Vicious Circle
By Alexander Kanengoni
Macmillan Education (1983)
ISBN: 978-0-333-35309

IAN Smith described them as the ‘happiest blacks in Africa’ yet the reverse was true as the life of blacks in Rhodesia was one filled with hardships and pain.
The suffering and anguish did not break the spirits of the blacks as it made them determined to fight the colonial regime and free the country.
The tales of the experiences of the blacks are told today to ensure the young generations fully understand the need to safeguard the gains of independence.
In the book Vicious Circle, acclaimed writer, Alexander Kanengoni through the life of the Mavhu family chronicles the experiences of the blacks during Smith’s reign of terror.
The Mavhu family originally from Mhondoro is made up of the father Taurai, his wife, the eldest son Noel, Tendai, Lucy, Dorothy and Lovemore.
Like other youths during the pre-independence era, the three eldest Mavhu siblings Noel, Tendai and Lucy move to the city in search of greener pastures.
Noel settles in Kambuzuma and Lucy in Highfield while Tendai enrols at a local university.
Life in the city’s townships where the two settled was not easy as they were not spared the challenges of poverty and living in squalid conditions.
They had to, like their fellow blacks, bear the brunt of looking for employment at industries where they were in turn not remunerated according to the work they did and made to work long hours.
“The first had been that of the unemployed, a silent and anguished awakening of the disillusioned and the tormented in search of themselves,” writes Kanengoni.
“They had woken up and fought their way through the uncompromising cold, warmed up and fuelled only by a faint hope, to hang around factories in the industrial areas on the chance of a job.
“Their lives were burdens not only to themselves, but also to their relations on whom they depended.”
Noel who worked at a printing company is despised by his superiors for his liberal way of thinking.
During workers’ committee meetings Noel raised the issue of pay rise, a subject the white employers did not want to hear.
Noel is a representation of the disgruntled workers during the colonial era who could not stomach the poor working conditions.
It is this disgruntlement that forced many to sacrifice themselves and take up arms against the whiteman.
The life of the Mavhu family changes when Tendai, after being inspired by the teachings of the nationalists, leaves university to join the liberation struggle.
The bold move by Tendai is one that was also taken by thousands of sons and daughters of the soil despite the fact that by taking the decision, their future and that of their families was uncertain.
First to suffer from the decision taken by Tendai was his father Taurai who was summoned by the police.
Taurai, despite his old age, was beaten and tortured by the Rhodesian police who accused him of being a part of those recruiting the youth to join the war.
As part of his punishment his cattle were taken away.
Through the torture of Taurai, Kanengoni brings out how the Rhodesian police were brutal and how the ordinary citizens were made to suffer.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs issues a letter stating that the Mavhu family be relocated to a new Resettlement.
This was punishment for Taurai who had refused to give up the names of the other young man who had left for the war.
During the relocation process, the family lost almost all of its belongings with some furniture destroyed and livestock confiscated by the police.
The fate suffered by the Mavhus who lost their land depicts how most blacks were displaced in Rhodesia and were forced to stay in Protected Villages (Keeps) where conditions were unbearable.
Having survived on agriculture, the moving of the households meant that they had to look for other means of survival and in this case it was to work in white-owned companies, industries and farms.
This irked the blacks who knew the land rightfully belonged to them.
Dorothy who was enrolled at a mission school was expelled for airing her liberal view during the school’s debate competition.
It is important to note that Dorothy had been influenced by Tendai.
“Redistribution of the country’s wealth is our chief concern and preoccupation,” said Dorothy.
“We strive to redistribute it for the benefit of everyone.
“This redistribution obviously means we have to reorganise ourselves.
“That reorganisation entails a very high degree of centralisation and collectivism strictly confined to the area of production and does not in any way infringe upon individual freedom.”
The school teachers, who were white missionaries and where using education to further colonise the black youths, did not take kindly her sentiments.
As much as the Smith regime used dirty tactics to demoralise the blacks and deter them from joining the liberation struggle, blacks remained resilient.
Indeed the vicious circle of poverty and suffering that had become the order of the day for blacks was broken.
Today Zimbabweans enjoy the country’s independence and economic freedom.