Zimbabwean Politics and Ndebele Folktales: Machiavellian Parallels

This paper interrogates the negative parallels between Ndebele folktales and the contemporary Zimbabwean politics. There is an acceptable belief that folktales contributed positively to the conduct of politics. However, there are reflections of Machiavellianism in the folktales which are not emphasized especially in the domain of African and Zimbabwean politics. Certain villainous animal characters in Ndebele folktales incarnate themselves in Zimbabwean political spheres where some politicians survive politically by assuming Machiavellian tactics as reflected in the folktale characters. Folktales, which were in most cases the first form of schooling for Africans, bear both positive and negative influences on the people as well as how they are governed. Thus folktales, like other forms of orature, have contributed a lot to the contemporary ideas of despotism, violence, patronage and corruption which are characteristic of Zimbabwean politics. There are some folktales which openly violate democratic principles drawing parallels with the Zimbabwean political conduct since independence. This paper will use selected Ndebele folktales to draw the Machiavellian parallels between the folktales and the Zimbabwean political systems. It will draw parallels between animal characters in Zimbabwean politics, governance systems juxtaposed with undemocratic political conduct in Zimbabwe. The tendency in both (folktales and Zimbabwean politics) is that good political governance is consciously eliminated and deliberately superseded by bad political tendencies.