There is increasing empirical evidence that the relocation of the victims of the Tokwe-Mukosi floods in Zimbabwe was marred by a combination of challenges. These challenges are argued in this article to have resulted from the adoption of Eurocentric models by government and non-governmental organisation technocrats and experts while relegating traditional leadership and the lived experiences of the displaced to the shadows. The writer provides a summary and critique of the Elizabeth Colson–Thayer Scudder four-stage model and Michael Cernea’s Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction Model. This article argues that traditional leadership is the missing link in disaster-induced displacement and its integration can overcome most of the challenges faced by the displaced in Zimbabwe. Traditional leadership in Zimbabwe can be traced to precolonial states and it has survived the colonial and postcolonial epochs. The study was guided by the Afrocentric theoretical framework. The case for the integration of traditional leadership was buttressed by numerous arguments. Among these arguments include proximity of traditional leadership to the displaced, the
The discourse on the adoption rather than adaptation of Western models has lately been met with a vituperative debate from African and decoloniality scholars. The relegation of traditional leadership to the sidelines in efforts to assist displaced persons as revealed by the case of the Tokwe-Mukosi displacements is argued in this article to be because of adoption of Western models. This article starts by tracing the concept of traditional leadership in Zimbabwe. The roles of traditional leadership are also interrogated. The next section presents the Tokwe-Mukosi context. The writer utilises the succeeding section to discuss two selected Western models used in analysing disaster-induced displacements. The theoretical framework guiding this article is discussed in the next section. The discussion of the prolificacy of traditional leadership in disaster-induced displacements in Zimbabwe is preceded by a presentation of the research methodology.
The origin of traditional leadership in Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular can be traced to the precolonial era. Bishi (
A traditional leader is responsible for performing the cultural, customary and traditional functions of a Chief, head person or village head, as the case may be for his or her community. (p. 110)
Zimbabwe is among the African countries that recognise traditional leadership as revealed by its inclusion in the Zimbabwean constitution under Chapter 15. However, despite this legal cognisance, traditional leadership has been relegated to the background in as far as disaster-induced displacements such as the Tokwe-Mukosi displacements. In ancient times traditional leadership was considered a refuge in terms of disasters such as famine and disease outbreaks, among others.
The role of traditional leadership in Zimbabwe is articulated by the
In addition, Dusing (
traditional leadership is an institution that is defined by customs and traditions inherited through ancestry that leads a community in a specific area appointed in accordance with the traditions, has authority to rule over people through customary law or an order from government to exercise traditional authority over a tribe. (p. 06)
The Rukuni Commission established that traditional leadership in Zimbabwe has legitimacy in the eyes of the rural communities. Hence, it can be argued that there is acceptancy of the authority of traditional leadership. An integration of traditional leadership in the efforts to assist the displaced fosters acceptancy and a sense of ownership of the decisions made thereof as the rural communities identify with their traditional leadership.
Various studies present statistics that indicate the magnitude of displacements worldwide. Cernea and Mathur (
Internally displaced persons are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border. (p. 01)
Thus, based on the Kampala Convention, the Tokwe-Mukosi displacements can be classified as internal displacements because the movement of the victims was within the borders of Zimbabwe. The definition by the Kampala Convention is also proffered by Article 1(5) of the
In addition, the Tokwe-Mukosi displacements glaringly exposed the Zimbabwe’s disaster preparedness or lack thereof with arguments that the country has been a victim of displacements in recent years. Hove (
Tokwe-Mukosi Dam is located in Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe. The construction of the dam started in 1998 and was completed in 2016. However, heavy flooding in February 2014 led to the displacement of more than 6000 families (Tarisayi
the heavy rains and subsequent floods adversely affected 12 villages, explicitly Chekai, Jahwa, Zifunzi, Mharadzano, Chkandigwa and Vhomo in Nemauzhe communal lands; and Tagwirei, Ndove, Matandizvo, Chikosi, Mashenjere and Nongera in Neruvanga communal lands. (p. 166)
The people displaced by the Tokwe-Mukosi Dam were relocated to Chingwizi, Chisase and Masangula (Chendume
This section of the article briefly abridges two models that inform disaster-induced displacements around the world: the Elizabeth Colson–Thayer Scudder four-stage model and Michael Cernea’s Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction Model. The author further proffers a critique of Western models based on these two models presented in this article. The Elizabeth Colson–Thayer Scudder four-stage model was formulated in the 1980s. Cernea (
The other Western model informing disaster-induced displacement is Michael Cernea’s Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction Model. The Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction Model identifies risks affecting displaced people as ‘landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalization, food insecurity, loss of access to common property resources, increased morbidity and mortality, and community disarticulation’ (Cernea
These models were designed in the West and yielded success in Western countries and even North America. However, they are not necessarily guaranteed to succeed when implemented in Africa because of disparities in context. Hence, the argument by Buntu (
I cannot take the design of a Swedish architect to build a house in Uganda. My design must reflect local conditions, use local resources in response to local problems. Anything from the outside must be complementary to this. (n.p.)
Western frameworks are akin to the adaptation of alien architecture, which cannot withstand the vicissitudes of the local realities and environment. The inadequacies of Western frameworks were aptly revealed by the challenges that were glaringly exposed by the relocation of the people displaced by the Tokwe-Mukosi floods in Zimbabwe. Thus this author’s argument that the framework utilised to assist the displaced in Zimbabwe was both irrelevant and not in sync with the realities of the victims of the floods. In addition, the Tokwe-Mukosi floods flagrantly revealed the tendency by African governments in general and the Zimbabwean government in particular to regard Western frameworks and knowledge as panacea for all displacement situations regardless of place and realities of the local population. This article concurs with Robert Chamber’s argument in the article ‘Poverty and livelihoods: Whose reality counts?’ that the realities of the poor should take pre-eminence in any interventions. The reality that matters in displacement scenarios is that of the displaced, not the reality of Eurocentric scholars or technocrats. This argument is further buttressed by Kotze and Kellerman (
The role and status of the technocrat and technocratic approaches contribute not only to the devaluation of indigenous knowledge and experience but also to the side tracking of the people’s emotions and feelings in development. (p. 34)
Hence, the argument by this article that Western approaches despite their perceived strengths relegate the views and lived experiences of the displaced to the background, as shown by the case of the Tokwe-Mukosi displacements in Zimbabwe. Moreover, arguably bookish theories and knowledge can be critiqued for being implemented as one-size-fits-all solutions. This is why African scholar and head of the Archie Mafeje Research Institute for the Social Policy Prof. Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni argues, ‘Africa is today saddled with irrelevant knowledge that disempowers rather than empowers individuals and communities’ (Ndlovu-Gatsheni
Western frameworks of disaster-induced displacements in general and Cernea’s Impoverished Risks and Reconstruction Model as implemented recently with Tokwe-Mukosi flood victims apparently lack consideration for traditional leadership and its role or lack thereof in the relocation of the displaced. Acquainted with the enervating ramifications of disaster-induced displacements, this article unravels traditional leadership in Zimbabwe and argues that traditional leadership is actually the missing link in mitigating the apparent effects of displacements. Displacements since time immemorial around the world in general and Zimbabwe in particular have had ramifications on people in a multiplicity of facets of their lives. Recent displacements such as the Tokwe-Mukosi disaster have arguably brought to the fore the need to integrate traditional leadership in order to overcome the implications of disaster-induced displacements. The negation of the role of traditional leadership in disaster-induced displacements presents a missing link in displacement discourse as aptly revealed by the Tokwe-Mukosi case study in Zimbabwe. The author submits that traditional leadership is overlooked in displacement discourse because of the universalisation of Euro–North American centric theories and frameworks without due cognisance of the demands and needs of the African context and Africans. Resultantly, there is an acceptance of these ‘alien’ Euro–North American models as silver bullets to address any displacement issues regardless of the structures already in place such as traditional leadership. This critique of alien theories and models is aptly captured by Asante (
A critique of the dominant Eurocentric academic model – the fight against what Latin Americans in particular call ‘epistemic coloniality’, that is the endless production of theories that are based on European traditions. These are produced nearly always by Europeans or Euro-American men who are the only ones accepted as capable of reaching universality; they involve a particular anthropological knowledge, which is a process of knowing about Others – but a process that never fully acknowledges those Others as thinking and knowledge producing subjects. (p. 36)
It is against this background of the criticisms noted of Eurocentric models that this article argues for the inclusion of traditional leadership in Zimbabwe.
A substantial amount of literature has been published on the Tokwe-Mukosi disaster and its ensuing displacements. These studies have rallied around a number of standpoints; among the most prominent perspectives that have emerged include the human rights perspective (Chendume
As Imenda (
proposes that blacks (at home and abroad) must look at knowledge from an African perspective. It suggests looking at matters at hand from an African viewpoint; that we misunderstand Africa when we use viewpoints and terms other than that of the African to study Africa. (p. 78)
Thus, disaster-induced displacements in Africa should be viewed from an African perspective according to the Afrocentric theory. Asante (
as a cultural theory Afrocentricity is committed to the reclamation of ancient African classical civilizations as the place for interpreting and understanding the history of African peoples, narratives, myths, spirituality, and cosmogonies. (p. 4)
Therefore, this study is premised on the need to reclaim the role of traditional leadership in the relocation of the displaced in Zimbabwe. The welfare of the displaced is best catered for by understanding the existing safety nets such as
This article utilises a case study of the Tokwe-Mukosi displacements to argue for the incorporation of traditional leadership in disaster-induced displacements. Stake (
The argument for the role of traditional leadership in relocating the displaced (as was the case in the Tokwe-Mukosi floods) is premised on the traditional leadership’s proximity to the victims. Traditional leadership in its various forms live among the victims of displacement. The Tokwe-Mukosi floods mainly affected 12 villages under two chiefs (Tarisayi
The transfer of the role to mitigate disasters to traditional leadership can also be viewed as ascribing to the dictates of decentralisation. Kotze (
The integration of traditional leadership in the relocation of the Tokwe-Mukosi victims could have facilitated access to the
The
In addition, Mandizadza, Bhatasara and Nyamwanza (
The
However, a word of caution is necessary on the role that can be played by traditional leadership in ensuring that the uprooted victims of disaster are well catered for pertaining to conditions that should be in place to ensure positive results. The benefits of the role of the traditional leadership can only be made possible in communities that have embraced the concept of
Integration of traditional leadership can facilitate the ubuntu benefits to be reaped by the displacement victims. Traditional leaders in Zimbabwe as in other Southern African countries are regarded as upholders of the African philosophy of ubuntu. Ubuntu can be argued to be mainly evident in rural areas in Zimbabwe because of the role of traditional leaders. Chakunda and Chikerema (
The concept of ubuntu has been interrogated and applied in various fields of study by numerous scholars. Archbishop Tutu in Hailey (
In addition, in advocating for the role of ubuntu, Metz (
From the foregoing, it can be contended that there is indeed a compelling argument for traditional leadership as the missing link in disaster-induced displacements in Zimbabwe. This article gave a review and critique of Western models that guided the relocation of people following the Tokwe-Mukosi disaster in Zimbabwe. In addition, weaknesses of Eurocentric and Euro–North American models were also revealed by this author and hence the article’s advocacy for the centrality of traditional leadership as the missing link in disaster-induced displacements. Traditional leadership was argued by the researcher as the missing link in the Tokwe-Mukosi displacement discourse. Guided by an Afrocentric theoretical framework, the article argued that traditional leadership is better positioned to assist victims of disaster displacements. Traditional leaders are in proximity to the displacement victims, which is instrumental for assisting displacement victims. In addition, traditional leaders in Zimbabwe are the custodians of ubuntu and the
The author declares that he has no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.