The Indigenous World 2023: Zimbabwe

Written on 24 March 2023. Posted in Zimbabwe

While the Government of Zimbabwe does not recognise any specific groups as Indigenous to the country, two peoples self-identify as such: the Tshwa (Tjwa, Cua) San found in western Zimbabwe, and the Doma (Vadema, Tembomvura) of Mbire District in north-central Zimbabwe. Population estimates indicate that there are 3,129 Tshwa and 1,540 Doma in Zimbabwe, representing approximately 0.031% of the country’s population of 15,121,004 in 2022. The government uses the term “marginalised communities” when referring to such groups.

Many of the Tshwa and Doma live below the poverty line in Zimbabwe and together they comprise some of the poorest people in the country. Socio-economic data is limited for both groups, although a survey was done of the Doma in 2021. Both the Tshwa and Doma have histories of hunting and gathering, and their households now have diversified economies, including informal agricultural work for other groups, pastoralism, mining, small-scale business enterprises, and working in the tourism industry. Remittances from relatives and friends both inside and outside the country make up a small proportion of the total incomes of Tshwa and Doma. As is the case with other Zimbabweans, some Tshwa and Doma have emigrated to other countries in search of income-generating opportunities, employment, and greater social security.

The realisation of core human rights in Zimbabwe continues to be challenging. Zimbabwe is party to the CERD, CRC, CEDAW, ICCPR and ICESCR. Reporting on these conventions is largely overdue but there were efforts in 2022 to meet some of the conventions’ requirements. Zimbabwe also voted for the adoption of the UNDRIP in 2007. Zimbabwe has not signed the only international human rights convention addressing Indigenous Peoples: ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of 1989. The government has indicated its wish to expand its programmes and service delivery to marginalised communities but there are no specific laws on Indigenous Peoples’ rights in Zimbabwe. However, the “Koisan” language is included in Zimbabwe’s 2013 revised Constitution as one of the 16 languages recognised in the country, and there is some awareness within government of the need for more information and improved approaches to poverty alleviation and improvement of the well-being of minorities and marginalised communities. Work was done on the Tjwao language by the Tsoro-o-tso San Development Trust in 2022.

This article is part of the 37^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous person in Tanzania. This photo was taken by Geneviève Rose, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2023 where this article is featured. Find the Indigenous World 2023 in full here.

Introduction

In spite of a relatively optimistic view of the state of the Zimbabwe economy presented by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in his State of the Nation Address of 23 November 2022,^[1] the country had continued to deteriorate economically, socially, and politically. Inflation rates had worsened, and the agricultural economy was facing serious challenges. Some of the problems were the result of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the Ukraine-Russia War that began on 24 February 2022 resulted in higher food prices and lower access to fertilisers and other necessary agricultural goods. The number of Zimbabweans whose livelihoods had become more difficult increased in 2022, something that was particularly true for Indigenous and Marginalised Communities. Electricity cuts were common, and many people had power for less than half a day.

The ruling party (the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, ZANU-PF) continued to crack down on dissidents, and numerous journalists and members of non-government organisations were detained, arrested, and jailed. Demonstrations against the Mnangagwa government continued and even intensified toward the end of 2022 as national elections loomed. The COVID-19 pandemic was exacerbating an already serious health crisis in the country. Outbreaks of disease including, measles, occurred in some areas, as seen, for example in Manicaland and Mashonaland East in April 2022. Child vaccination rates for COVID-19 and other diseases declined, in part because of misinformation spread by apostolic churches.^[2] The Minister of Local Government, July Moyo, told the World Health Organization that the Zimbabwe Police were being used to enforce vaccinations.^[3]

All of the health problems, including COVID-19 and tuberculosis, were present among Indigenous people in Zimbabwe in 2022.

Zimbabwe’s Community-based Natural Resource Management Programme

Zimbabwe was the first country in southern Africa to establish a Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Programme, known as the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE). CAMPFIRE-related activities were ongoing in Tsholotsho and Bulalimamangwe Districts where the Tshwa reside, and in Mbire District in north-central Zimbabwe where the Doma reside, in 2022.^[4] Tshwa and Doma both said in interviews that while they appreciated the CAMPFIRE programme, they felt that individual community members should receive more of the benefits instead of Rural Development Councils. They also said that the CAMPFIRE Association should be more attentive to Indigenous and Marginalised communities.^[5]

Wildlife conservation was more problematic than it had been in the period before the COVID-19 outbreak because of reductions in the staff of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management and in community-level wildlife protection work. However, some Tshwa and Doma households’ incomes increased in 2022 due to an expansion in the number of tourists visiting their areas.

Zimbabwe’s forestry sector had some positive returns for local communities in 2022, with women in particular being able to benefit from forest products.^[6] This was particularly the case for Tshwa households in Matabeleland North. At the same time, the cost of fuelwood locally increased, causing hardship among many households. Although Zimbabwe was not in a drought in 2022, water availability continued to be a problem in some areas, particularly in the drier regions of western Zimbabwe.^[7]

Employment and national park issues

Tshwa men participated in artisanal gold mining in Tsholotsho District and Matabeleland South in 2022,^[8] while a few sought employment at the Hwange Colliery north of Hwange National Park in Matabeleland North. With the expansion of ecotourists visiting Hwange National Park and adjacent areas, several dozen Tshwa households were able to benefit from employment in wildlife-related and tourism industries.^[9]

Approximately 20 Tshwa were employed by the Zimbabwe Prisons Correctional Services (ZPCS) in prisons in Tsholotsho and Lupane. Tshwa women expanded their production of crafts, including baskets for the local and international markets. In areas adjacent to Hwange National Park, land reform efforts affected Indigenous and other people, especially women.^[10]

Status of Indigenous women and youth

Zimbabwe carried out a population and housing census from 21-30 April 2022. The results of the census revealed that there were more women than men in the country. They also showed that there was considerable variation in population densities in Zimbabwe, with the arid west having lower densities of people.^[11] Family sizes among the Tshwa and Doma appear to have expanded, with as many as 5-7 children in a family.^[12]

In late October 2022, several dozen Doma women from Kanyemba in the Zambezi Valley attended a workshop sponsored by First Lady Auxilia Mnangagwa, who set up the Angel of Hope Foundation.^[13] The training activities in this workshop involved the production of facial products and management of small-scale enterprises. This workshop had the backing of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, which also sponsored workshops with Tshwa women in Tsholotsho District in 2022.

Zimbabwean women’s organisations noted that the rates of rape and spouse and child abuse increased in 2022, possibly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These problems affected both Tshwa and Doma households. Gender-based Violence (GBV) was on the increase, something that the Zimbabwe government pledged to address. In general, Indigenous women’s and children’s health statuses declined during 2022. Calls were heard from Indigenous people in Zimbabwe for more emphasis to be placed on their health and well-being, which echoed recommendations from the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe and Women’s Action Group and UNICEF.

Conclusions

Indigenous Peoples in Zimbabwe felt that they were worse off in 2022 than they had been previously. Some of them said that they wanted greater access to vaccinations and other health-related interventions. They told the Tsoro-o-tso San Development Trust (TSDT) and other NGOs that they were hopeful that the Zimbabwe government would pay more attention to their needs in the future. They were grateful for the assistance of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) and various government departments for health and child welfare programmes. Indigenous communities were concerned about the state of Zimbabwe’s economy, and they said that they were more than willing to do what they could to promote the well-being of all Zimbabweans.

Davy Ndlovu is the director of the Tsoro-o-tso San Development Trust (TSDT) in Bulawayo, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Benjamin Begbie-Clench is a freelance consultant who has worked extensively on San issues throughout Southern Africa, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Robert K. Hitchcock is an anthropology professor at the University of New Mexico and a member of the Board of the Kalahari Peoples Fund, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Melinda C. Kelly works with the Kalahari Peoples Fund and does research with San peoples in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This article is part of the 37^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous person in Tanzania. This photo was taken by Geneviève Rose, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2023 where this article is featured. Find the Indigenous World 2023 in full here.

Notes and references

^[1] Government of Zimbabwe. Mnangagwa, Emmerson. “Zimbabwe State of the Nation Address.” 23 November 2022.

^[2] Marima, Tenda and Stephanie Nolen. “More than 700 children have died in a measles outbreak in Zimbabwe.” New York Times, 24 September 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/24/health/measles-outbreak-zimbabwe.html

^[3] Kaledzi, Isaac. “Zimbabwe: WHO triggers measles outbreak response.” Deutsche Welle, 9 December 2022, https://www.dw.com/en/zimbabwes-measles-outbreak-who-triggers-crisis-response/a-63066598

^[4] Jani, Vincent., Anton H. de Wit., and Nigel Webb. Evaluating the Relevance of the CAMPFIRE Principles to Wildlife Utilization in Northern Zimbabwe. African Journal of Wildlife Research, 2022, 52(1), 56-71;

 Ndlovu, Davy., Ben Begbie-Clench., Robert K. Hitchcock., and Melinda C. Kelly. The Tshwa San of Zimbabwe: Land, Livelihoods, and Ethnicity.  In Livelihoods of Ethnic Minorities in Rural Zimbabwe. Edited by Kirk Helliker, Patience Chadambuka, and Joshua Matanzima, 2022, pp. 31-50.

^[5] Tsoro-o-tso San Development Trust Annual Report for 2022. Bulawayo: TSDT.

^[6] Chipango, Ellen Fungisai. “Between a rock and a hard place: Negotiating gender, forest laws and capabilities for fuelwood access in Zimbabwe.” Geoforum, June 2022, volume 132, 42-51.

^[7] Gwate, Onalenna., and Graham Ndou. “Exploring water use and production dynamics of an indigenous dry forest in southwestern Zimbabwe.” Journal of Arid Environments, March 2022, volume 198, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021.104678

^[8] Dube, Nqobizitha., Funa Moyo., Mkhokheli Sithole., Gracsious Ncube., Peter Nkala., Nevel Tshuma., Mandlenkosi Maphosa., and Clifford Mabhena. “Institutional exclusion and the tragedy of the commons: Artisanal mining in Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe.” The Extractive Industries and Society, November 2016, volume 3(4), 1084-1094.

^[9] Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management, personal communication, 4 November 2022; Zingi, Godwin K., Addingtone Mpofu, Leonard Chitongo, Taona Museva, Emmerson Chivhenge, and Moline R Ndongwe. “Ecotourism as a vehicle for local economic development: A case of Tsholotsho District Zimbabwe.” Cogent Social Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2035047

^[10] Mhlanga, Nelson and Pisa, Lloyd Shorai. “Impacts of the Agrarian Land Reform Policy on Livelihoods of Resettled Communities Adjust to the Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.” International Science and Technology Journal of Namibia, 2022, 15:57-69.

^[11] Zimstat, Government of Zimbabwe. “Population and Housing Census.” 2022.

^[12] Ndlovu.; Jani, Vincent. Resource Management, Livelihoods and Ethnic Minorities: The Case of the Doma, Northern Zimbabwe.; Helliker, Kirk., Patience Chadambuka, and Joshua Matanzima. “In Livelihoods of Ethnic Minorities in Rural Zimbabwe.” Cham, Switzerland: Springer, pp. 89-106.

^[13] Rupapa, Tendai. “Doma women thank first lady for opportunities.” The Herald, 31 October 2022, https://www.herald.co.zw/doma-women-thank-first-lady-for-opportunities/

Tags: Global governance, Human rights