The Indigenous World 2026: Zimbabwe

Written on 22 April 2026. Posted in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe celebrated its 45^th year of independence on 18 April 2025. While the Government of Zimbabwe does not recognize 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 3,405 Tshwa and 1,675 Doma in Zimbabwe, representing approximately 0.031% of the country’s population of 17,472,752 as of July 2025. The government uses the term “marginalized 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. Socioeconomic data is limited for both groups. Both the Tshwa and Doma have histories of hunting and gathering, and their households now have diversified economies, including local-level agriculture, 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 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Reporting on these conventions is largely overdue but there were efforts in 2025 to meet some of the conventions’ requirements. Zimbabwe voted for the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (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 marginalized communities but there are no specific laws on Indigenous Peoples’ rights in Zimbabwe. The “Koisan” language is, however, included in Zimbabwe’s 2013 revised Constitution as one of the 16 languages recognized 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 well-being among minorities and marginalized communities. Representatives from Zimbabwe attended the 24^th annual meetings of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) from 21 April – 2 May 2025.

This article is part of the 40^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. Find The Indigenous World 2026 in full here

Introduction

The year 2025 was an especially significant one in Zimbabwe’s history in terms of the well-being of Indigenous People and Marginalized Communities. In late January 2025, the United States suspended all foreign assistance to Zimbabwe and, indeed, to most other countries in the world. This aid had been provided to Zimbabwe though the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). What this meant for Zimbabwe was an 83% cut in funding, which up until then had supported 1.3 million people. Zimbabwe had been receiving US$200 million (approx. EUR 169 million) annually. According to UNAIDS, over 1,200 medical and technical staff were relieved of their duties, and hundreds of clinics and health posts had to close their doors.^[1] Fewer than 80% of the Tshwa and Doma were supplied with commodities by the Government of Zimbabwe and NGOs under various programs in 2025. There was a rise in unemployment, school closures, children pulled out of school to work, and declines in agricultural production because of a lack of access to seeds. Both the Doma and the Tshwa San faced ongoing, discrimination, food insecurity, low employment levels, limited political participation, and a lack of broad access to social and health services in 2025.^[2]

There were no new policies issued or legislation passed regarding Indigenous Peoples and Marginalized Communities in Zimbabwe in 2025. The Tshwa have a chief, Christopher Dube, whose authority has been recognized by the Zimbabwe government; he called for greater attention to be paid to Tshwa socioeconomic issues in 2025.

Protected area issues

The area where Tshwa had previously resided for generations, Hwange National Park (HNP), is Zimbabwe’s largest protected area, and it is a prime site for tourism. Covering an area of 14,651 km², Hwange is home to the largest and most diverse population of wild animals, reptiles, amphibians and birds in the country. It was the core residential area of the Tshwa until the late 1920s and has a rich archaeological history, containing the prehistoric and historic sites of foragers, farmers, traders, and explorers.^[3] Since the displacement of San and other people in the 1920s, Hwange has become an important economic engine for western Zimbabwe but has been a source of contention since its establishment in 1927. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Several dozen people described as poachers were arrested in the Hwange National Park area in 2025, according to the Bhejane Trust, a non-profit conservation organization that monitors poaching activities in the northern sector of Hwange. There is no evidence, however, that Tshwa were involved in any wildlife-related crimes or trafficking of wildlife products in 2025.

In the mid-Zambezi Valley, the Doma were also experiencing arrests for alleged violation of wildlife conservation laws. The Doma complained that the arrests were illegal as they held that they had not engaged in taking any wildlife without a license. The Doma have also been facing difficulties because of floods over the past year. Their agricultural fields have been invaded by elephants and baboons, and their livestock preyed upon by lions, hyenas, and other predators. Doma lands had previously been restricted by the establishment of Chewore National Park and the Dande Safari Area. The Doma maintain that they are seeking access to additional land that they can obtain legal right to but they were having little luck in these efforts in 2025.^[4]

Issues in Zimbabwe politics

There were anti-government riots in 2025 aimed at the President, Emmerson Mnangagwa.^[5] Tshwa and Doma were reportedly involved in some of these protests in Harare, the Zimbabwe capital, starting in March 2025. Mr. Mnangagwa is deeply unpopular in Matabeleland North and South, where the Tshwa reside today, because of his involvement in the Gukurahundi genocide from 1982-1987. Demonstrations commemorating the Gukurahundi genocide were broken up by government forces. The Zimbabwe President and his ministers were accused of massive corruption in 2025, and concerns were expressed that government officials were engaged in obtaining land in Matabeleland Province illegally.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) did not pay any visits to Tshwa or Doma communities in 2025.^[6] Despite of limited resources, however, the only San organization in Zimbabwe, the Tsoro-o-tso San Development Trust, (TSDT), was very active. TSDT held workshops on climate change for 3,000 community members in mid-2025.^[7] These workshops produced useful knowledge about ways in which the Tshwa have adapted to climate change and how their strategies are useful in the long term.

The situation of Indigenous women

Tshwa and Doma stated in community meetings that they continued to be concerned about issues of women being exposed to gender-based violence (GBV) and children being exposed to domestic, physical and verbal abuse. Several women’s organizations in Zimbabwe, including the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ), Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), and Women and Land in Zimbabwe (WLZ) called for greater attention to be paid to women’s and children’s issues, and for greater empowerment of women. Women’s issues have been incorporated into the national curriculum that was introduced in Early Child Development Centres and primary schools in Tsholotsho with the support of the Tsoro-o-tso San Development Trust. Indigenous women sought to joint women’s organizations at an increased rate in 2025 in order to empower themselves.

Peace and security in Zimbabwe

The peace and security of Zimbabwe was, in many ways, under severe threat in 2025. There were a number of reasons for this. First, the severe cuts in development and humanitarian assistance, which were having dire impacts. Second, the security situation in the country, which was made worse by the anti-government demonstrations and the state’s reaction to these. Third, the remittances coming from Indigenous and minority people outside of the country were in decline. At the end of 2025, the Indigenous Peoples of Zimbabwe were continuing to press the government for equitable and fair treatment before the law and full recognition of their social, political, economic and cultural rights. They were also seeking an expansion of access to health and social service facilities and especially to medicines for HIV/AIDS. There were hopes that the coming year would be better than was the case of 2025 for Indigenous People and Minority Communities.

Davy Ndolovu is the Director of the Tsoro-o-tso San Development Trust (TSDT), Tsholotsho, Zimbabwe, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ben Begbie-Clench is a consultant working on San issues in Southern Africa who is based in Namibia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Robert Hitchcock is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Melinda Kelly works with the Kalahari Peoples Fund (KPF), a non-government organization working in Southern Africa since 1973. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This article is part of the 40^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. Find The Indigenous World 2026 in full here

Notes and references

^[1] UNAIDS, The impact of the U.S. funding freeze in Africa, 10 June 2025

^[2] UNAIDS, The impact of the U.S. funding freeze in Africa, 10 March 2025.

^[3] Simon Makuvaza, personal communication, 26 July 2025.

^[4] Statements from Doma, personal communications, 20 July 2025

^[5] Z. Matiwane and J. Mayer, ‘Zimbabwe’s leader faces call for removal from within his own Party,’ New York Times, 31 March 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/world/africa/zimbabwe-demonstrations-mnangagwa.html

6 Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, annual Report, 2025.

7 Tsoto-o-tso San Development Trust (TSDT) Annual Report 2025.

Tags: Global governance