BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE – Nozipho Moyo, 23, calls herself a combative artist. She says authorities are employing extrajudicial measures to silence vocal artists like her in Zimbabwe.
Despite being shy, Moyo is a radical spirit. She sports trendy dreadlocks, tight jeans and a T-shirt. She says a number of artists have been followed to their homes and arrested after their performances.
“There is freedom of expression for artists in this country, but there certainly is no freedom after expression,” she says. “Artists may thrill crowds with their performances, inform and educate people on social, economic, religious and cultural issues. But after such performances, artists have to face the wrath of security agents if they say anything contrary to the views of the country’s political leaders.”
Moyo says that despite the onslaught, she strives to promote budding artists, particularly those in the performance sector. She does this through her organization, Zypo Zone Academy of Leadership, which is based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city.
“As a youth organization with a vision of promoting the growth and development of young people both academically and in their artistic skills, we engage established artists to come to mentor young people,” says Moyo, who serves as the director. “Our belief is that every artist has a dream that can be turned into reality if [nurtured] properly.”
Moyo says her organization’s vision is to ensure that all young people achieve their dreams and that all those who are interested in the arts get the support and exposure they need. Mentorship programs also strive to give confidence and guidance to the young people in general, she says.
Zimbabwean performing artists allege that they are being arrested, intimidated, tortured and jailed for their work. They also say they lack government support. The country’s national arts council maintains the government’s commitment to the welfare of artists. Artists say they also must commit themselves to developing their sector so that they can use art to improve the future state of politics, society, the economy and the environment in Zimbabwe.
The right of artists to express themselves is guaranteed under the declaration of rights in the Zimbabwean Constitution. According to Article 20 (1), “Except with his own consent or by way of parental discipline, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, that is to say, freedom to hold opinion and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference and freedom from interference with his correspondence.” Despite such legal provisions, many artists say that authorities target them for expressing views that contradict the government.
One such law that hinders artists’ expression here is the Public Order and Security Act, which has wide-ranging provisions that give vague powers to the police. The bill makes it illegal to “undermine the authority” of President Robert Mugabe. Punishment could include fines, jail time or even the death penalty.
There were 2,300 cases of politically motivated violence reported by general citizens in Zimbabwe from January to August 2011, the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee, which is currently drafting a new constitution for the country, noted during its consultative meetings.
A September 2011 report by the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association, an organization of more than 40,000 lawyers and 200 bar associations and law societies worldwide, confirms that artists have been among those harassed, arrested and detained by police and security forces in Zimbabwe without charges or on weak evidence. The International Bar Association report cited the 2010 arrest of Owen Maseko.
Maseko, 35, a Bulawayo-based visual artist, is currently facing charges of undermining President Robert Mugabe’s authority after he was arrested in 2010 for an exhibition on the Gukurahundi massacres. The exhibition comprised gruesome illustrations of men, women and children who were massacred during the atrocities that took place soon after the country’s independence in 1980. More than 20,000 civilians died during the government-backed military operation between 1983 and 1987, according to the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, a local nongovernmental organization that documented the atrocities.
Time magazine included Maseko in its “Top 10 Persecuted Artists” feature in 2011. The International Bar Association also cited threats of arrest of Zenzele Ndeble, an independent filmmaker, for a film on the same topic.
Sabelo Sihwa, 27, is the coordinator for Victory-Siyanqoba, an organization that aims to use theater as a tool to uphold democratic values, and Freedom Poets, its subgroup. The lanky, tough-looking and vocal performing artist says that authorities arrest artists in Zimbabwe on flimsy charges.
He says that artists in neighboring countries aren’t arrested for expressing themselves. He says they even receive publicity and coverage from government-controlled media.
“In countries such as South Africa, artists can sing or perform about any subject and get positive coverage from both the public and private media,” Sihwa says. “Some even lampoon the country’s leaders if they make wrong decisions, but they are not victimized.”
He says Zimbabwean artists don’t enjoy the same freedom of expression, nor safety after expression.
“In our country, however, if an artist mentions anything about corruption in the government or bad governance, they are assured of a visit from state security agents,” Sihwa says.
Sihwa appeals to Zimbabwe’s leadership to emulate neighboring countries, such as South Africa and Zambia, where artists perform without fear of being arrested.
Nomusa Ndebele, 26, a poet, says that artists have more to fear than arrests.
“Some artists have been beaten up in the streets by people against their performances,” he says.
The poet says that artists are vulnerable because they can’t afford to protect themselves.
“Artists in Zimbabwe are poorly remunerated and cannot afford personal cars and security,” Ndebele says. “This exposes them to all kinds of victimizations.”
Ndebele says that artists in Zimbabwe are also frustrated because they do not have adequate space to express themselves, resulting in limited or no publicity to develop their careers.
Sihwa attributes the challenges faced by artists to their lack of representation in government. The ministry responsible for the arts sector is the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture.
“So many important issues have been bunched into one ministry, and this shows that art is not prioritized by the government,” Sihwa says. “The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, which was established by the government to look into the arts, has no artists in its leadership. That is the major flaw with this institution.”
Sihwa says that if the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe were independent and included artists, the institution might effectively lobby the government to ensure that artists are not victimized. Sihwa also says that there should be laws that hold security agents accountable for their actions. He says they detain artists for several days without any legal basis, as the courts throw out most of the cases.
Bekezela Dube, 43, an acclaimed script writer and the projects director for Isibi Sabomthwakazi, an art organization based in Bulawayo, also notes the flaw in the operational framework of the government-run National Arts Council of Zimbabwe. He says that if the institution had artists in managerial positions, there would be more capacity-building initiatives for artists, which would help them build their careers.
Dube also laments the limited platform for artists to express themselves and accused the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe of catering toward only those artists who support government views instead of supporting all artists.
“There is only one broadcasting company, which is state-controlled,” he says. “This means artists who do not support state ideologies are never given a platform to reach a wider audience.”
Zimbabwe’s only broadcaster, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, has four radio stations and two television channels. All these channels are state-controlled and do not provide for alternative voices.
William Nyandoro, a program officer for the National Arts Council in Bulawayo, says that the government is committed to improving the welfare of artists in the country.
“The National Arts Council has a number of initiatives, such as Cell-ebrity Funeral Cover, offering advisory services to artists and cultural practitioners, issuing recommendation letters to artists, and promoting and marketing arts and the culture sector at provincial level,” Nyandoro says. “All these initiatives are aimed at improving the welfare of artists in the country and shows that the government is committed to the development of the arts sector.”
Dube says that artists also need to be committed to development. He says artists need to be more professional in order to play a meaningful role in the development of this sector in the country.
“While the environment is not conducive for artists to express themselves freely, there should also be some elements of professionalism in the way artists do their work,” Dube says. “Some artists tend to think that anything that denigrates the president or the government is art. This is a wrong approach.”
Dube attributes this challenge to the low level of education among many artists. He says that artists must be encouraged to go to school. He says that artists need a wider understanding of the political, economic and social environment so that they can also see other positive things happening in the country rather than focus on the negatives.
“Most of our local artists are school dropouts, and they have challenges in doing their work professionally,” Dube says. “Some end up being manipulated by some vested interest to peddle certain agendas that are not of the artist’s own creation or understanding.”
Despite the prevalence of intimidation, artists and art organizations such as Victory-Siyanqoba continue to press forward. One of its most recent performances at a local hotel promoted peace, love and unity in the wake of reported cases of politically motivated violence.
“We will not be afraid of telling people to stop violence because violence is not good for the development of our country,” Sihwa says.
He says artists must continue their work for the future of Zimbabwe.
“If we stop performing because of fear of victimization, then we are not only destroying ourselves, but we are destroying the future of our country,” Sihwa says. “We have to continue expressing ourselves on all issues without fear or favor. Artists are the mirror image of society, and eliminating them is not a solution to social and economic woes facing the country.”
