ABSTRACT
In its bid to silence dissent, Zimbabwe’s post-independence nationalist regime has conveniently retained and perpetuated repressive colonial legislation that suppressed freedom of movement, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly and association. Zimbabwe’s censorship laws present classic elements of human rights violations and repressive violence inherited from colonialism. As early as the 1960s, Frantz Fanon cautioned the newly independent states about the continuation of colonial structures of power, economics, relationships and repression in the post-independence dispensation (Fanon 2004), as witnessed in Zimbabwe today. Like their colonial predecessors, the post-independence nationalist leaders have exhibited cynical disrespect for the lives and rights of those perceived to be opposed to their rule. In response to increasing opposition voices, the Zimbabwean state also ratcheted up repression of political theatre in the name of security and counter-terrorism or under the guise of maintaining law and order. This chapter argues that the revival of various colonial media and censorship laws has had a detrimental impact on popular theatre practices insofar as it has created stumbling blocks and impediments for artists.
