The Rise of Student Leadership in Zimbabwe
The Rise of Student Leadership in Zimbabwe
Mufaro Gunduza
When an eagle flies at lower levels children may mistake it for a vulture and stone it! Shona proverb
The rise of student leadership in Zimbabwe is characterized by a mixed bag of fortunes and misfortunes. Whilst the students of the pre-1980 era were by and large pro-guerrilla movements such as ZANU PF and its Zanla military wing and ZAPU PF and its Zipra military wing, post-independence student leaders sought to jealously guard the newly won independence from the abusive tendencies of the new black elite.
This new black elite were actually new comers who had migrated from the bush straight to higher office. The transition was fast and furious. They had received no mentoring or capacity building on how to run a modern economy. Some were still wearing khakis and safaris when they were posted into ministerial positions. Many of their policy choices and executive decisions were based on socialist ideals and also on guesswork, particularly where socialism failed to proffer direct answers. One minister joked that leading a country needed only common-sense. Howbeit in subsequent years after independence common sense proved to be a rare commodity. Somehow they were also allergic to sober advice thus confirming the age-old saying that the fly that refused to heed sound advice followed the corpse into the grave. The nation witnessed the ugly consequences as it drifted into the abyss. The first outcry from students was around the one-party state doctrine espoused by the new black regime. Students felt that such an arrangement would bring a stultifying piquancy to the Zimbabwean political body politic. A healthy diversity was a necessity. Students persistently advised the nation to be always on the alert. On one extreme end lay maverick, wild, volcanic and chaotic leaders such as Arthur Mutambara, Tinomudaishe Chinyoka, Munyaradzi Gwisai, Lawrence Chakaredza aka “Warlord” or “King Munhumutapa III”, Paul
Mufaro Gunduza
When an eagle flies at lower levels children may mistake it for a vulture and stone it! Shona proverb
The rise of student leadership in Zimbabwe is characterized by a mixed bag of fortunes and misfortunes. Whilst the students of the pre-1980 era were by and large pro-guerrilla movements such as ZANU PF and its Zanla military wing and ZAPU PF and its Zipra military wing, post-independence student leaders sought to jealously guard the newly won independence from the abusive tendencies of the new black elite.
This new black elite were actually new comers who had migrated from the bush straight to higher office. The transition was fast and furious. They had received no mentoring or capacity building on how to run a modern economy. Some were still wearing khakis and safaris when they were posted into ministerial positions. Many of their policy choices and executive decisions were based on socialist ideals and also on guesswork, particularly where socialism failed to proffer direct answers. One minister joked that leading a country needed only common-sense. Howbeit in subsequent years after independence common sense proved to be a rare commodity. Somehow they were also allergic to sober advice thus confirming the age-old saying that the fly that refused to heed sound advice followed the corpse into the grave. The nation witnessed the ugly consequences as it drifted into the abyss. The first outcry from students was around the one-party state doctrine espoused by the new black regime. Students felt that such an arrangement would bring a stultifying piquancy to the Zimbabwean political body politic. A healthy diversity was a necessity. Students persistently advised the nation to be always on the alert. On one extreme end lay maverick, wild, volcanic and chaotic leaders such as Arthur Mutambara, Tinomudaishe Chinyoka, Munyaradzi Gwisai, Lawrence Chakaredza aka “Warlord” or “King Munhumutapa III”, Paul