The recent controversy over a cartoon published by Zim–daily, depicting Sengezo Tshabangu as Chabengula, a caricature of Lobengula, the Ndebele king, has exposed the hypocrisy and double standards of some sections of the Zimbabwean society. The cartoon, which was meant to mock Tshabangu’s role in recalling opposition leaders from parliament and council seats, has been condemned by some Ndebele activists and other sentimentalists as tribalistic and disrespectful of their history and culture. They have accused the cartoonist and the newspaper of perpetuating stereotypes and prejudices against the Ndebele people, who have suffered marginalization and oppression under the ZANU PF regime.
However, these accusations are baseless and self-serving. The cartoon was not an attack on the Ndebele people as a whole, but on a specific individual who has betrayed the democratic aspirations of millions of Zimbabweans by aligning himself with the ruling party. Tshabangu, who claims to be the interim secretary general of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), has been instrumental in recalling 15 parliamentarians and 26 councilors from the opposition MDC Alliance, creating a majority for Zanu PF in both houses. He has also been accused of being a son of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a claim that he has not denied. His actions have been widely criticized as undemocratic, unconstitutional and opportunistic.
The cartoon was a satire of Tshabangu’s sell-out behaviour, likening him to Lobengula, who is widely believed to have signed away his kingdom to the British colonialists in exchange for a worthless treaty and some trinkets. The cartoon used humour and exaggeration to make a political point, not to denigrate the Ndebele people or their history. In fact, the cartoon depicted Tshabangu, who was shown as a greedy and foolish puppet.
The outrage over the cartoon is selective and hypocritical, as it ignores the fact that similar cartoons have been published in the past, targeting other political figures and historical personalities, without eliciting such a reaction. For instance, in 2019, another cartoon depicted Douglas Mwonzora, another opposition leader who challenged Nelson Chamisa for the MDC Alliance presidency, as Mwonzorewa, a fusion of his name and that of Abel Muzorewa, the former prime minister of the short-lived Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The cartoon implied that Mwonzora was a puppet of Zanu PF and the British, just like Muzorewa, who was seen as a stooge of the white minority regime. The cartoon was a clever and witty commentary on the political situation at the time, but it did not provoke any outrage or accusations of tribalism, even though it involved the names and images of two prominent Shona leaders.
The difference in the reactions to the two cartoons reveals the double standards and the tribalistic agenda of some leftists, who are quick to cry foul when their own interests are threatened, but silent when others are ridiculed or insulted. They are using the cartoon as a pretext to stir up ethnic tensions and to divert attention from the real issues facing the country, such as the economic crisis, the human rights violations, the corruption and the lack of democracy. They are also trying to undermine the unity and solidarity of the opposition forces, who should be working together to challenge the Zanu PF dictatorship, rather than fighting among themselves over trivial matters.
The cartoon was just a cartoon, nothing more, nothing less. It was not a declaration of war, nor a sign of disrespect. It was a creative and humorous expression of a political opinion, which is protected by the constitution and the universal human rights. Those who are offended by it should learn to take a joke, or better still, to laugh at themselves. They should also focus on the bigger picture, and not on the petty squabbles that divide us. Zimbabwe needs more cartoons, not less, to expose the absurdities and the injustices of our situation, and to inspire us to change it for the better.
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