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‘In the Beginning was the Land’: The Appropriation of Religious Themes in Political Discourses in Zimbabwe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Ezra Chitando
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Abstract

As the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe worsened between 2000 and 2003, the state embarked on an intense propaganda campaign. Facing an increasingly popular opposition, the state adopted a two-pronged strategy of marketing its programmes while subjecting the opposition to violence and negative publicity. Using various media, the propagandists sought to portray the ruling party (ZANU-PF) as a sacred movement fulfilling prophetic oracles that the black majority would reclaim the lost land. State functionaries systematically appropriated religious ideas, with concepts from Christianity and African traditional religions being used to buttress political statements. The controversial land reform programme was couched in religious terms and notions like sovereignty attained mythical proportions. This article examines the appropriation of religious themes in political propaganda in Zimbabwe. It analyses the communication environment in the country and how it facilitated the interface between religious and political discourses.

Résumé

Au moment où la crise politique et économique s'amplifiait au Zimbabwe entre 2000 et 2003, l'État s'est lancé dans une intense campagne de propagande. Face à une opposition qui gagnait en popularité, l'État a adopté une stratégie sur deux fronts consistant à promouvoir ses programmes tout en menant une campagne de violence et de mauvaise publicité contre l'opposition. Usant de médias divers, les propagandistes ont cherché à présenter le parti au pouvoir (ZANU-PF) comme un mouvement sacré répondant aux oracles prophétiques selon lesquels la majorité noire allait reprendre possession des terres perdues. Les fonctionnaires de l'État se sont systématiquement appropriés des idées religieuses en usant de concepts empruntés à la chrétienté et aux religions traditionnelles africaines pour étayer leurs déclarations politiques. Le programme controversé de réforme agraire était formulé en termes religieux, tandis que des notions comme la souveraineté atteignaient des proportionsmythiques. Cet article examine l'appropriation des thèmes religieux dans la propagande politique au Zimbabwe. Il analyse l'environnement de communication dans le pays et la manière dont il a facilité l'interface entre le discours religieux et le discours politique.

Type
Articles
Information
Africa , Volume 75 , Issue 2 , May 2005 , pp. 220 - 239
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2005

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