Faculty of Management Sciences

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Bridging the gender gap through local peace committees in Zimbabwe
(2022) Tshuma, Darlington; Kaye, Sylvia Blanche; Harris, Geoffrey Thomas
Peacebuilding research, specifically in post-conflict societies and those transitioning from authoritarian rule to democracy and from violence to peace, demonstrates a growing demand to enhance our understanding about the efficacy of peace infrastructures, particularly informal peace infrastructures as potential tools for sustained and inclusive peacebuilding. In the same vein, the growth and popularity in recent decades of peace infrastructures as peacebuilding tools suggests the need for further investigation especially in societies where transition(s) is reluctant - a case in point is Zimbabwe. Further, the use of peace infrastructures to facilitate inclusive peacebuilding has gained prominence in the light of growing evidence of the correlation between societal stability and socioeconomic development on the one hand, and inclusive peacebuilding on the other. This is a participatory and exploratory action study that investigated the possibilities of using a community peace infrastructure to facilitate inclusive peacebuilding in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe to overcome gender disparities in local peacebuilding processes. The study’s objectives were twofold, namely: firstly, to identify and understand conditions that promote successful conflict intervention at grassroots level, and secondly, to find out the extent to which these interventions can help to positively transform conflicts. To this end, the principal researcher in this study collaborated with an action team to establish an informal peace infrastructure (local peace committee) where the envisioned change could potentially happen. This study draws together empirical qualitative data on an informal peace infrastructure created as part of this research intended to facilitate inclusive peacebuilding in four communities that fall under wards 7, 8, 16 and 28 in Bulawayo (refer to Table 7.1). Zimbabwe’s protracted social and political conflicts and its long history of human rights violations remain as sources of polarisation and political violence. Consequently, a significant component of the country’s contemporary history is about violence, its memory, and impunity. What has been variously described as a culture of violence can in fact be traced to incomplete transitions and complex historical processes starting with the precolonial episode where political cultures and practices were influenced and permeated by primordial ideologies of heredity, patriarchy and kinship. Similarly, colonial subjugation and occupation in the 19th century imposed an undemocratic system based on white supremacy, patriarchy and violent authoritarianism such that equal and even higher levels of violence had to be employed to resist colonial occupation and subjugation in the middle of the 20th century. Emerging from these multiple episodes of violent conflicts and authoritarianism; it is unsurprising that command politics and violent suppression of dissent became preferred “governance tools” for a triumphant ZANU-PF that won the country’s first democratic election in February 1980. The study uses Lederach’s Conflict Transformation theory as a lens for analysis. As a theoretical tool, Conflict Transformation is rooted in a transformative paradigm that places emphasis on constructive relationship building and the need to transform oppressive and undemocratic systems into democratic and inclusive systems as a basis for sustained peacebuilding. By emphasising local agency through transformative bottom-up peacebuilding processes, Conflict Transformation aims to facilitate constructive change by anchoring peacebuilding within a society’s unique socio-political environment. Findings from this study show that while informal peace infrastructures face numerous challenges such as resource constraints and sometimes barriers to accessing key policy and decision makers and political players, they fill a vital peacebuilding void left by the state which is not only incapacitated to lead peacebuilding initiatives but also lacks the legitimacy to fulfil its peacebuilding roles. Research findings in this study indicate that informal peace infrastructures can be useful platforms to facilitate inclusive peacebuilding, for example by increasing minority groups’ representation and women’s involvement in peace processes at the community level. The study aimed to increase understanding of the gendered nature of peacebuilding in the country and the ways in which women, but also men exercise agency through a focus on their own voices and lived experiences. Similarly, this study also revealed that socioeconomic challenges, politics and entrenched patriarchal interests present stumbling blocks to women’s effective participation in peacebuilding processes. At the same time, while dominant discourse depicts and projects peacebuilding as a ‘masculine’ and ‘manly terrain’, this study found that men who are involved in informal peace processes at the community are sometimes perceived as weak and feminine, a label that the men in this study continue to resist and push back against. Finally, this inquiry hopes to make small but important contributions to the peacebuilding discourse by illuminating how informal peace infrastructures may serve as a basis for improving peacebuilding practice in the country.
Local peace committees in communities affected by transboundary violence : the case of RENAMO incursions in Chipinge, Zimbabwe
(2021-02) Muchanyuka, Muneyi Rewayi; Harris, Geoffrey Thomas; Kaye, Sylvia Blanche
Building capacity for reconciliation through a restorative-based intervention in Zimbabwe
(2017-05) Mhandara, Lawrence; Kaye, Sylvia Blanche; Harris, Geoffrey Thomas
Policy makers and scholarship on peacebuilding are increasingly attracted to the notion of reconciliation. In recent years, this interest has expanded. This is especially visible in the aftermath of the South African experience following the activities of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). In fact, peacebuilding efforts after violent experiences are usually accompanied by powerful calls to go the reconciliation route. Reconciliation as a process can be seen as involving transformation in attitudes and perspectives toward others. As an outcome, it can be regarded as mutual acceptance of the other in a peaceful relationship and the sustainability of that acceptance; accompanied by a commitment to bind relationships on future interest than being stuck with the past. Yet reconciliation remains a profound challenge in societies that experience political violence. Equally, Zimbabwe is facing a similar situation despite a series of state-centred efforts at reconciliation. From the 1980 policy of national reconciliation to the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), a constant pattern of inefficacy is observed. This study was born out of the need to find out why reconciliation in Zimbabwe has become elusive which has negatively affected people’s relationships. The aim of the study was to devise a restorative- based intervention to build capacity for reconciliation among a small sample of adults in Harare. The primary question was: How can people affected by political violence but continuing to live together participate in building their own capacity to promote reconciliation in the absence of effective state interventions? I conceptualised reconciliation based on the theory of restoration as an approach that can transform relationships toward peaceful interaction. This yielded a theoretical framework that combined elements of reconciliation, restorative justice and conflict transformation theories, which was the basis for designing and analysing findings. A qualitative methodology combining interviews and focus group discussions was utilised. Within this paradigm, action research was the main design, in which one cycle was utilized by the action group to implement an intervention. Action group participants’ responses offer evidence of how building capacity for reconciliation needs to be conceptualised through interventions that are participatory, collaborative and centred on the locals. The study further reveals that restorative-focused dialogical conversations followed by symbolic gestures of reconciliation are useful in restoring broken relationships. This was found to be a viable alternative to promoting reconciliation in the absence of effective state responses. This study is significant in that it integrates academic and practical knowledge while contributing to peacebuilding practice.
Transforming post-conflict relationships via peace gardens in Masvingo, Zimbabwe
(2018-10) Rukuni, Tinashe; Kaye, Sylvia Blanche; Harris, Geoffrey Thomas
The study discussed ways of transforming post-conflict relationships via peace gardens in Masvingo, Zimbabwe where political party supporters had failed to cope with the aftermaths of election-related violence since 1980.The motivational factor for carrying out this research arose from the philosophical perspective that working together for a common goal builds sustainable and durable peace. This study was underpinned by the peace and power theory which promotes working together in cooperative and peaceful ways. The study was carried out with a sample of 36 participants from the key informants and focus group discussions from which an action team of 10 participants was formed. The overall aim of this study was to explore the use of peace gardens as an intervention strategy in transforming post-conflict relationships with specific objectives being to explore the causes and effects of election-related violence in Masvingo, Zimbabwe and to examine the use, effectiveness, and challenges of using peace gardens in transforming post-conflict relationships. The type of inquiry used in this study was advocacy participation world view while the research design was a qualitative paradigm with exploratory action research and evaluation components. Data for the study was generated through focus groups, interviews, and participant observations. The study findings revealed that politics and elections were the main causes of conflict in Masvingo with hate speech, the creation of division and partisan distribution of food as tools by which the conflict was enforced. The findings revealed the effectiveness of peace gardening as an intervention strategy in peacebuilding through its ability to dismantle barriers of division, hatred and thereby creating debate platforms for conflict resolution modalities among former political rivals.Though the results of this peace gardening intervention strategy demonstrated embedded yielding effects of action research, the study concludes that peacebuilding initiatives do not work like magic considering the sensitivity of politics and conflict. Participants in action research do not change their attitudes overnight, a scenario which calls for more or prolonged intervention cycles in promoting durable peace.
Conflict transformation through music and dance : the case of Mkoba, in Gweru, Zimbabwe
(2017) Mutero, Innocent Tinashe; Kaye, Sylvia Blanche; Harris, Geoffrey Thomas
ABSTRACT Zimbabwe has a history of violence stretching back to the pre-colonial period. The country gained political independence in 1980 after a protracted armed war with the illegal Smith regime. The liberation movement, under whose banner independence was gained, has carried over and almost normalised the cultures of obliterating difference, muting dissent, cronyism and systematic economic marginalisation of citizens. Incidences of ethnic, religious inter- and intra-political party violence, and individualism are rife. As a result, most of the local conflicts experienced in Zimbabwe are symptomatic ‘electoral conflicts’ fuelled by political competition and polarisation, leading to economic collapse and social fragmentation (Ncube 2014, Heal Zimbabwe Trust 2015: 5). The conflicts have arguably weakened Zimbabwe’s strongest attributes and institutions, which include the church, the family unit and good-neighbourliness. This thesis aims to show how conflict transformation can be brought about in the Mkoba community, using Participatory Action Research. It engages a select group of musically gifted citizens into establishing a cosmopolitan music and dance ensemble with a view to strengthening the community’s social capital and improving the quality of life of the residents. The study therefore brings out how music and dance, and by extension participatory performing arts, can serve humanity as a platform to initiate dialogue and cooperation among conflicting residents. In addition, the study details how entertaining and interactive gatherings in broken communities have the power to heal residents psychologically, replacing pessimism and lassitude with optimism and a proactive approach. Unique to this multi-disciplinary study is its binding together of theories concerning music for social change, social entrepreneurship and asset-based community development, all of which are undergirded by conflict transformation. This ethnographic account suggests how to develop and sustain community-based organisations and/or activities using the holistic sustainability frame, which emphasizes the importance of artistic vibrancy, community relevance, capitalisation and good governance. This holistic and eclectic approach thus creates an organic platform through which the community can act for social change.
Exploring transitional justice options for Zimbabwe
(2017) Madenga, Innocent; Kaye, Sylvia; Harris, Geoffrey Thomas
Zimbabwe is in dire need of wholesale reform. Gross human rights violations which date back to the pre-colonial period could have been abated in 1980 when the magnanimous policy of national reconciliation promised a new start. The watershed opportunity was, however, lost mainly because no deliberate efforts were made to account for the wrongs of the past in order to start afresh. The result was that Zimbabwe won the independence, but peace remained elusive. This is evidenced in the continued instability, insecurity and uncertainty. The non-retributive pledge had inherent weaknesses; it lacked inclusive participation, hence, no broad ownership. Simply drawing a line between the wounded past and the present, meant burying the past without the prerequisite rituals bent on ensuring non-recurrence. The futility of this blanket amnesty is evident in the sustained legacy of gross human rights abuses and impunity. Political violence has been institutionalised through politicisation of all aspects of life. This research is guided by Lederach’s reconciliation theory which uses Psalms 85:10 to emphasise the importance of commitment in converging the seemingly divergent aspects of truth, peace, justice and mercy into a ‘meeting place’ called reconciliation. Using a mixed methods approach, this research established that the invariably top-bottom approaches massage the symptoms rather than address the root causes of conflicts. The victims’ agitations for revenge and retribution prompted me to design action research processes aimed at engaging the research participants in interactive activities. The action research component aimed at sensitising participants to the merits of letting go of the burdens of the past, and to use scars as reminders of hope and not victimhood. The issues of forgiveness without apology, compensation or even remorse were contentious. However, through give-and-take concessions, the dialogue intervention yielded invaluable by-products such as maximisation of indigenous knowledge systems. Building on the participants’ input, sustainable healing and reconciliation can be achieved through deliberate truth-recovery, the right to justice, reparation, forgiveness and non-recurrence assurances. The research outcomes show that Zimbabwe urgently needs a ‘hybrid’ transitional justice framework based on inclusive participation. Inclusivity is critical because politicians are not necessarily experts in peacebuilding. The yet to be implemented National Peace and Reconciliation Commission can be used as a tool to seek public opinion on how to overcome the entrenched ‘fearology and militarism’ (Oberg 2016) ahead of the watershed 2018 general elections. Uncensored national debates can be used to gather information on the way forward. The multiple merits of Information Communication and Technology should be fully maximised in peacebuilding.
Developing peacebuilding skills among civil society organisations in Zimbabwe
(2017) Makwerere, David; Kaye, Sylvia; Harris, Geoffrey Thomas
Local peacebuilding practices require a systematic and reflective analysis in order for them to bring an impact. Successful peacebuilding pivots on the development of a set of skills to attend to the challenges presented by the conflict. The study was inspired by an observation that the emergence of CSOs working on peacebuilding in Zimbabwe was happening in a context where there was no proper training and organisational capacity development. Using an action-research design, and a case study of two CSOs operating in Bindura and Mazowe Districts in Mashonaland Central Province in Zimbabwe, the study involved a sample group of fifty-seven participants, and included a core Action Research Team (ART) of twelve participants to initiate the process of capacity development related to peacebuilding in Zimbabwe. Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, Document studies were used in a triangulation approach to enhance validity and reliability of the process. The preliminary assessment revealed that the peacebuilding environment in the two districts is highly polarised. There is a combination of both direct and indirect violence in the area. The state as well as traditional institutions are active perpetrators of both direct and indirect violence in the two district. The use of Local Peace Committees and the workshop method has not reaped the desired outcomes owing to the polarization. After a preliminary assessment of the peacebuilding environment in the area as well as a critique of the peacebuilding models being used by the two organisations, we then set out on a process of identifying strengths and weaknesses in both the programming as well as the delivery of the projects in the communities. A series of focus group discussions and organisational document analysis of the two organisations, we eventually agreed on the development of a training module for the Action Research Team. Five thematic issues were identified as forming the basis of the intervention programme. The five thematic issues were on the conceptual issues of conflict, violence and peace in a local context, conflict analysis skills, conflict sensitive programming, culture, conflict and change and lastly basic counselling skills for peacebuilders. A three-day training workshop was then held in order to develop capacity relating to the thematic issues. The short term evaluation of the intervention showed that the training was successful as the participants had already started implementing some of the new knowledge and skills.
Facilitating reconciliation in divided communities in Mashonaland Province, Zimbabwe
(2016) Shonhiwa, Kudakwashe; Harris, Geoffrey Thomas
Conflicts in Zimbabwe have triggered communities to be divided along political party lines. Violence has been prevalent and this has intensified economic ruin and social polarity. In high density urban areas this violence continues to divide communities. The overall aim of this research study was to facilitate reconciliation in divided communities in Mashonaland province, Zimbabwe with the Alternative for Violence Project (AVP), an international non-profit organisation that provides experiential training to individuals and organisations in nonviolence and pre-emptive conflict resolution. The objectives of the study were to explore the underlying causes of violence in Zimbabwe, its consequences and impact since 2000, and also to explain the concepts of conflict transformation, forgiveness and reconciliation as used by AVP. In addition, the study explored AVP’s outcomes in different contexts and examined its potential as an instrument for reconciliation by implementing several AVP workshops in the divided communities. Hatcliffe, a high density area outside Harare, was used as a sample population for the study which drew from Lederach’s theory of conflict transformation and from Azar‘s model of protracted social conflicts. The researcher used a qualitative approach in the field research and interviewed both the victims and perpetrators of violence as well as elected leaders in the Hatcliffe community. The main findings of the study were that reconciliation efforts are best begun with an orientation towards peace-building for community residents and local ownership of all reconciliation processes. All community members directly or indirectly involved in a conflict situation are critical to reconciliation efforts and third parties must ensure that these people are empowered to make their own decisions. The study concluded that AVP is an effective tool which can be used to change people’s perspectives about conflict and that creating safe spaces where people can articulate their issues in a relaxed atmosphere can be deeply healing. Because the findings are not disconfirmed by prior theories and research based on similar efforts, but rather add to knowledge already gained, one can assume that there also is a degree of external validity to the study.

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