scam.” Asia.” inquiries to the Reserve Bank.
promises of easy and lofty profits. banking sector were allowed to Nyirenda facilitates cryptocur-
get involved, they would have to rency transactions by receiving During a trip to Dubai in Sep- Despite the bank ban, many
Data from US-based research meet certain requirements, but cash and then funding the in- tember, Mthuli Ncube, Zimba- Zimbabweans continue to pur-
firm Chainalysis  shows  that we need tech expertise.” vestor’s wallet with bitcoin. He bwe’s minister of Finance and chase cryptocurrency.
scammers earned US$7.7 billion says he processes about 150 such Economic Development, used
worth of cryptocurrencies from With banks forbidden to offer transactions a day. Twitter to  laud  the potential of “You’ll be shocked if you see
investors worldwide in 2021 — cryptocurrency services, it’s diffi- blockchain technology in lower- our clientele,” says Nyirenda.
an 81% increase compared with cult for Zimbabweans to depos- Consumers associate the same ing the cost of remittances, which “We have even very old people
2020. it or withdraw money, says Ya- types of risk with cryptocur- in 2020 represented 7% of Zim- who purchase crypto.”
nanai Chiwuta, head of growth rency investments as with other babwe’s gross domestic product,
In Zimbabwe, inflation has de- at CoinMadi, an African cryp- services, according to a 2021 re- according to World Bank data. —Global Press Journal.
pleted savings and pensions over tocurrency exchange. In such an port by the World Economic Fo- *About the writer: Vimbai
the past decade, and a confusing environment, scammers may not rum. But cryptocurrencies have But in February 2021, when Chinembiri is a Global Press
stream of new currencies eroded only promise inflated return rates specific challenges — such as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Journal reporter based in
faith in the banking sector. As a introduced a policy to support Zvishavane, Zimbabwe.
result, cryptocurrencies are par-
ticularly attractive in the country,
despite much of the population
understanding little of the asso-
ciated risks.

“For Zimbabweans, crypto-
currency is a way of safeguard-
ing their money from govern-
ment interference,” says Prosper
Mwedzi, a Zimbabwean financial
lawyer based in the United King-
dom. “It’s an opportunity, know-
ing how the system has operated
before where people wake up to
find bank balances converted
into local currency.”

His comment refers to the
2018 Reserve Bank of Zimba-
bwe directive that converted the
country’s US-dollar bank bal-
ances into Zimdollar balances.
Before that, Zimbabwe used a
pegged exchange rate of 1-1 be-
tween the US dollar and the local
Zimbabwean dollar.

Cryptocurrencies are digital
coins that people can use to pay
for goods and services. These
coins are stored and exchanged
on a blockchain, a secure net-
work that operates without a
central authority, such as a bank.
That means users can send coins
to one another without the need
for an intermediary. And without
a central authority storing data
about its customers, blockchain
users can remain anonymous.

In 2018, Zimbabwe banned
financial institutions from trad-
ing in cryptocurrency, joining a
handful of nations that have en-
acted similar restrictions. Kum-
bulani Shirichena, head of com-
munications at the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe, says in an email
that “there are concerns that

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 53

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

Africa: Why what’s good for
TotalEnergies is bad for us

CHARITY MIGWI/OMAR ELMAWI The oil and gas major’s record-breaking profits will do little to
comfort the people of the Global South.
LAST week, TotalEnergies  pub-
lished its 2021 financial results and A TotalEnergies (formerly Total) petrol station in Ghana. Credit: Ben Sutherland.
2022 outlook. Its announcement,
revealing profits of over  US$18 of Uganda and Tanzania. More- for almost a year after its operations chaos to the doorstep of Total’s op- promised by such industries are
billion last year, shows the largest over,  the  EACOP Bill  (now Act) ignited flames of social tensions erations and causing people to flee nothing more than the brunt of
profit in the history of any com- is skewed to benefit the French in Cabo Delgado, contributing to neighbouring countries. As a re- an already devastating climate ca-
pany in France. In short, Total is company and has many gaps and to deadly conflict. When massive sult, TotalEnergies  declared  force tastrophe as they continue to en-
killing it. But the question is: at weaknesses regarding environ- natural gas discoveries were made majeure on its US$20 billion proj- rich themselves at the expense of
whose expense? mental protection, community in Mozambique in 2009, the vi- ect, absolving itself of its contrac- African nations.
land rights, and climate change sion of leapfrogging to middle-in- tual obligations and commitments
TotalEnergies (after rebranding concerns. come status was all too promising. while maintaining the largest share The people of Africa do not
last year) has a presence in 130 More than a decade later, there is of benefits as the project conces- need to be weighed against profit
countries globally, including oil EACOP is not the only African little to delight in. Instead, un- sionaire. Most recently, Total an- and economic development.
and gas extraction activities, re- charm TotalEnergies has set its folding massacres, displacement, nounced its intent to  restart  the
fining and chemical sites, and ser- eyes on. In the Democratic Re- and untold misery have become project,  barely before a return to The climate crisis is already un-
vice stations. Of these, 30 of their public of Congo (DRC), Total had the norm in the country’s gas-rich normalcy in the region. folding in the region. Solar, wind
chapters are in Africa. called dibs on a large portion of north. Vulnerable locals are feeling and other green alternative sources
the pristine ecosystem that is the frustrated, caught up in a mani- The impacts of the fossil fuel of energy that are in abundance
90% of the company’s invest- Virunga National Park. After years festation of the paradox of plenty. industry in Africa goes beyond have the potential to fuel the con-
ments go to oil and gas expansion of dissent from climate and envi- Their region is being plundered human rights violations and eco- tinent’s prosperity while putting
with a view to increasing pro- ronmental activists, Total bowed by political and global economic nomic injustice. Their continued its people, heritage and the envi-
duction by 50% by 2030, with a to pressure and withdrew from the elites as they suffer violence and polluting activities will exacerbate ronment at the centre of develop-
majority of these projects located region. Whether this retreat was human rights abuses amid esca- the vulnerability of communities ment.
within the Global South. If you conditional remains to be seen. lating insurgencies and security in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Ma-
were to pose the question “why?”, threats labelled as “terrorism”. lawi and Madagascar that are yet —African Arguments.
TotalEnergies would be quick to Elsewhere, the company is cur- to fully recover from the terrible *About the writers: Chari-
tell you their motivations are to rently planning to resume opera- Beyond the irredeemable trage- cyclones that have left a wave of ty Migwi is the Africa regional
support the Global South develop tions on a mega Liquified Natural dy in Cabo Delgado, the town of destruction and death. Evidently, campaigner at  350.org.  Omar
and catch up with the developed Gas (LNG) project in Mozam- Palma was also attacked, bringing the so-called developmental gains Elmawi is the coordinator of the
world. But who are we kidding? bique. This project was suspended #StopEACOP Campaign.
Companies, TotalEnergies includ-
ed, are driven by profits, the planet
be damned.

As the world rapidly divests
from fossil fuels and as stricter
regulations are imposed on these
resources, especially in the devel-
oped world, it is not surprising
that TotalEnergies and other Big
Oil companies have identified the
Global South as the key frontier
for their polluting business un-
der the guise of generating em-
ployment and revenue for these
struggling economies and nations.
Well, nothing could be further
from the truth.

In a highly publicised  revela-
tion last year, it emerged that Total
knew about climate change and its
impacts for more than five decades
and did nothing to solve the prob-
lems. In fact, all they have done is
sponsor greenwashing campaigns
and actions geared at misleading
the public or hiding the impacts of
climate change.

This would perhaps explain why
many in Uganda and Tanzania do
not see Total’s involvement and
the announcement of the Final
Investment Decision (FID) for the
East African Crude Oil Pipeline
(EACOP) and associated projects
as a blessing, but as the beginning
of an economic decline.

There are several reasons for this.
To begin with, the structure of the
agreement shows that Total has
by far the most to gain. It holds
a 62% stake in EACOP, eclipsing
the 15% of shares owned by each

Page 54 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

JOHN M MUGANE The story of how Swahili became
Africa’s most spoken language
ONCE just an obscure island dialect of
an African Bantu tongue, Swahili has word ujamaa. That word has gained
evolved into Africa’s most international- such strong appeal that it has been used
ly recognised language. It is peer to the as far afield as among Australian Aborig-
few languages of the world that boast ines and African Americans and across
over 200 million users. the globe from London to Papua New
Guinea. Not to mention its ongoing
Over the two millennia of Swahili’s celebration on many US college cam-
growth and adaptation, the moulders puses in the form of dormitories named
of this story – immigrants from inland ujamaa houses.
Africa, traders from Asia, Arab and Eu-
ropean occupiers, European and Indian Satellite imagery of Africa. Credit: Public Domain Today
settlers, colonial rulers, and individu- Today, Swahili is the African language
als from various postcolonial nations languages (roughly one-third of all hu- demonstrated, less happily, by Ugandan thy and even noble. This in turn helped most widely recognised outside the con-
– have used Swahili and adapted it to man languages), several dozen of them dictator Idi Amin (1971–79), who used construct a Pan African popular identity tinent. The global presence of Swahili in
their own purposes. They have taken it with more than a million speakers. Swahili for his army and secret police independent of the elite-dominated na- radio broadcasting and on the internet
wherever they have gone to the west. operations during his reign of terror. tional governments of Africa’s fifty-some has no equal among sub-Saharan Afri-
How did Swahili come to hold so nation-states. can languages.
Africa’s Swahili-speaking zone now prominent a position among so many Under Nyerere, Tanzania became
extends across a full third of the conti- groups with their own diverse linguistic one of only two African nations ever to Little did I realise then that the Swa- Swahili is broadcast regularly in Bu-
nent from south to north and touches histories and traditions? declare a native African language as the hili label had been used as a conceptual rundi, the Democratic Republic of
on the opposite coast, encompassing the A liberation language country’s official mode of communica- rallying point for solidarity across the Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwan-
heart of Africa. During the decades leading up to the tion (the other is Ethiopia, with Amhar- lines of community, competitive towns, da, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland and
The origins independence of Kenya, Uganda and ic). Nyerere personally translated two of and residents of many backgrounds for Tanzania. On the international scene,
The historical lands of the Swahili are Tanzania in the early 1960s, Swahili William Shakespeare’s plays into Swahili over a millennium. no other African language can be heard
on East Africa’s Indian Ocean littoral. A functioned as an international means of to demonstrate the capacity of Swahili Kwanzaa and ujamaa from world news stations as often or as
2 500-kilometre chain of coastal towns political collaboration. It enabled free- to bear the expressive weight of great In 1966, (activist and author) Maulana extensively.
from Mogadishu, Somalia to Sofala, dom fighters throughout the region to literary works. Ron Karenga associated the black free-
Mozambique as well as offshore islands communicate their common aspirations Socialist overtones dom movement with Swahili, choos- At least as far back as  Trader
as far away as the Comoros and Sey- even though their native languages var- Nyerere even made the term Swahili a ing Swahili as its official language and Horn (1931), Swahili words and speech
chelles. ied widely. The rise of Swahili, for some referent to Tanzanian citizenship. Later, creating the Kwanzaa celebration. The have been heard in hundreds of mov-
Africans, was a mark of true cultural and this label acquired socialist overtones in term Kwanzaa is derived from the Swa- ies and television series, such as  Star
This coastal region has long served personal independence from the colo- praising the common men and women hili word ku-anza, meaning “to begin” Trek, Out of Africa, Disney’s The Lion
as an international crossroads of trade nising Europeans and their languages of the nation. It stood in stark contrast or “first”. The holiday was intended to King, and  Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
and human movement. People from of control and command. Uniquely to Europeans and Western-oriented celebrate the matunda ya kwanza, “first The Lion King featured several Swa-
all walks of life and from regions as among Africa’s independent nations, elite Africans with quickly – and by im- fruits”. According to Karenga, Kwanzaa hili words, the most familiar being the
scattered as Indonesia, Persia, the Afri- Tanzania’s government uses Swahili for plication dubiously – amassed wealth. symbolises the festivities of ancient Afri- names of characters, including Simba
can Great Lakes, the United States and all official business and, most impres- can harvests. (lion), Rafiki (friend) and Pumbaa (be
Europe all encountered one another. sively, in basic education. Indeed, the Ultimately, the term grew even fur- dazed). Swahili phrases included as-
Hunter-gatherers, pastoralists and farm- Swahili word uhuru (freedom), which ther to encompass the poor of all races, Celebrants were encouraged to adopt ante sana (thank you very much) and,
ers mingled with traders and city-dwell- emerged from this independence strug- of both African and non-African de- Swahili names and to address one an- of course, that no-problem philoso-
ers. gle, became part of the global lexicon of scent. In my own experience as a lectur- other by Swahili titles of respect. Based phy known as hakuna matata repeated
political empowerment. er at Stanford University in the 1990s, on Nyerere’s principle of ujamaa (unity throughout the movie.
Africans devoted to ancestors and for instance, several of the students from in mutual contributions), Kwanzaa cel-
the spirits of their lands met Muslims, The highest political offices in East Kenya and Tanzania referred to the poor ebrates seven principles or pillars. Unity Swahili lacks the numbers of speak-
Hindus, Portuguese Catholics and Brit- Africa began using and promoting Swa- white neighbourhood of East Palo Alto, (umoja), self-determination (kujicha- ers, the wealth, and the political power
ish Anglicans. Workers (among them hili soon after independence. California, as Uswahilini, “Swahili gulia), collective work and responsibil- associated with global languages such
slaves, porters and labourers), soldiers, land”. As opposed to Uzunguni, “land ity (ujima), cooperative economics (uja- as Mandarin, English or Spanish. But
rulers and diplomats were mixed to- Presidents  Julius Nyerere  of Tanza- of the mzungu (white person)”. maa), shared purpose (nia), individual Swahili appears to be the only lan-
gether from ancient days. Anyone who nia (1962–85) and  Jomo Kenyatta  of creativity (kuumba) and faith (imani). guage boasting more than 100 million
went to the East African littoral could Kenya (1964–78) promoted Swahili as Nyerere considered it prestigious to speakers that has more second-language
choose to become Swahili, and many integral to the region’s political and eco- be called Swahili. With his influence, Nyerere also became the icon of speakers than native ones.
did. nomic interests, security and liberation. the term became imbued with sociopo- “community brotherhood and sister-
African unity The political power of language was litical connotations of the poor but wor- hood” under the slogan of the Swahili By immersing themselves in the af-
The roll of Swahili enthusiasts and ad- fairs of a maritime culture at a key com-
vocates includes notable intellectuals, mercial gateway, the people who were
freedom fighters, civil rights activists, eventually designated Waswahili (Swa-
political leaders, scholarly professional hili people) created a niche for them-
societies, entertainers and health work- selves. They were important enough
ers. Not to mention the usual profes- in the trade that newcomers had little
sional writers, poets, and artists. choice but to speak Swahili as the lan-
guage of trade and diplomacy. And
Foremost has been Nobel Laure- the Swahili population became more
ate Wole Soyinka. The Nigerian writer, entrenched as successive generations of
poet and playwright has since the 1960s second-language speakers of Swahili lost
repeatedly called for use of Swahili as their ancestral languages and became
the transcontinental language for Africa. bona fide Swahili.

The African Union (AU), the “united The key to understanding this story
states of Africa” nurtured the same sen- is to look deeply at the Swahili people’s
timent of continental unity in July 2004 response to challenges. At the ways in
and adopted Swahili as its official lan- which they made their fortunes and
guage. As Joaquim Chissano (then the dealt with misfortunes. And, most im-
president of Mozambique) put this mo- portant, at how they honed their skills
tion on the table, he addressed the AU in balancing confrontation and resis-
in the flawless Swahili he had learned in tance with adaptation and innovation as
Tanzania, where he was educated while they interacted with arrivals from other
in exile from the Portuguese colony. language backgrounds.

The African Union did *About the writer: John M. Mugane
not adopt Swahili as Africa’s internation- is a professor at Harvard University in
al language by happenstance. Swahili the United States.
has a much longer history of building
bridges among peoples across the con- This is an edited extract of the first
tinent of Africa and into the diaspora. chapter of The Story of Swahili from
Ohio University Press/The Conversa-
The feeling of unity, the insistence tion.
that all of Africa is one, just will not
disappear. Languages are  elemental  to
everyone’s sense of belonging, of ex-
pressing what’s in one’s heart. The AU’s
decision was particularly striking giv-
en that the populations of its member
states speak an estimated two thousand

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 55

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

Rethinking risk can unshackle Africa’s small-
scale farmers from the grip of poor weather

MICHAEL CARTER

RIGHT now, countries in the Horn of A woman checks maize crop on a small scale farm in Chinhamora, about 50 km north of Harare. Alexander Joe/AFP via. Getty Images
Africa are in the midst of a multi-sea-
son drought. holds in northern Kenya. In 2015, it specific type of drought). Beyond this project had a surprising result: farm- and promote resilience, but can also
was adopted by the Government of they provide little or no protection. ers who experienced the steepest losses provide a solid foundation for future
There have also been years in which Kenya and paid out over US$10 mil- Surprising result to drought grew a bigger harvest than improvements. Together, resilience to
the rains have come with such force lion  to vulnerable pastoralists in the These observations suggested to us they ever had before in the year imme- shocks and the resulting investments
that floods wash out the season’s la- first five years. that bundling different risk manage- diately after. into growing more food build what
bour, sometimes along with homes, ment technologies might be the way we call Resilience+.
as happened in Mozambique just two Emerging evidence also shows that to unshackle Africa’s small-scale farm- When we  analysed the data, we
years ago. genetically encoded risk management ers from the vicious circle of shocks, found that insured farmers could Accelerating  climate change  has
technologies can achieve some of the risk and poverty. not only feed their families follow- made it especially urgent to create
Climate change is making these same benefits as financial instruments. ing a drought, they also increased the flexible bundles that improve resil-
disasters more common. It is hard They include stress-tolerant crop vari- In Mozambique and Tanzania, my amount of improved maize seed they ience.
for rural families whose livelihoods eties. Both types of resilience-build- colleagues and I conducted a four-year purchased. In fact, they invested more
depend on the food they can grow. ing technologies – financial and ag- randomised control  trial  that com- improved seed than they ever had be- If tools are effective and provide val-
A 2015  study  by the World Bank ronomic – have shown considerable bined index insurance and stress-tol- fore. Those additional purchases drove ue, farmers will use them to increase
estimated that climate change over promise but also have limitations. erant maize to exploit the synergies of the increase in yields in the following their agency to choose improved
the next 20 years would increase the Insurance can be an expensive way to both together. The insurance expand- year as farmers became convinced that inputs, to expand or diversify their
number of desperately poor people manage risk. It also brings costs each ed the protection that the seeds gave. the technologies worked, enabling planting, or to try new and unfamil-
by 122 million, if nothing was done year whether or not insurance pays The seeds’ tolerance of some drought them to deepen their investment and iar practices that may produce more
about it. out. reduced the cost of the insurance. It increase their incomes. food. We believe this approach could
would also provide higher yields than A new ending to the same old story have a transformative impact where
While the drivers of deep-seated An improved seed variety has no other varieties even in normal years. These and many other field trials risk is primarily what holds families
poverty in rural Africa are many and such continuing costs. Beyond the are building evidence that effective back from stronger livelihoods.
complex, climate shocks are one of initial, substantial cost of develop- We designed the bundle so that in tools to manage risk can create a new
the most important. ing the new variety, the seeds can be a severe drought, seeds would be re- ending to the same old story about —The Conversation.
reproduced and purchased for little placed and farmers would be able to shocks, risk and poverty. These tools
Research  I have done with col- more than any other seed variety. But plant again in the next season with not only protect current well-being *About the writer: Michael Car-
leagues in the past has shown how cli- the seeds only protect farmers against the same stress-tolerant seeds. The ter is professor of agricultural and
mate shocks affected rural households specific peril (limited flooding or a resource economics at the University
in Ethiopia and Honduras. We found of California, Davis, United States.
that acute shocks – a devastating hur-
ricane or prolonged drought – could
push households into chronic poverty
and hardship.

Not only can climate shocks push
families into poverty, it can also keep
them there. The dreaded anticipation
of shocks, or risk, discourages in-
vestments that could otherwise raise
families’ living standards and reduce
their vulnerability to poverty. From
the Sahel to Central America, small-
farm households keep their modest
savings in the form of food stocks.
While understandable, indeed  opti-
mal  given the constraints they face,
this behaviour closes the vicious circle
of shocks, risk and poverty.

But there may be a way to reset
this relationship between risk, shocks
and poverty. An emerging  body of
evidence  reveals that new risk man-
agement tools that make households
resilient to shocks further empower
them to invest more in available tech-
nologies and economic opportunities.

My recent  work in Mozambique
and Tanzania, with colleagues (more
on this later), adds to this evidence,
showing what farmers can achieve by
combining these tools.
Tools and their limitations
One of these risk management tools
is agricultural index insurance. It pro-
vides payments in the event of crop
losses, so a household does not lose
everything in a bad year. Experiments
with index insurance have shown that
when protected, farmers increase in-
vestment in their farms by as much as
30%, and reap matching increases in
income.

I was involved in what has been
one of the most successful  index in-
surance  interventions to date. In a
2010 collaboration, researchers from
the International Livestock Research
Institute, the University of Wiscon-
sin and Cornell University launched a
scheme like this for pastoralist house-

Page 56 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

AU-EU Summit:
Private sector
partnerships are
where real change
can happen
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) meets Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat (R) as
RAFFAELI MACHETTI cess Covid-19 vaccines. Europe has she arrives to attend 10th European Union-African Union Commission-to-Commission 2020 meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
been  uncomfortable  with China’s
FIVE years since the African Union rising influence in Africa. Important connections The two continents are also con- investors who put money in public
(AU) leaders and their Europe- Europe remains Africa’s largest for- nected in  cultural terms, at times projects.
an Union (EU) counterparts held But their future depends on the eign aid provider. The flow of trade passing through the  city cultural
their 5th meeting in 2017, the two relationship. The current dialogue and investments  between the two diplomacy. The level of cultural ex- Such interventions would swell
regional organisations have met between the two blocs is about continents is high. Africa’s exports change is remarkable: from univer- the middle class to drive growth.
again. priority areas of economic coop- to  the European Union, for in- sity system to religious integration; That, in turn, could deliver eco-
eration, job creation and climate stance, totalled US$146 billion in and from a linguistic commonality nomic and political stability, as the
The February 2022 meeting – 16 change. Others are migration man- 2021 compared to its imports of to the arts scene. history of modern state building
months overdue because of Covid – agement, investment in youth, and US$142 billion. shows.
was significant given the actual and peace and security. Security threats are also shared by
potential size of the two blocs. Technological transfer is similarly the two continents. From terrorism Infrastructure development  is
If they can build real partner- robust, with recent new lines open to cyber-attacks, Africa and Europe another key area for investment.
The relationship between the two ships, both continents can prosper. on pharmaceuticals. Africa provides face  common problems, and need Land, air, and maritime transpor-
continents (the subject of a book I Conversely, entering into a compet- a significant amount of raw materi- to find common responses. tation is still severely limited across
have edited) has been tested in re- itive relationship or seeking part- als and labour to Europe. Much of the continent. More roads, rails and
cent months. Africa has felt neglect- nership elsewhere represents a sig- Africa’s diaspora population live in In short, Africa needs Europe, flight connections are needed in or-
ed by Europe as it struggled to ac- nificant loss of opportunity. Europe. just as Europe needs Africa. der to achieve the full potential of
economic growth in the region.
The Africa Union-European
Union meeting in Brussels stated its Strengthening of intercontinen-
areas of focus as: growth financing; tal value chains (step-by-step ac-
health systems and vaccine produc- tivities that transform raw material
tion, agriculture and sustainable de- or ideas into products) is a priority
velopment; education, culture and area for the partnership between Af-
vocational training; migration and rica and Europe. Functioning value
mobility; private sector support and chains could have spillover effects
economic integration; peace, secu- on the domestic industrial sector,
rity and governance; climate change and help boost national self-suffi-
and energy transition, and digital ciency.  This is particularly critical
and transport connectivity. for sectors such as pharmaceuti-
cals where the Covid-19 pandemic
These focus areas are well chosen has exposed weakness.
but the question is how best to un-
lock the potential of this partner- The continental project for free
ship. trade is an essential component for
What’s missing? the growth and industrial trans-
With the signing of the  African formation of Africa. Its building
Continental Free Trade Area  in blocks are the various regional eco-
2018, the continent laid the ground nomic communities  that currently
for significant growth through exist across Africa. The cooperation
trade. The Covid-19 pandemic that between Africa and Europe needs to
delayed this growth is slowly fading strengthen these groupings.
away. The time is ripe for a takeoff.
Connected to the search for a
The African market of 1.2 billion single market is the need for invest-
people, with an average age of 27 ment in human capital. Empower-
and a gross domestic product of ing young people could bring  de-
more than US$3 trillion, is ready mographic dividends  (economic
for an enabling partnership. growth resulting from a change in
the age structure of a population).
Beyond political cohesion and
stability, Africa lacks growth financ- This can be accelerated through
ing and active support of its private mobility between the two conti-
sector. Governments and interna- nents, and collaboration between
tional organisations can certainly European and African universities.
support regional growth. But in my
opinion it is from partnerships with Genuine cooperation
the private sector that most resourc- Genuine cooperation between Eu-
es can be generated. rope and Africa must be inclusive
and mutually beneficial. Otherwise,
Local companies should make the partnership will not hold.
long-term investments to enhance
their capabilities and position If properly developed, the rela-
themselves as key players in nation- tionship between Africa and Europe
al development. But this cannot could constitute a very significant
happen until governments set up component of  global inclusive de-
adequate normative frameworks velopment.
for good business practices. For
instance, Kenya has a  public-pri- *About the writer: Raffaele
vate partnership  law that gives in- Marchetti is deputy rector for in-
centives and guarantees continuity ternationalisation and full pro-
(in case of political transition) to fessor of international relations at
LUISS Universita Guido Carli in
Italy.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 57

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

Fears of election
rigging may fuel
further abuses in
Kenya: Democracy
could be the loser
GABRIELLE LYNCH/ JUSTIN WILLIS/ outweigh any financial inducement
NIC CHEESEMAN received. Kenya election officials inspect voting packs at a holding centre ahead of the August 2017 elections. Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images

AS Kenyans approach a general elec- In our recent book,  The Mor- ing around the kind of leaders they lence or rigging, which are both illegal often intertwined with the idea that
tion in August 2022, many lack con- al Economy of Elections in Africa: want, why have a minority been in- and – as our surveys and Afrobarom- one had to prevent the ‘other’ from
fidence in the electoral process. Democracy, Voting and Virtue, we volved in electoral malpractice over eter  surveys have revealed – broadly winning. The justification was that
investigate this paradox by looking the years? This includes those who unpopular across the continent? their victory would, for one reason or
According to a national opinion at the political opinions and feelings cast multiple votes or disrupt voting. another, ‘be disastrous’ for the indi-
poll conducted by  Afrobarome- that develop around elections. In addition to recognising the role vidual, community or nation.
ter in 2019, only 29.2% of Kenyans We found that deviation from elec- of politicians in organising and incit-
thought that the country’s 2017 We do so by drawing on research toral rules can be the result of bribery ing violence, interviewees sometimes The danger for democracy
election was free and fair. Another conducted in Ghana, Kenya and or coercion. It is also often possible excused violence as an unfortunate, There are many reasons to think that
33.5% thought that there were mi- Uganda between 2014 and 2017. for such actions to be justified, both but necessary, part of the political Kenya will avoid major political dis-
nor problems, 12% that there were This included participant observa- to oneself and others, as a virtuous game. ruption in 2022, including the fact
major problems, and 21.7% that the tions of campaigns and elections, act in the interests of an individual, that the main candidates are going to
elections were not free and fair at all. over 300 qualitative interviews, and community or the nation. This is not At times, it was justified on the great lengths not to frame their cam-
nationally representative surveys. a Kenyan phenomenon. Aspects of basis that it was necessary to prevent paigns in ethnic terms.
Moreover, according to a 2021 the moral economy we describe occur a greater injustice. This could be the
poll commissioned by  South Con- The research focused on the moral in other African states, as well as Eu- need to use strong-arm tactics to en- But the fact that many Kenyans
sulting, although around half of Ken- claims made by officials, politicians, ropean and North American nations. sure order, to strike first to pre-empt lack confidence in the electoral pro-
yans have confidence in the electoral civil society, international observ- an attack, to defend, or to reject elec- cess is worrying both for public en-
commission to support a free and fair ers and voters. It revealed how elec- To give one example, if a handout toral injustice. gagement and because of the range
election, around half also believe that tions are the site of intense moral is interpreted as a bribe, it is likely to of behaviours that it may be used to
the government’s favoured candidate claims-making, which, among other be unsuccessful as citizens opt to ‘eat’ When it comes to rigging, it is justify.
will win, no matter how people vote. things, helps explain why there is with one candidate and vote for an- tempting to think of ballot fraud as
such vigorous participation in pro- other. We found that handouts only things done to unsuspecting citizens In other words, by making a range
Despite this scepticism, a majority cesses that often seem flawed. tend to be successful when – as histo- by wily politicians. In reality, we of illegal and unhelpful behaviours
of Kenyans will likely still turn out Turning out rian Paul Nugent has argued regard- found that these processes are some- appear to be more justifiable, fears,
to vote as they have done in previous We found that some voters are moti- ing Ghana – they are “converted into times co-produced. "Over-voting" in evidence and perceptions of election
polls. This isn’t to say that voter ap- vated by hope that the next election some kind of moral authority” and a candidate’s strongholds, for exam- malpractice can undermine the fight
athy is not an issue. It is, and con- will be better. Others by a higher lev- viewed as a sign of generosity, accessi- ple, usually takes place with the com- for a stronger and more stable democ-
tributed to the electoral commission’s el of confidence in lower-level races bility or assistance. plicity of some community members. racy.
ability to register  only 25% of its where reports of malpractice are less
target  in last year’s mass voter regis- widespread. Voter turnout is also If candidates don’t find ways to Similarly, our research found that —The Conversation.
tration drive and  about 23% of its boosted by the fact that Kenyans vote build relationships with communities the main justification provided by
target this year. for six posts in one day. – for instance, if they simply turn up those who admitted involvement in *About the writers: Gabrielle
and throw money at people during multiple voting was an assumption Lynch is professor of comparative
Nevertheless, only 10.4% of re- More importantly, many citizens campaigns – they will be viewed with that other candidates were doing the politics at the University of War-
spondents in the  2019 Afrobarome- are motivated by a sense that voting is suspicion. They will likely be accused same. As one man explained of a par- wick in the United Kingdom. Jus-
ter survey  said they would not vote a civic duty. The importance of this is of being corrupt or illegitimate, and ty primary in 2007: tin Willis is professor of history at
in 2022. reflected in the sharing of inky finger waste their money. Durham University in the UK. Nic
selfies on election day, for instance. Strike first “Yes, of course our opponent also Cheeseman is professor of democra-
So, many who lack confidence in But what about involvement in vio- tried to stuff ballots, it was only that cy at the University of Birmingham
the integrity of the process will still Elections are also valued as a mo- we stole more than they could”. in the UK.
make the effort to go out and vote. ment when voters can reject those
How can we explain this paradox? they believe have failed or likely will This need to counter the rigging an
fail to protect and promote their na- opponent would likely engage in was
Sceptics might say that some vot- tional, community and individual
ers are simply paid to turn out to interests. Citizens get to cast their
vote. Handouts may be  common ballot for a candidate in whom they
during campaigns, but it is possible have greater confidence.
to receive money and not vote, and
to receive money and vote differently. Yet, this explanation raises further
The costs involved in voting – getting questions. If people are motivated by
to the polling station and the hours a sense of civic duty and claims-mak-
of work or "hustling" lost – often

Page 58 Africa News NewsHawks

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

Kenya's UN ambassador slams Russia and
compares Ukraine crisis to Africa's colonial past

RUSSIA'S recognition of two ancient nations that they cleaved Kenya's UN ambassador Martin Kimani. force. We must complete our re-
pro-Russian breakaway regions apart." covery from the embers of dead
in Ukraine as "independent states" for integration with peoples in brethren and to make common empires in a way that does not
has been condemned by Kenya's Kenya, which had been under neighbouring states. This is normal purpose with them? plunge us back into new forms of
ambassador to the United Nations, British rule since 1895, was named and understandable. After all, who domination and oppression," he
who used Africa's past to warn that an official colony in 1920 and re- does not want to be joined to their "However, Kenya rejects such a said.
clinging to the legacies of colonial- mained that way until it won inde- yearning from being pursued by
ism risked "new forms of domina- pendence in 1963. The Kremlin's decree recogniz-
tion and oppression." ing the DPR and LPR, followed by
"At independence, had we cho- the decision to deploy what it calls
Russia sharply escalated its mil- sen to pursue states on the basis of "peacekeeping" troops in the area,
itary campaign  against Ukraine ethnic, racial or religious homo- represents a sharp escalation in a
on Monday night, recognising the geneity, we would still be waging long-running conflict. For almost
so-called Donetsk People's Repub- bloody wars these many decades eight years the breakaway enclaves
lic (DPR) and Luhansk People's later," he said. have been the site of a low-inten-
Republic (LPR) in Ukraine's east- sity war between Russian-backed
ern Donbas region before ordering "Instead, we agreed that we separatists and Ukrainian forces
troops into the territories. would settle for the borders that which has left more than 14 000
we inherited, but we would still people dead.
"This situation echoes our his- pursue continental political, eco-
tory. Kenya and almost every Af- nomic and legal integration. Rath- But Russian President Vladimir
rican country was birthed by the er than form nations that looked Putin's decision to send forces into
ending of empire," Kenyan UN ever backward into history with a the separatist-held areas has raised
ambassador Martin Kimani said dangerous nostalgia, we chose to fears of a broader war in Ukraine,
in a speech at the UN Security look forward to a greatness none of and triggered a tranche of sanc-
Council on Monday. "Our bor- our many nations and peoples had tions from Western governments.
ders were not of our own drawing. ever known." Moscow had long maintained that
They were drawn in the distant co- it had no soldiers on the ground in
lonial metropoles of London, Paris He continued: "We believe that eastern Ukraine.
and Lisbon, with no regard for the all states formed from empires that
have collapsed or retreated have —CNN.
many peoples in them yearning

NewsHawks World News Page 59

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

MICHEL ELTCHANINOFF What’s going on inside Putin’s mind?:
His own words give a disturbing clue
THE Russian president’s dangerous
sense of victimhood draws on 20th Russian President Vladimir Putin.
century ideas of his country’s frustrat-
ed potential to rise to be a global pow- It is necessary, then, to understand worse year by year. Meanwhile the US vili, this time the victims to be de- sion, Russia has for centuries been the
er on top of the world.  that what is actually happening in has become more preoccupied with fended are in  Donetsk and Luhansk. victim of an attempt to contain and
Ukraine is the result of a vision of China than Russia. So in July 2021, The manufacture of this humanitarian dismember it. These attempts must be
“They have only one objective: to Russia that is deeply embedded in the Putin published the  infamous arti- crisis may, for Putin, carry a pleasing resisted. The logic of this is based on a
prevent the development of  Russia. mind of Putin. In 2008, he punished cle in which he proclaimed the unity element of irony. He has never forgot- belief that Russia’s passionarnost must
They are going to do it in the same Georgia for its desire to leave the or- of the Russian and Ukrainian people. ten Nato’s bombing of Belgrade in the not be constrained.
way as they did it before, without fur- bit of the old imperial power. In 2014, The Ukrainians, he maintained, could spring of 1999, a few months before
nishing even a single pretext, doing it he  annexed Crimea  and prevented not be left to suffer indefinitely under he became prime minister. By paro- For Putin – in stark contrast to the
just because we exist.” Ukraine from joining Nato by starting an illegitimate government, which dying the language of ethnic cleansing tired Westerner, lost in the search for
the Donbas conflict. But that is not came to power in what he described and genocide (the Russian-speakers profit and material comfort, “the Rus-
These were Russian President Vlad- enough for him. He wants a confron- as a coup d’etat in 2014. Putin massed of Donbas this time, rather than the sian man thinks first of all … in re-
imir Putin’s words on 21 February, in tation with – and a victory over – a his troops on his neighbours’ borders Kosovars), Putin wishes to cancel out lation to a superior moral principle”.
his now notorious speech on Ukraine. West that he holds responsible for the from the spring. He intensified mili- the affront caused by that episode in And he is prepared to die for it. Pu-
They repeat the argument already for- fall of the Soviet Union, for the weak- tary preparations in the autumn and the darkest way imaginable. tin often cites a well-known Russian
mulated in his  speech on Crimea  in ness of Russia in the 1990s, and for issued his ultimatum to Nato and saying: for Russians, “even death is
March 2014: “The politics of the con- the autonomous tendencies of the old Washington. He set a carefully laid What should we think of this per- beautiful”. There may, therefore, be no
tainment of Russia, which continued Soviet republics. trap for the west, knowing it was im- petual sense of victimhood that allows limits to the quest to avenge perceived
throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th possible to accept his demands. Every- the Russian president to artificially cre- humiliation. The president’s world-
centuries, continues today. There is a Why now? In the years following his thing was ready for what followed. ate situations in which Russia appears view paves the way to extremism.
constant attempt to push us back into re-election in 2018, the patriotic exal- humiliated and insulted? Are these
a corner because we have an indepen- tation that followed the annexation As in 2008, Russian state media the actions of a rational leader? The *About the writer: Michel El-
dent position, because we stand up for of Crimea faded. Everyday problems echoes Putin in evoking the risk of a answer is both simple and worrying. tchaninoff is editor-in-chief of
ourselves.” Putin’s vision of Russian for ordinary people – declining living genocide. In place of the Ossetians, Putin has developed, over decades, a Philosophie magazine and a special-
history is one of an emergence contin- standards, increased poverty, infla- supposedly menaced by the then vision of the world that is paranoid ist in the history of Russian thought.
ually blocked by enemies. tion, a healthcare crisis – have become Georgian president, Mikhail Saakash- but coherent. According to this vi- He is the author of Inside the Mind
of Vladimir Putin
The contemporary “West”, in this
vision, battles to contain Russia out
of jealousy. Europe has collapsed into
decadence, crushed by the weight of
its humanism and political liberalism:
tired, divided, at the mercy of ev-
ery passing wind. The United States,
mired in an instrumental, materialist
culture and the contradictions of its
own history, is in the process of losing
its pre-eminence. Russia, by contrast,
like its emerging ally, China, is on the
rise in civilisational terms.

Putin leans here on a strange the-
ory advanced by the 20th-century
historian and ethnographer  Lev Gu-
milev. The son of two of Russia’s most
famous poets, Nikolai Gumilev and
Anna Akhmatova, Gumilev maintains
that every people possesses a distinct
life force: a “bio-cosmic” inner en-
ergy or passionate substance that he
calls  passionarnost. Putin may have
known Gumilev in St Petersburg at
the start of the 1990s. At any rate, he
has embraced his ideas and never miss-
es an opportunity to refer to them. In
February last year,  he said: “I believe
in passionarnost. In nature as in soci-
ety, there is development, climax and
decline. Russia has not yet attained
its highest point. We are on the way”.
According to him, Russia carries the
power and potential of a young peo-
ple. “We possess an infinite genetic
code,” he has said.

In addition to Gumilev, Putin relies
on another thinker – a minor figure in
the history of Russian thought. Last
October, he spoke of regularly con-
sulting a collection of political essays
titled  Our Tasks, the major work of
Ivan Ilyin, who died in 1954. In one of
the president’s preferred essays, “What
does the world seek from the dismem-
berment of Russia?”, Ilyin denounces
the country’s “imperialist neighbours”,
these “Western peoples who neither
understand nor accept Russian orig-
inality”. In the future, he suggests,
these countries will inevitably attempt
to seize territories such as the Baltic
countries, the Caucasus, central Asia
and, especially, Ukraine. The method,
according to Ilyin, will be the hypo-
critical promotion of values such as
“freedom” in order to transform Rus-
sia into “a gigantic Balkans”. 

The final object is to “dismember
Russia, to subject her to western con-
trol, to dismantle her and in the end
make her disappear”.

Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model

&Life Style

STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING

Page 60 Issue 69, 25 February 2022

CeeBlazer

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA Situation is bad says Ukrainian-based
Zimbabwean musician, CeeBlazer
"HOME is best" is an old adage that “I don’t think if there was going to He added that Ukraine had become ceived rave reviews on YouTube. With Stunner, they dropped a col-
does not ring true to many Zimba- be war, we would be talking like this his “second home” and regards every The video, shot on location in laboration called Jibilika. And with
bweans living abroad. now,” CeeBlazer said this week. Zimbabwean living in that country a Tocky Vibes, he released Muzezuru.
relative. Real name Courage Dhuku, Ukraine, has an international flair to
This includes those eking out a liv- “We would be in a serious mess, the emerging Zimbabwean musician it, by way of visuals and overall qual- The song Murora hit 200 000
ing in a country where one would not no internet, no electricity but it is said should the war strike, he would ity. views in two months before he pulled
ordinarily expect to see a Zimbabwe- business as usual. We have everything stay put. it down from YouTube because he
an: Ukraine. going on.” CeeBlazer glorifies Zimbabwean had opened his own channel.
A holder of a degree in Interna- women in the video, likening them
Fleeing a country currently under The 27-year-old, who works as a tional Economic Cybernetics with to the beauty of an angel. His follow-up single was African
Russian invasion is not an option for sales manager, remarked that most Alfred Nobel University in Ukraine, Girl and then Lele. Both songs were
some Zimbabweans who have settled Zimbabweans he knows were “com- CeeBlazer also holds an honours de- And of course, the choreography well received, but it was Zondo which
there over the past decade or so. fortable” and not worried about the gree in international relations with is also on point, largely because Cee- opened doors for him.
impending war. the University of Wales. Blazer puts in a lot of work into his
Their own country, they argue, is art. He sings in English and Shona. CeeBlazer grew up in Harare. He is
an even more punishing place to live “Of course, it is worrying but then Currently, he is working on a mas- the first born in a family of two boys.
in -- war or not. most Zimbabweans are used to the ter's degree in finance and business. And the Afro-beat will get you on
Russia-Ukraine conflict since 2014,” the dance floor as CeeBlazer waxes He attended Marimba Park Prima-
A few days before Russia launched he said. “I have a logistics company in lyrical, making the songs all the more ry School in Harare and proceeded to
a large-scale attack on Ukraine, Zim- Zimbabwe whose name I cannot dis- enjoyable. He has maintained the Rusununguko Secondary School in
babwean Afro-beat singer CeeBlazer “The only problem is we cannot close,” he said. same quality he exhibited in other Bromley, Marondera, and then Oriel
told The NewsHawks he was con- send or receive money from anywhere videos such as Zondo, Lele, African Boys High in the Zimbabwean capi-
fident that the situation would not as foreigners due to this crisis. (But) The flamboyant singer has released Girl and Murora, which were well tal Harare. He says he began singing
escalate. people at this point are worried about over 70 songs to date without putting received on YouTube. at the age of nine. He currently lives
survival and not war. After all, most a single album out. in the town of Dnepropetrovsk, a cul-
However, as it turned out on Tues- Zimbabweans are leading a better life CeeBlazer has collaborated with tural hub in central Ukraine, where
day, Russia began its military attacks. here than back home.” His breakaway song was Zondo, Tocky Vibez and Stunner, both re- he is studying and working.
before he dropped Angel, which re- vered musicians in their own right.
“The situation is now bad,” he said
before he went offline.

Earlier in an interview, CeeBlazer
said he did not see himself quitting
his comfortable life and flying back
home to a future of uncertainty.

NewsHawks Life & Style Page 61

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

Jah Signal
named as Pacific
Cigarette Company
Brand Influencer

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA

ZIMBABWEAN contemporary musician — Jah Signal — is basking in the glory of his
newly found fame after he was endorsed as one of Pacific Cigarette Company’s brand

The “Swaah Ndini Ndarira” star is the brand influencer for the Pacific Breeze and Qi
Pacific Storm brands.

Q on the deal, Jah Signal, whose real name is Nicodimus Mutize, said he has no regrets
ever since launching his career in music.

“I will be promoting Pacific Storm representing bold ambition and Pacific Breeze, for
the cool adventurous youth, something that I identify with and aligns to my vision,” he
said.

Looking back on his music career Jah Signal said he has achieved a lot since he hit the
big time.

“I have scooped Song of the Year awards and I have become a brand ambassador for
big companies like Old Mutual, Zimparks, Pacific Cigarette Company, ZIMPHIA, and
ZETDC to mention a few.

“I have also managed to launch my own company called Jacksons which produces
biltong. So essentially I do not have regrets at all because I achieved a lot since I rose to
fame,” he said.

And true to his words, since lurching on the spotlight with his 2020 megahit song
‘Sweetie,’ which carries the phrase Stonyeni, went viral.

The song features popular comedienne Mai TT and according to Jah Signal, it is a love
song that encourages daughters-in-law to stay strong in marriages.

“I coined the word Stonyeni which means love,” he explained about the word which in
some circles was often misconstrued.

Jah Signal started his music in 2011 in Kuwadzana when he was into Zim dancehall
and has branched out to expand his fan base.

“I'm not moving away from dancehall but trying my best to cater for all my fans which
helps me to grow as an artist,” he said.

Pacific Cigarette Company, formerly known as Savanna Tobacco, was launched in
2002 as the country’s first indigenous-owned cigarette entity, and its success is based on
the production of quality cigarettes from the finest Zimbabwean tobacco.

Page 62 State of the culture NewsHawks

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

Keeping our heads in a crazy world

POP culture and politics took centre
stage this past week with the tragic
news of the death of Riky Rick, a
hip-hop artiste born Rikhado Muz-
iwendlovu Makhado (20 July 1987-
23 February 2022) through appar-
ent suicide, and the news of Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine.

Pop culture and mental health submit that mental health is a real about the difficult stuff happening 'get on with it, be strong my boi' Black Coffee.
Riky Rick joins actor Patrick Shai, problem. in our lives and letting things out … but in reality, we are trauma- that the configuration of geopolitics
another celebrity who took his life. helped to ease the mental burden. tised. Generational trauma passed has been altered forever. The dogs
A few years ago, HHP (born Jabu- Many people have experienced Fortunately for me, I do not have down to us. Ladies, we are not per- of war, to quote Shakespeare in Ju-
lani Tsambo), another hip-hop suicidal thoughts at one point or Riky Rick’s two million-plus fol- fect by any means … but damn, lius Caesar, have been let loose. My
artiste, took his own life. What the another for various reasons. The lowers on social media to feed with we are crying out for your approv- thoughts are with the innocent ci-
pushed him? For all the seeming human brain works in mysterious updates about my life... al, your love and affection. Please, vilians caught up in mortal combat.
seductiveness of the entertainment ways and our perception of reality I have seen pictures of the deceased
world, why would a celebrity decide is coloured by a plethora of things. Someone to can we RESET and and the carnage. The news networks
take their own life? On the surface, Religion and cultural beliefs play talk to go back to FAM- have brisk business and so do the
celebrities seem to live in a rarified a crucial role in how we process Popular rap- ILY VALUES?!. arms manufacturers. The price of
environment which is not touched phenomena. In the case of suicide, per AKA (born Can we (myself oil is shooting up. What do these
by the mundane and ordinary. It is some would attribute it to ngozi Kiernan Ford) Addy included) start two events mean for us all?
in moments when they take their (avenging spirit). I believe this may going to Church
lives that people realise that they be one of the reasons why when on Wednes- Kudita Again. Please, can Parting shot 
are just as human as the next per- someone is suffering from mental we start some sort Following the chats in several so-
son. We should not forget the fact health, they find it hard to reach day wrote a of dialogue about cial media groups of which I am
of their fallibility. They feel just like out to friends and neighbours. De- heartrending MEN in this coun- a member, people have expressed
everybody else. I imagine that when pression is a real thing however. message on the try because it’s our duty to protect their frustration with a society
you appear in music videos or so- When you experience it, you may mental health crisis affecting men you, to provide and care for you. that frowns upon self-disclosure.
cial media handles in which you are feel debilitated  and struggle to do in a lengthy Instagram post. We cannot make this thing work Away from the glare of the celeb-
seen "fronting" a certain lifestyle, anything productive. “Let’s keep it 100. The last 5 without each other. We are crying rity lifestyle, in the townships peo-
you really have pressure to main- people I know who took their own out for your help. This is so trau- ple are committing suicide but the
tain the charade. It is a lot of work! Some tend to rely on drugs to lives, 4 of them are men. I’ve seen matic. Please, let’s not forget about deaths are not given the necessary
But this is not to suggest the cause self-medicate but this gives only so much suicide over the last year us. We are not perfect by any means attention. The socio-economic sit-
of Riky Rick's suicide was celebri- temporary relief. Having faith in I can’t even feel anything anymore. but damn …. Look at the stats; we uation in the country compounds
ty pressure. What is known or can God helps one to gain perspective. I I’ve spoken to a lot of people, some are taking our own lives at record the problem. People are resorting
be gathered from his social media write from experience.   of them said 'He just got a bag from highs. Something has to change.” to all manner of escapism, but the
posts is a man who appeared to be the African Bank blah blah etc'. The politics of power problem is not going away easily. As
saying farewell to his fans. In one Having conscientious friends That tells you everything you need In my view, what the invasion of for what the war means for us all,
particular video, he discusses the around you helps. We need to check to know about this fu***d up, fake Ukraine teaches is that geopolitics is specifically about 260 Zimbabwean
thoughts of suicide and how he had in on each other. When I was going ass algorithm world we have created mostly a game of chess. In the end, nationals are trying to make it out
at some point thought he would not through a rough patch, my three for ourselves to live in. Riky went to the superpowers all want one thing: of the war zone in Ukraine. Gen-
make it past 25 like the late US rap- mates used to call on me and we had Hilton, he grew up around money. dominance. For now, Russia seems erally speaking, the price of fuel
per Tupac Shakur, who had rapped ice cream Thursdays. We would put I hope that very soon we can ad- to have the upper hand because it will likely go up at this rate. We all
about dying young and was himself money together to buy ice cream dress the issue of how damaged and grabbed what it wanted by force. know what the cascading effect of a
killed in a drive-by.  and you have no idea just how ef- broken the men in this country are. Watching the networks, my sense is fuel increase means for our volatile
fective the practice was in helping We have no one to talk to, we just economy. 
A World Health Organisation re- me get through tricky times. pat each other on the back and say,
port titled Global Health Estimates
Suicide released in 2021 revealed We had moments of just talking
a breakdown of suicide rates per
country. The report indicated that
of the 13 774 suicides reported in
South Africa in 2019, 10 861 were
men while 2 913 were women.

This translates to rates of 37.6
per 100 000 for men and 9.8 per
100 000 for women. Moreover,
South Africa is said to have the
third-highest suicide rate of all Afri-
can countries in the report, at 23.5
per 100 000 population. I do not
know why South Africa is particu-
larly susceptible to the malady, but
recent tweets by the likes of highly
successful disc jockey Black Coffee
seem to suggest a growing problem.
He tweeted words to the effect that
his life can be taken at any time. Is
there a death wish out there? 

Conspiracy theorists are out with
their theories and some suggest dark
forces playing a role. In one video,
an ex-musician from South Africa
commenting on Riky Rick’s demise
claims that most celebrities are hos-
tage to satan and satanic rituals.

Show business has always been
associated with devil worship since
the days of the Beatles and Roll-
ing Stones. To be fair, the Rolling
Stones did produce a song called
"Sympathy for the devil"! Person-
ally, I would rather steer clear of
these conspiracies on the record and

NewsHawks Poetry Corner Page 63

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

Title: Gango Repambare yesteryear tunes mingled with contemporary Title: Spaces
Poet: Temba Munsaka dancehall vibes, Poet: Samuel Chuma
and gospel music to bring equilibrium to super-
Inescapable poverty that has erected home- ficial dissonance, The pause in between
steads, the unabated attack to the eardrums drives the the naked sobs
monolithic structures grounded on the bedrock brain to insanity. of heartbroken widow
of oligopolistic vice. Roasted maize kissed by the dragon, The empty growl
The perversion of justice swindled from the the corn yummy brown like the thighs of a of hungry stomach
Constitution. maiden. Skirmishes with the city police are a demanding sustenance
Wheeling of carts laden with watermelons, constant reminder of draconic justice, The near death
a remnant from the low veld escarpments. bequeathed from a colonial narrative, vacuumed gasp of
Swarthy grapes, guerilla tactics perfected by the Mbare Mafio- orgasmic release
that looked like they had just escaped the so. Lanky fingers that help your wallet escape, The ruins of thought
winery, Like Bushiri from lawful custody. Now colonized by
and vegetables that had seen too many sun- Pampers and sanitary wear litter, Ghosts of reason
sets. Bananas that looked like Sudanese long seen the bottom beauty, The foundations of grief
orphans. Oranges cum lemons now discarded by the roadsides, Built upon naivety
perfected for lemonade. pompous of prehistoric glorified nectarines. And untamed expectations
Illicit sex pharma in brazen vending, Little children playing 'skip-skip' on the tarmac, And the abode of pain
Biotech industry smuggled. obvious of the unparalleled risks, Where doors are unlocked
A concoction of distilled much to the chagrin of motorists. But joy remains captive
mucilaginous vapours, A myriad of languages, These are the spaces
branded in the slime, like the Tower of Babel, That always find me
to steal the life out of future leaders; conversing in a plethora of dialects, Lying prone and stupefied
numbing their brains to oblivion. as folks like bees went about their business. And always they lead me
Intoxicated lads barely beyond six; Mbare, an encapsulation of diversity. To pastures green
iZombie, a novice in comparison. And in comfort rape me
Free-flowing tributaries of raw sewage in reck- ***********************************************
less flooding, Title: Where was the man of God? ***********************************************
barefoot toddlers digging for fishing worms in POET: Fungai Jayaguru aka Superlady Title: Mother
the smelly soggy streets. Poet: Ngugi waMkirii
Green bombers in sorties of a lifetime, I don't want to sound like a bitter ex;
loading and ejecting ordinance willy-nilly. Neither should this be a cursing text! Your union was intimate with bruises,
Sizzling frying in the open- I stand as your broken parent, Like a solid foundation you stood.
fresh chips, livers, and viscera; Neglected, devalued and disregarded; When the turbulent tides of life
residents jostling for a chilly bite. Someone has replaced me and re - groomed Hit against the walls of your existence,
Tyre fixing and fuel vending in vertical inter- you; So I heard you have new parents, You persevered.
course, A new mother and a spiritual father; Your tears watered my existence,
garages replaced in an instant. So holy that you forgot me oh Lee! Your resolve bolstered my being.
Touts in constant poetic recitals, I'm a "pagan" before your eyes, someone Meek you were,
imbuing the cochlea with a bombardment of against your Christ, Love was your emblem,
putrid noise. Apparently it's "them" whose shoe sizes you Your light shone on me,
An assortment of verses in lethargy, remember, Over my leaking, thatched roof, And those around me.
disjointed at their best, you placed them a ceiling, You remained a paragon of fortitude,
and comical at their worst. You gifted "him" a car for "his" birthday; And your life
Leod like sand of the Zambezi, I had nothing for supper yesterday. Taught me to endure
discourses around soccer results, I'm not complaining, it's just a feeling, The tirades of time,
ironically grownups playing street soccer ev- The question that swells my heart is, And that everything is a passing whim.
erywhere, WHERE WAS THE MAN OF…? Tying me to your back,
to kill the boredom. Armed with a hoe
A wiseacre wisecracking jests, *********************************************** You split the land,
unemployed coalesced around him, Soiled your charred feet
to decongest their minds in gregarious zest. To salvage a life for me.
Long-distance buses in poetic chanting, From you I learnt to work
their constant hooting a concord in vibe, And not to sleep,
the banging of doors a barrage to sanity. For sleep has no yard.
Continuous and simultaneous fornication of
transistor radios a marathon none wins; ***********************************************
diversity of jams to wake up Nyaminyami,

Page 64 People & Places NewsHawks

Issue 69, 25 February 2022

The NewsHawks journalists with Swedish Embassy staff, International Media Support representatives and Female Investigative Journalist Training programme participants this week.

The NewsHawks reporter scoops awards

RE-RUN l Female journalists training beneficial Makore, Happiness Zengeni, Cordelia
ENTERPRISING The NewsHawks Masalethulini and Gagare.”
multi-media reporter Mary Mundeya the content. with US$700 in prize money, says she strength, and make an impact in their
won the Legal and Parliamentary jour- After the training, the participants owes her success to hard work and the areas of interest, inspiring other female Muleya said the training programme
nalist of the year and the Sogie North- female investigate journalism training journalists in the process.” is continuing and should eventually be
ern Region journalist of the year prizes pitched and wrote investigative stories programme which gave her a new skill institutionalised.
at the National Journalism and Media for their media houses, including The set and sharper cutting edge on how to The NewsHawks managing editor
Awards (Njama) in Harare yesterday. NewsHawks. crystallise story ideas, pitch and investi- Dumisani Muleya said it was encour- “We haven’t finished yet. We started
gate, as well as write. aging the training was already helping with a group of 10 participants, now we
Mundeya joined The NewsHawks Another participant of The New- participants to scale investigative jour- are going to recruit yet another group
— Zimbabwe’s new leading investiga- sHawks’ training programme, who “I’m grateful for having been given nalism heights. of 10 trainees,” he said.
tive journalism centre — in July and works for a state-controlled media an opportunity to be part of The New-
is a product of its female investigative group, also won a Njama award for a sHawks female investigative journalism “We are happy from the bottom of “The project is aimed at training
journalism training programme run by story on foreign currency, arbitrage and training programme which enabled me our hearts for Mundeya and others who female journalists in Zimbabwe on in-
the Centre for Public Interest Journal- arbitrary pricing of goods published by to have a better skill set, deeper under- won awards. But we are more delight- vestigative journalism to enhance their
ism (CPIJ) in Harare. her newspaper. She had pitched the sto- standing of investigative techniques ed that The Centre for Public Interest skill set, exposure and capacity to pur-
ry idea during training. and handling of bigger assignments,” Journalism’s female investigative jour- sue ethical, professional and in-depth
The CPIJ Trust, whose board in- Mundeya said. nalism training programme, which we reporting — focusing on various sub-
cludes prominent media experts and Mundeya’s story on the Zimbabwe run, has quickly made an impact over a ject matters in the public interest.
lawyers Raphael Khumalo, Beatrice National Water Authority awarding a “My news editor and one of my short period of time despite initial plan-
Mtetwa, Professor Wallace Chuma, US$4 million tender to Helcraw Elec- trainers Owen Gagare was instrumen- ning, funding, Covid-19 and logistical “The main objective of the project,
Telda Mawarire and Douglas Coltart, trical boss Farai Jere despite his being in tal in making me unlock my potential problems we faced,” Muleya said. which spans the whole value chain
owns The NewsHawks. court on allegations of defrauding Zesa as an individual, pressuring me to step from training to reporting and manage-
was the first runner-up for the Legal out of my comfort zone and explore “Initially, the project was set to kick- ment, is to produce a new generation
The training programme is funded and Parliamentary journalist of the year different dimensions of story-telling start mid-November 2020, but due to of female reporters who will contribute
by Sweden’s Fojo Institute, an indepen- award. Jere was recently acquitted on from a multimedia perspective, which the Covid-19 pandemic, the training significantly to the development of in-
dent institution at the public Linnaeus the case. I’m very keen on.” was rescheduled into 2021. Although, vestigative journalism, address gender
University, which focuses on media de- the funding was approved in the last disparities in media and management
velopment, working to strengthen free, She, however, scooped the big one Gagare said he was pleased that the quarter of 2020, signing and pre-as- structures in Zimbabwe.
independent and professional journal- after her story on the dodgy awarding training programme was already bear- sessment awards were only carried out
ism in the Scandinavian country and of the Kunzvi Dam construction tender ing fruit. He said several participants in the first quarter of the current year “The programme engages and em-
worldwide. to China Nanchang Engineering ahead were good, but Mundeya was outstand- which saw the receipt of the first tranche powers young female journalists to
of other cheaper and competitive bids ing. in March followed by the launch on 30 train, sharpen and develop their investi-
The training project, Strengthening was adjudged the best parliamentary April 2021, and commencement of the gative skills. This will assist them to de-
the Capacity of Female Journalists on story. “We launched the training at the end training programme on 17 May 2021. velop their careers by building support
Investigative Journalism in Zimbabwe, of April with 10 trainees from different networks — social capital that is — to
brought together female journalists For her story published with media houses, covering different beats,” “We would like to thank the par- address various challenges in the work-
from different media houses in the FeedZW, which was about the jour- he said. “ ticipants, our funders, Fojo Institute/ place and media structures.
country specialising in various aspects ney to self-discovery of an intersex International Media Support and train-
of investigative journalism — from person who was born with two sexual The fact that two of our trainees ers for making things happen. Special “Beyond their personal development
formulation of a story hypothesis, crys- organs (ambiguous genitalia), Mund- scooped Njama awards bears testimony thanks go to some of the professional and contribution to the investigative
tallising an idea, pitching, planning, eya scooped the Sogie Northen Re- that the programme has been a success trainers who did a great job, including journalism, that will help society in
budgeting, timelines, sourcing, verifi- gion journalist of the year award. A within a short period of time. I think all veteran journalist Geoff Nyarota, Susan which they live and work by probing
cation, choosing narratives to writing, delighted Mundeya, who walked away the trainees will grow from strength to and covering issues of public interest
as well as packaging and distribution of to awaken communities on important
matters.”

— STAFF WRITER

NewsHawks Sport Page 65
immense amount of support from peo-
Issue 69, 25 February 2022 Prayerful rugby player holds ple all over the world,” Curle revealed.
on to faith on Zim return
TREVOR MAKONYONGA “Friends and family, even some peo-
“Between 1970 to 1983 he was in started, coming back to Zimbabwe for Brendon Curle. ple I didn’t know personally, supported
ONE afternoon just over a decade ago, Masvingo, then in Harare till his death. the first time in 12 years. But with his whole family having re- me. People supported me both through
11-year-old Brendon Curle huddled to- He had a feeding programme in which located to Central America, Curle need- the fundraiser, which was successful,
gether with his three siblings inside the he was supporting widows in Murehwa, Driven by a desire to play his chosen ed money to cover his upkeep during a and general support through encourage-
airport in Harare, all four locally-born, Goromonzi and surrounding areas. My sport at the biggest stage, the World month-long stay in Zimbabwe, playing ment. I’m honoured to say it is a long list
but now about to permanently move to uncle Steven and his family have tak- Cup, and fancying his changes of be- domestic rugby for local team Harare of names of people who have supported
the United States after their parents’ 18 en over supporting the widows. I was ing selected into Zimbabwe’s national Sports Club. me, both from my home community
years of Christian missionary work in fortunate to go with them earlier this team through birth, Curle last month So he launched a GoFundMe cam- and family in the US, to a welcoming
Zimbabwe. month.”  retraced his roots to a place he regards paign, which raised sufficient funds for community and family that was waiting
second on a mission to help the coun- him to begin his trip from Texas capital to receive me here in Zim! I do have to
At that young age, they already had Rugby, though, is what has primari- try qualify for the 2023 tournament in Austin, his mother’s hometown. give a special note to my father David,
an undying affinity with their African ly brought the grandson to where it all France. “It was really a blessing to receive an and also my incredible wife Jessica Lin!
birthplace, so they felt a bit sad to leave.  Coming down wouldn’t have been pos-
sible without their support.”
Their father, Canadian-born David
Curle, also had a tear or two in his eye. Curle is described as a clever flyhalf
He had been in Zimbabwe all his life, and a superbly versatile player. He is
from the infant age of one when his eligible to play for Zimbabwe in accor-
own parents first arrived in the country, dance with World Cup player qualifi-
right through to the adulthood age of cation rules, but it does not mean he is
40.   guaranteed a place. 

Then their American mother, Cali- He will most likely impress well
fornia-born Rhetta.  She met her hus- enough for Harare Sports Club to gain
band at university in the United States, selection into Zimbabwe’s big squad for
and he brought her to Zimbabwe, the country’s return to the Currie Cup
where she lived between the ages of 20 since 1996. 
and 40. 
After that, a final Zimbabwe squad
Pastors David and Rhetta Curle will then be picked to travel to France in
planted churches in Zimbabwe and July for Africa’s crucial World Cup qual-
South Africa in addition to training ifiers, with one team proceeding directly
gospel leaders during their time in this to the Webb Ellis Cup next year. 
part of the world. 
“It seemed like the perfect time to
They now lead the Legacy Park bring my rugby full circle and come try
Church in Cedar Park, Texas. out, hoping to be selected to represent
Zimbabwe,” Curle said.
From Zimbabwe, one of the couple’s
four children, the athletic Brendon, In America, Curle has turned out
took with him a love for rugby. for quite a few local sides, the one that
stands out being Austin Huns Club,
He had initially picked up the sport who plays at a decent level of US Rug-
while playing with his friends during a by’s club system. For now, he is enjoying
happy and open-space upbringing in a different environment, with Harare
Harare, where he was born and lived up Sports Club, where he has fitted into
to the age of 11. Young Curle’s raw skills the set-up with ease.  
in the sport were developed by coaches
at three Harare schools he attended – “They have received me with noth-
Gateway, Heritage and Hellenic. ing but support and love,” he said. “I
feel like it’s a club I’ve been a part of
After moving to the US, he told his for a long time. As a new player com-
parents that he wanted to go back to ing in, you definitely want to earn the
Zimbabwe, one day, to a place of so respect of your peers and impress selec-
many fond memories of childhood. tors. All you need to do is to focus on
the controllables, recovery, dedication,
Ministerial work would have seemed honesty, integration, and discipline. For
the likeliest purpose of 23-year-old Cur- me personally, I also rely on the Lord.
le’s return to his place of birth, given He gives me the strength and courage I
that he is also a devout Christian and an need. Give him the glory and the weight
active participant in his parents’ church on my shoulders is lifted.  Making the
in the States. (Zimbabwe) team is the next goal of
mine. It means everything. I am just
His family has a very long history trying to take things one day at a time
of ministering in Zimbabwe. It starts and trust the process!”Words befitting a
when grandfather Danny Curle (now missionary’s grandson. 
late), arrived in the then Rhodesia from
Canada many years ago as a 19-year-old
missionary.

“My grandpa was a pastor of the pas-
tors at Celebration Church,” Curle told
The NewsHawks this week. 

The smaller nations creating their own stories

IF YOU fancy the underdog, then New But come to think of it, in 2019 Parallels can be drawn – never mind sport that put the Namibians on the petitively than they probably imagined.
Zealand’s stunning win over South Afri- when the Kiwi ladies defeated trans-Tas- that it is totally different worlds – be- map, well, until now. No more did they want to be everyone’s
ca in the first Test is just what you want- manian rivals Australia to lift their fifth tween the South Africa-New Zealand When Zimbabwe’s cricket was at its punching bag.
ed to see.  World Cup title, a wider global sporting scenario and the rivalry of Zimbabwe strongest, a schoolboy select side could
fanbase will probably remember better and Namibia in Africa. so easily beat the best Namibia had to Players, coaches, officials, sponsors
It has left the two-match series deli- New Zealand being runners-up to En- Since Zimbabwe were the only Afri- assemble. Between 2009 and 2011, and fans alike all bought into the vision
cately poised, and the final Test extreme- gland in the Cricket World Cup in the can team at rugby’s earliest World Cups Norbert Manyande, an ex-Zimbabwean – and helped a great deal by the South
ly watchable. same year. in 1987 and 1991 – and then Ivory township cricketer who had featured in Africa connection – the national team
Coast surprising everyone to clinch the just a handful of first-class matches for has been playing unbelievably brave
The home side’s thumping innings It is an attitude that may change in sole spot in 1995 – it has been Namibia Mashonaland and Manicaland back cricket, an invigorated version of meek
and 276-run win in Christchurch was line with a new universal thrust of equal- qualifying with home, was good Namibian sides of the past. 
their first Test victory over the South Af- ity. But, even so, the result of the second real dominance enough to play for
ricans in 18 years, and in 45 attempts in Test withstanding, the Kiwis are pushing in Africa for Namibia’s national Namibia have been to the 50-over
the longest format of the game overall. hard to get their cricketers to compete all the past six team after moving World Cup before, but their maiden
with the best in the world at the same straight edi- HawkZone there to coach.  T20 World Cup last year was the cul-
If the Kiwis return with their all- level as their rugby and netball sides. tions.   But Namibia mination of the hard work and sacrifices
round dominance from the first tie to 1999, 2003, has not been sit- they have put over the past 15 years.
win the second Test that started this Fri- Cricket, like rugby, is also a tradition- 2007, 2011, ting on its laurels.
day, they will record a historic first series al Kiwi sport. They have consistently 2015, 2019.   Enock People with good The Namibians reached the tour-
win over South Africa. punched above their weight, recording nament in the UAE at the expense of
some noteworthy achievements over Even on the Muchinjo knowledge of the Zimbabwe, who did not contest the
It will be a major achievement for many years. A Test milestone over a Pro- occasions when sport were incor- qualifiers because they were serving a
New Zealand, an epic conquest of a teas side that has travelled to the Shaky Namibia’s clos- porated into the suspension by the International Cricket
country with whom they share the Isles, tails up following a home series win est rivals on the system, including Council. Namibia nonetheless made the
world’s greatest rivalry in rugby, but then over India, will bring a whole new di- continent had employment-seek- most of it, beating Ireland and Nether-
a rather lop-sided one in cricket. mension to the sporting rivalry of these done nearly everything to end the stran- ing young coaches from Zimbabwe who lands in the first round and exiting with
two powerful nations. glehold – like Zimbabwe in 2015 and were hired to equip keen young Namib- a Super 12 win over Scotland.
But then, the New Zealanders, one Kenya in 2019 – the Welwitschias still ians with skills of the game. 
gets the sense, are no longer content I always like to look at things the oth- found a way to leave their challengers Ultimately, Namibia, with sound So while Zimbabwe will be trying to
with just being a dominant force in rug- er way in discussions like this one, even dreaming again for another four years. structures now in place, realised that figure out how to knock the Namibians
by alone. bringing it down to our levels here in the But rugby has always been the one they too could play this sport more com- off their perch in rugby this year in a
second to third-tier worlds of rugby and World Cup quest, our cricketers must
Sure, New Zealand’s netball team, the cricket. also brace for a new threat from the Land
Silver Ferns, are a power in the sport, of the Brave.
current world champions after winning
the World Cup in Liverpool in 2019.

Sports A crippling
poverty of
leadership
at Zifa

‘Humiliated, intimidated,
degraded’ ref reports
Thursday 1 October 2020 sexual advances

Friday 25 February 2022 @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com

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Fifa accused of ‘hypocritical$60 Covid
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Fifa has chosen to side with persons
principles’ iCn hZiammbaibswae rbeanacStoryonPage 3

ENOCK MUCHINJO

not fit to administer football in any
DRAMA has intensified following Khupecapacity whatsoever in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s suspension from inter- out to Its (Fifa) demands for reinstatement
national football by Fifa after the constitutes an interference with the
Sports and Recreation Commis- statutory obligations of the SRC as
sion (SRC) on Friday sensationally well as the judicial processes of the
slammed the world football govern- country. The problems of football
ing body for involvement in an inter- administration in this country are a
nal process.    Unofficial president calls for emergematter of public record. They need
no elaboration. Efforts to remedy the
Fifa stands accused of “hypocriti- general malaise in our football can-
cal principles” by the SRC after the not be undermined by lofty-sound-
country was suspended from interna- ing but hypocritical principles of
tional football on Thursday for gov- non-interference by government in
ernment interference in the affairs of sport.
the national federation.  “The SRC has intervened in foot-
ball because Fifa refuses to uphold its
The SRC, which courted the Fifa own principles of good governance in
sanction after sacking the country’s the game. We have a well-considered
national football federation exec- roadmap for the reform of football
utives late last year, says it will not administration in Zimbabwe. It will
back down on its decision because it be elaborated on in detail in a press
considers its actions justified.  conference on the 28th of February
(Monday). In the meantime, domes-
The SRC, which is a govern- tic football will continue as normal
ment-appointed control body for throughout the country with the full
sport in the country, removed top support of the SRC. The Zifa execu-
Zimbabwe Football Association tive committee and the general-secre-
(Zifa) officials from office in Novem- Gerald Mlotshwa. tary will remain suspended. Football
ber on several charges of improper
conduct including corruption, brib- and four other federation officials officials are reinstated, but the SRC on Friday. in our country will be reformed for
ery and sexual harassment of female were arrested last year and charged insists that will not happen. “The SRC has taken note of the the benefit of all stakeholders, with
referees.  with bribery. They last appeared in “It appears that Fifa does not rec- suspension of ZIFA as a member of or without the assistance of Fifa.”
court on 14 February and were given ognise the laws of Zimbabwe in so Fifa. It appears that Fifa does not Zimbabwe will not play in Africa
The allegations are being investi- bail.  far as they pertain to corruption and recognise the laws of Zimbabwe in Cup of Nations qualifiers later this
gated by police in the country, while sexual harassment,” SRC chairperson so far as they pertain to corruption year if the country remains suspend-
Fifa was furnished with a dossier de- Fifa says it will only lift the sus- Gerald Mlotshwa said in a statement and sexual harassment. Quite clearly, ed. 
tailing the charges against the Zifa pension of the country if the Zifa
officials. 

Zifa president Felton Kamambo

Zim in tough Currie Cup opener against Georgia

ZIMBABWE will mark their mier domestic rugby competi- Georgia, who dominate at a squad to assert their position as The other opponents for the
return to Currie Cup rugby in tion. ALlNeSvaOetilobInNeslSocwIoDmEEpuertoiptieFo’isnn,parhneamcveeieMrbeSieninxistytahwsetiagpnaedmsaerodou-nbtet$ahr3ee.rp2laaBtniltelhti.oisnledveelpoofsitocZarisnmfbuparnbodwvisenacniasl saZirdeiems S'GsoulraitfhtfeonsAts flr(ai9-nd
South Africa with a tough open- It is the contest against Euro- c
er against fellow national team
Georgia on 2 April. pean side Georgia that will set to the World Cup four times. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe – who April), Boland (7 May), Border
the tone for Brendan Dawson’s They are one of the world’s fastest will play under the name Gos- Country Districts (14 May),
The Zimbabweans will then team ahead of a daunting year in growing rugby nations. hawks – will also face another SWD Eagles (21 May), Leopards
play eight more games in the which Zimbabwe will contest a On their Currie Cup debut, international side and African ri- (28 May), Eastern Province (4
Currie Cup First Division, the crucial World Cup qualification the Georgians are expected to ar- vals Kenya in the Currie Cup on June) and Valke on 11 June.
“B” section of South Africa’s pre- tournament in France in July. rive in South Africa with a strong 23 April.
– STAFF WRITER

ALSO INSIDE The smaller nations creating their own stories