Ndira's Wake: Politics, Memory and Mobility among the Youth of Mabvuku-Tafara, Harare

Sam Wilkins

Journal of Southern African Studies, 2013, vol. 39, issue 4, 885-901

Abstract: This article is about a particular form of memory: heroism. Four years after his murder, MDC-T activist Tonderai Ndira remains a giant in his home township of Mabvuku-Tafara, on the outskirts of Harare. Known throughout Zimbabwe as the highest-profile casualty of the 2008 election violence, his presence is felt in every corner of the township, particularly among the youth activists who seek to emulate his socio-political legend. Rather than simply summarising Ndira's life or the MDC's politicised narrative of it, this article seeks the meaning of Ndira's memory by analysing the subjective personal reception of his heroism. When given the opportunity, youth activists in Mabvuku-Tafara recall a diverse collection of heroes in Ndira, varying across multiple axes from peacemaker to street-fighter, visionary to comedian. What these recitals share is a will by activists to use the story of Ndira's heroism to bring private, contentious imaginations of socio-political achievement into social relevance. From these findings, the article theorises a model of heroism beyond a simple dichotomy of hero and followers, towards a structure that is necessarily triangular: between hero, self and society.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1080/03057070.2013.858545

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