Tinashe Sambiri|A Non Governmental Organization based in Masvingo has released a position paper, citing concerns about the exclusion of minority groups from key electoral processes.

The Emmerson Mnangagwa led administration is accused of closing democratic space, relegating minority groups to the peripheries of decision making.

In its position paper, Masvingo Centre for Research Advocacy and Development( MACRAD) notes that minority groups have the right to participate in key national processes.

See the MACRAD presentation:

Venda and Shangaan people

This paper is about the participation of indigenous minority groups in elections and various electoral processes in Zimbabwe.

The minority ethnic groups included herein are the Shangaan and the Venda. The Shangaan are the majority ethnic group scattered across four constituencies namely Chiredzi North, Chiredzi East, Chiredzi West and Chiredzi South of the Chiredzi district. Other Shangaan people are sparsely populated in Mwenezi West and Mwenezi East constituencies of Mwenezi district. Lastly, Venda ethnic group is concentrated in Beitbridge district located in Matabeleland South province. This paper focused on these two minority groups scrutinizing their participation in electoral processes in Zimbabwe.

The main aim is to interrogate how they exercise their rights in voting considering their minority status in the broader shrinking democratic space in Zimbabwe.

Understanding the indigenous/minority ethnic groups
Indigenous people are the first inhabitants or native social groups who have lived in particular geographical spaces over long period of time. They are referred to by various names such as, the Natives, the First people and the autochthonous people among others. The United Nations’ defines them as, ‘…..of those who inhabited a country or a geographical region at the time when people of different cultures or ethnic origins arrived. According to the IUCN, indigenous people are those who still practice their historical and unique traditions presented through well decorated tangible artefacts – dressing, musical instruments, jewellery and craft – and intangible cultural artefacts – language, dances, music and rituals. According to the UN, the indigenous people in modern days are considered as minority ethnic groups in national contexts. Their minority status emerged after being disoriented and dominated through physical conquest, settlement and occupation by bigger social groups.

Normative profiles of the Shangaan and the Venda

The Shangaan and the Venda are amongst the few indigenous minority groups found in Zimbabwe. Statistics showed that the Venda and Shangaan in conjunction with other minority groups constitute less than 10% of the Zimbabwean population. The country is dominated by the Shona speaking people who constitute 75% of the Zimbabwean population – the Shona speaking people appears in three tribal clusters namely Zezuru, Karanga and Manyika. Like other indigenous minority groups elsewhere, their participation in politics is not autonomous and in most cases they experience induced or directed participation.

(i) The Venda
The Venda people are a minority group found on the southern parts of Zimbabwe whilst the majority reside in South Africa. History tells that they originated from the Mapungubwe kingdom which was established by their ancestors in the 19th century. Furthermore, the Venda people belong to the Bantu language cluster which is common South Eastern Africa. Their primary language is Venda and their religion is in the domain of African Traditional Religion (ATR). The Venda’s ethnoreligion is their way of life which embraces close connection with their ethnic identity, cultural heritage and practice.

Interestingly, the Venda people have a very high esteem on their women. Ideally, the system of valuing women is quiet unusual when compared to other ethnic groups spread across Africa. In real practice, the Vendas encourage their women to occupy influential and senior positions in the society. In both the domestic and public spheres, aunties (known as Vhomakadzi) are very powerful in conflict resolution and management. In domestic spheres, they guarantee peace and serenity amongst family members – between and amongst siblings, in-laws and in marriages. Furthermore, they are the custodians of divine processes such as ritual performing and communication with the ancestors.

(a) Political economy
The Venda people domicile in the rural parts of Beitbridge town in Matabeleland South province. The district is bordered with Mozambique to the east, Botswana west and South Africa to the south. Ecologically, this district lies in region V. and is characterised by arid conditions and untenable topographic traits. Excessive temperature and low rainfall patterns makes it very difficult for rainfed farming. As a result, the Venda people are vulnerable to severe food insecurities. Alternatively, they rely much on animal husbandry – cattle are the common livestock produced. Others work in commercial farms in the district which produce oranges. The other dominant livelihood strategy amongst the Vendas is crossing to South either as petty traders or wage labor seekers. Their political economy is more South African than Zimbabwean.

(ii) The Shangaan
The Shangaan people (also referred to as Tsonga) are a minority group largely concentrated in Chiredzi district whilst others are scattered in some parts of Mwenezi district in Masvingo province. Broadly, the Shangaan people are also found in the Limpopo province of South Africa and Mozambique. Their main language is Xichangana or Shangaan which is directly related to Zulu and Ndebele. This language has five dialects which are as follows are, Hlanganu (Ihlanganu), Dzonga (Xidzonga), N’walangu (Xin’walungu), Bila (Xibila) and Hlengwe (Xihlengwe)

(a) The Shangaan’s political economy in Chiredzi and Mwenezi
Chiredzi Mwenezi
Chiredzi District is one of the seven administrative districts in Masvingo province and it’s found in the south eastern part of Zimbabwe which boarders Mozambique and South Africa.

It is also found amongst the least developed areas in Zimbabwe. This area receives less than 650mm of rain per annum hence making it more vulnerable to droughts. As a result, the Shangaan relies much on mixed farming of small grains and livestock production. Apart from farming, the youth and the able boded in Chiredzi relies much on working in commercial sugarcane plantations whilst majority migrate to South Africa for greener pastures. Mwenezi is one of the seven administrative districts in Masvingo province. People living there are a mixture of Karanga and Shangaan. It is amongst the least developed districts in Zimbabwe. Different parts of Mwenezi district are found agro-ecological region 4 and 5 respectively. Like Chiredzi, this district is prone to severe droughts especially on rainfed smallholder farming. They also depend on livestock production inclusive of cattle and goats. Other livelihood strategies include working in sugarcane plantations and migrating to South Africa for better life chances.

Legislatives whither indigenous minority groups’ democratic political participation
The American Centre for Peace and Diplomacy (ACPD) (2006) conceptualized participation as the inclusive – individuals and communities – process of making decisions in all ongoing political processes. This means that, all people, regardless of differences in ethnicity, age, gender, religion etc, should be accorded the same platform and capacity to meaningfully contribute in all political decisions without discrimination and prejudice. Calls for equality on political participation amongst individual and minority groups are all noted in both domestic, regional and international legal instruments.

In Zimbabwe the rights to political participation are granted by constitution, Electoral Act (EA) and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). The constitutional chapter below and it subsequent sections in the Zimbabwean Constitution stipulates the following inclusive rights of individuals and minority groups in participating in electoral processes in Zimbabwe.