Work

From Displacement to Marginalization: Tonga-Goba Wartime Experiences in the Mid-Zambezi Valley, 1976–1979

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: In the 1970s, the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) opened its bases in the mid-Zambezi Valley, at Paradise and Mayovhe, under Chief Mola’s territory. This move by ZIPRA was motivated by a variety of reasons. The most important fact was that the Tonga-Goba people of this region were ready to support the war because they wanted to regain control of the riverscape from which they were displaced by the colonial state during the late 1950s when the Kariba dam was constructed. This paper examines how the colonial displacements of the Tonga-Goba people, their marginalization as well as the colonial regime’s “broken promise” all shaped their participation in the Zimbabwe War of Liberation in the 1970s. To explore this history of war from below, our study builds largely from the local Tonga-Goba narratives.

Source: Journal of Asian and African Studies

DOI: 10.1177/00219096241287717

Authors: Joshua Matanzima, Nicholas Nyachega

Institutions: The University of Queensland, University of Minnesota

Language: English

Topic: African studies and sociopolitical issues

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,450