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Wolves in sheep skins

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THE arts have just become a compliant tool, a part of concerted efforts to effect regime change in the country.
The efforts of the art practitioners, fully funded and supported by Western organisations, must not be underestimated.
They are wolves in sheep’s skins.
‘Protest’ theatre has bounced back as the country prepares for the 2018 harmonised elections.
Many artistes, be it actors, cartoonists or comedians, are now into political satire because that’s where the money is.
This was evident especially at the just ended edition of Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) 2017.
Plays such as Tumaini, created and produced by Lloyd Nyikadzino, Liberation written by Leonard Matsa, The rich list directed by Simba Masusela, Finding Temeraire written by Stanley Makuwe, Lamentations @12 produced by Daves Guzha were all insulting and demeaning Government through social, economic and political commentary.
But a closer look exposes that it is not only HIFA that has employed theatre as a regime change tool.
Many local NGOs especially from Bulawayo, have been subtly pushing the regime change agenda through political satires.
They have employed well known comedians and actors who have diverted from social commentary to take up protest theatre, for example Doc Vikela and Carl Joshua Ncube.
Theatre in the Park and Naughty by Nature from Bulawayo produced Tension, a play ‘exploring political succession in ZANU PF’.
Two months later Nhimbe Trust, also from Bulawayo, in collaboration with Rooftop Promotions, staged a regime change play, State of the Nation.
The script reads the same as that of Tension.
The play calls for a ‘succession plan’ as ‘ZANU PF is rocked by infighting’.
State of the Nation features well known activists Daves Guzha, Chirikure Chirikure, Chido Kutaga and Doc Vikela among others.
Nhimbe Trust is funded by Africalia Belgium, Norwegian Embassy, NANGO, Culture Fund, Arterial Network and Freemuse.
Early this year, the British Council was added to the list of funders.
It is recruiting 20 young females from Bulawayo for training programmes in the UK.
“Nhimbe Trust, in partnership with Young Vic Theatre UK, with the support of the British Council, are producing The Unified Women Project, which will provide a ‘cultural exchange’ between 20 young women and emerging creatives in both the UK and Zimbabwe through collaboration to produce a unique theatre piece.
“This project will empower young women aged 18 to 25 from some of the most vulnerable communities in both London and Bulawayo as they come together to jointly create a theatre piece inspired by The Suppliant Women directed by Ramin Gray,” reads the call for women playwright.
But it is no secret that such cultural exchange programmes involve transforming these young souls into political activists.
Not only has the West been using traditional theatre as a regime change agenda, but they have utilised advanced technology and social media.
Zambezi News is one such project, which produces news skits.
The news skits are posted on social media forums such as Whatsapp, facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Magamba tv website.
Zambezi News has been sponsored to go on month-long trips to play in Germany, Sweden, the UK and the US.
In August 2015, they performed at the hugely popular Shambala Festival in Northamptonshire in UK and thereafter went to Germany for live performances.
“When we think of Zimbabwe, the first thing that comes to mind probably isn’t a satirical comedy show.
“We think of the Zimbabwe we hear about in the media, where (President) Robert Mugabe presides with an iron fist over a nation whose economy is in deep crisis, where poverty and unemployment are endemic and political strife, corruption and repression is commonplace,” reads the Zambezi News website.
Zambezi News is spreading its regime change agenda as this year it is planning to launch Moto Republik, a political centre in Harare, that will bring together artistes, citizen journalists and youth activists ‘a place to co-work, grow ideas and share knowledge’.
The Republik consists of Magamba Network, Shoko Festival, Zambezi News and Kalabash, a youth opinion website.
It is indeed a soft power war, and to use a ‘whiteman’ (Cde Fasto), Farai Munro, to crack jokes on Zimbabwe just kills it.
“Comrades we need to rise up and resist this chando weather! Enough is enough! #ThisWinter #TajamukaChando #Zvanyanya #TooCold #WhereDidThisMistComeFromsha,” tweets Cde Fasto this week.
Music academies that had shut their doors are finally finding themselves back in business.
Such is the case of Music Crossroads Zimbabwe, a programme of a Brussels-based NGO Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI).
The work of JMI is supported by the Belgian Government and Creative Europe, a programme of the EU.
Music crossroads which focuses more on youth-music networking, organising annual festivals, international band tours and training youths has also worked with the US Embassy lately.
Just like HIFA and Nhimbe Trust, Music Crossroads Zimbabwe is also supported by the Norwegian Government.
And the time of re-opening is no surprise.
The promotion of protest theatre, as a regime change agenda, is not a new phenomenon.
Prior to the 2013 polls, there were several attempts to prop up protest theatre but to no success.
Habbakuk Trust from Bulawayo produced a political play Hadassah whose purpose was to incite Zimbabweans to revolt, hiding under the Christian banner.
Another play produced just before the elections is Rituals by Rooftop Promotions and directed by Daves Guzha.
Rituals which focused on the post-election violence in 2008, was staged in seven different locations in South Africa by Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition.
And just before the 2008 harmonised elections, Savanna Trust staged the play The final push in 2007, while Amakhosi Theatre staged The Good President in the same year.
Both organisations are based in Bulawayo.
The final push was written by political activist Silvanos Mudzvova while The Good President was written by Continueloving Mhlanga.
Their scripts read the same, calling for President Mugabe to step down and give power to Morgan Tsvangirai.
A few months later, New Zealand-based Zimbabwean writer Stanley Makuwe took his political satire His Excellency is in Love to the TAPAC theatre in Auckland, New Zealand.
The overt political satires of Christopher Mlalazi, Continueloving Mhlanga, Stanley Makuwe and Raisedon Baya have always tried to agitate for political change.
And it seems Bulawayo has become a sanctuary of these regime change agents.

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