Dimensions of Violence in Zimbabwe: Unpacking the Triggers and Effects of Machete Violence in Zimbabwe.

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Main Author: Jonah Marawako
Other Authors: Lecturer, Department of Governance and Public Management, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe
Format: research article
Language:English
Published: RSIS 2023
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Online Access:https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5367
https://www.rsisinternational.org/virtual-library/papers/dimensions-of-violence-in-zimbabwe-unpacking-the-triggers-and-effects-of-machete-violence-in-zimbabwe/
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author Jonah Marawako
author2 Lecturer, Department of Governance and Public Management, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe
author_facet Lecturer, Department of Governance and Public Management, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe
Jonah Marawako
author_sort Jonah Marawako
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publishDate 2023
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spelling ir-11408-53672023-03-02T14:11:16Z Dimensions of Violence in Zimbabwe: Unpacking the Triggers and Effects of Machete Violence in Zimbabwe. Jonah Marawako Lecturer, Department of Governance and Public Management, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe violence machete gangs state capture resource curse illicit economy foot soldier Abstract This article illustrates that machete gangs in Zimbabwe are foot soldiers of the political elites with the Second Republic ventilating their dramatic proliferation. The paper interrogates the concept of state capture and the concept of natural resource curse in an endeavour to demystify the nature and scope of machete violence in Zimbabwe. The paper also noted that machete gangs are more active in mining communities like Kwekwe, Mazowe, Bubi, Mashava, Kadoma and Patchway. Machete gangs are largely connected to powerful politicians who are members of the gold cartels. Factors that trigger machete violence in Zimbabwe include but are not limited to the rapid increase in artisanal mining, climate change and escalating unemployment. The adverse effect of machete gangs is the pauperisation of the general population. The paper also examined the impact of the proliferation of machete gangs on women in the mining sector. Machete violence has aggravated an illicit economy, fuelled unjustified socio-economic deprivation and led to environmental degradation. The paper also unearthed that machete violence underpins and perpetuates the political culture of fear and repression in Zimbabwe. The study recommends a cocktail of reforms that need to be initiated to end machete violence, this includes the need to regularise and formalise the mining sector as well as comprehensive security sector reforms. The study is mainly ethnographic in scope as most of the data was collected through interaction with some members of the machete gangs and victims of machete violence. Documentary search was also used to augment ethnographies. The researcher interviewed machete gangs located in the aforementioned mining communities in Zimbabwe, in an endeavour to generalise how machete gangs are impacting the social, economic and political fabric. VI V 84 93 2023-03-02T14:11:15Z 2023-03-02T14:11:15Z 2022-05 research article https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5367 https://www.rsisinternational.org/virtual-library/papers/dimensions-of-violence-in-zimbabwe-unpacking-the-triggers-and-effects-of-machete-violence-in-zimbabwe/ en International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) 2454–6186 open RSIS
spellingShingle violence
machete gangs
state capture
resource curse
illicit economy
foot soldier
Jonah Marawako
Dimensions of Violence in Zimbabwe: Unpacking the Triggers and Effects of Machete Violence in Zimbabwe.
title Dimensions of Violence in Zimbabwe: Unpacking the Triggers and Effects of Machete Violence in Zimbabwe.
title_full Dimensions of Violence in Zimbabwe: Unpacking the Triggers and Effects of Machete Violence in Zimbabwe.
title_fullStr Dimensions of Violence in Zimbabwe: Unpacking the Triggers and Effects of Machete Violence in Zimbabwe.
title_full_unstemmed Dimensions of Violence in Zimbabwe: Unpacking the Triggers and Effects of Machete Violence in Zimbabwe.
title_short Dimensions of Violence in Zimbabwe: Unpacking the Triggers and Effects of Machete Violence in Zimbabwe.
title_sort dimensions of violence in zimbabwe: unpacking the triggers and effects of machete violence in zimbabwe.
topic violence
machete gangs
state capture
resource curse
illicit economy
foot soldier
url https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5367
https://www.rsisinternational.org/virtual-library/papers/dimensions-of-violence-in-zimbabwe-unpacking-the-triggers-and-effects-of-machete-violence-in-zimbabwe/
work_keys_str_mv AT jonahmarawako dimensionsofviolenceinzimbabweunpackingthetriggersandeffectsofmacheteviolenceinzimbabwe