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ABSTRACT
Discussing and contesting politics on Twitter has taken centre stage in Zimbabwe. In this discursive cyber-scape, political celebrities have emerged. Professor Jonathan Moyo is one of the popular voices (re)configuring the ideological and conceptual (dis)continuities of Zimbabwe’s post-coup d’état political culture. Moyo was ejected from his position as a ZANU PF political insider after the military-led ousting of long-time ruler Robert Gabriel Mugabe in November 2017. His knowledge of the ruling party invokes a political forecast, retro-cast, and insight that is puzzling and transforming political discourse. This article argues that Moyo’s tweets use carefully selected ideas and concepts to expose, undermine, and predict ZANU PF political manoeuvres in the post-Mugabe era. It analyses the celebrity politician’s tweets after the November 2017 coup d’état, showing how they capture and influence the political mood in the post-Mugabe nation-state. The article confirms that Twitter has taken a central role as a platform for democratic engagement while also being exploited by disgraced politicians. It provides an open and free digital medium for citizens to interact and share their concerns as well as disagreements over state politics.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. ‘The Lacoste faction supported Emmerson Mnangagwa. It wanted Mugabe to be succeeded by Mnangagwa who was one of the two deputy presidents of Zimbabwe. It was not clear who the G40 supported as successor to Mugabe. It was composed of what could be termed the “Young Turks” within ZANU-PF. These were a younger generation of politicians without liberation credentials. But they had managed to form a close circle around Mugabe and Grace Mugabe. Its most vociferous member was Professor Jonathan Moyo who was opposed to Mnangagwa succeeding Mugabe. Grace Mugabe openly sided with the G40. Immediately before the military coup of November 2017, Professor Moyo openly put forward the name of Sydney Sekeramayi as the senior ZANU-PF politician to succeed Mugabe. But Sekeramayi never rose to the occasion’ (Ndlovu-Gatsheni and Ruhanya Citation2020, 9).
2. Gukurahundi is a Shona word, which means the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains. Essentially, Gukurahundi was the name given to the 3,500-strong army, under the command of Colonel Perence Shiri, which was trained to rid newly independent Zimbabwe of 400 armed ‘dissidents” in the Matabelelands (North and South) and Midlands provinces. This army was known as the Fifth Brigade or the Gukurahundi army (Ndlovu Citation2019, 2).
3. Shona and Ndebele are Bantu languages.
4. I’ve major offline work. 3:32 PM · 15 December 2017·https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/941662215085596673.
5. Former Minister of Local Government.
6. NEW DISPENSATION. 8 May 2018, 4:09 p.m., https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/993855375928713216.
7. #GENERATION40. 26 February 2018, 2:39 p.m., https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/968103184513355776.
8. and is now leader of Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC).
9. After @stephensackur’s crass @BBCHARDtalk with @nelsonchamisa. 12 May 2018. 8:10 p.m., https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/995365679753818115.
10. After @stephensackur’s crass @BBCHARDtalk with @nelsonchamisa. 12 May 2018, 8:10 p.m., https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/995365679753818115.
11. Sights from the inaugural meeting of #NPF’s National Founding Executive Committee in Harare. 10 April 2018,7:45 a.m., https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/983944163875049472.
12. The spokesperson of NPF.
13. Sights of Cde Shadreck Mashayamombe. 28 April 2018, 5:01 p.m., https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/990244583165526017.
14. #Zimbabwe’s EDamin. 25 January 2018, 11:08 p.m., https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/95663502591469568chebundo.
15. #ChebundoChallnge. 1 June 2018, 10:18 p.m., https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/1002645695646568449.
16. Southern African Development Community.
17. Shortcut for Zimbabwe.
18. Why is @UKinZimbabwe boasting. 18 June 2018, 4:08 p.m.,
19. #2018ElectionAlert. 28 May 2018, 10:01 p.m., https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/1001191843483316224.
20. In addition to the illegal deployment. 3 May 2018, 12:54 p.m., https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/991994457351491584.
21. ‘ED CONDEMNS USE OF POLICE IN ZANUPF POLL.S 3 May 2018, 8:41 a.m.,
22. Did I raise Gukurahundi issue in Govt? 11 January 2018, 9:45 p.m., https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/95154052142778777.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Reggemore Marongedze
Reggemore Marongedze, Ph.D., is a Digital Humanities Lecturer in the Department of History, Heritage and Knowledge Systems at the University of Zimbabwe. Before this, he was a Senior Lecturer in the Department of African Languages and Literature at the University Zimbabwe (2016–2020). He is also a Digital Humanities Research Fellow at the Living Tongue Institute of Endangered Languages in America. He received his Ph.D. in Political Interfaces of Popular Music with Languages, Literature and Linguistics at the University of South Africa and his MA and BA Honours at the University of Zimbabwe. His research interests include popular music, digital humanities, African literature, digital and literary theories, digital texts, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, applied linguistics and gender and sexuality studies. His practices include editing, translation, transcription, lexicography, digital, social and cultural consultancy. His recent major work is the translation of the Zimbabwean National Constitution from English to Ndau language (2018) for the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in Zimbabwe. His fascinating lexicographic and digital humanities work is an online Bilingual Chikunda to English Dictionary called Chikunda Talking Dictionary He can be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected]
Wellington Gadzikwa
Wellington Gadzikwa, Ph.D., is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at Africa University. Prior to this, he held the Senior Lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of Zimbabwe (2016-2021). He is a published scholar and his research and publication interests are in journalism standards and practice, media framing, tabloids and tabloidization. He can be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected]
Enock Machanja
Enock Machanja is a postgraduate fellow in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, at the National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe. He received his MSc in Journalism and Media Studies at the National University of Science and Technology as well as a BA Honours in English at the Catholic University of Zimbabwe. His research interests include media theories, digital media, print media, media politics, media framing, media culture, tabloids and tabloidization. He can be contacted at [email protected]