AN ANALYSIS OF THE GUTSARUZHINJI POLITY IN ZIMBABWE BY KUDAKWASHE BHASIKITI SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR BERNARD MATOLINO Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy in the School of Philosophy and Ethics. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PIETERMARITZBURG CAMPUS 2017 DECLARATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The constant guidance by my supervisor Professor Bernard Matolino is heartly acknowledged. My typist Antony Chiweshe and two gentlemen who took their precious time to edit my work, Dr. Douglas McClymont and Dr. David Mungoshi are gratefully acknowledged. May I also thank the UKZN Administration for the material, financial and moral support they provided as I carried out this study. iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to all the suffering masses of Zimbabwe and Africa in general. May all the Bhasikiti and Murove Chieftainship Family be encouraged to serve their community and nation well. iv ABSTRACT The absence of a sound and robust African political ideology grounded in Africa‘s traditional and cultural philosophy of hunhu/ubuntu has led to Africa‘s continued subjugation and domination by both Western and Eastern bloc nations. Africa has been compelled to choose between capitalism or socialism which are both foreign ideologies. The author strongly contests the above view and provides an alternative ideology which is in all respects African and grounded in Africa‘s richest philosophy of hunhu/ubuntu. Gutsaruzhinji, both as a philosophy and political ideology is entrenched in traditional African cultural ideals rooted in the hunhu/ubuntu philosophy. It is the author‘s contention that gutsaruzhinji is an aunthentic African philosophy, tested in Zimbabwean politics, deserves to be assigned both regional and international status. The author believes, it is time for ubiquitous philosophy that can be employed to extricate Africa and its people from perpetual poverty and inequalities perpetrated by colonialism. Gutsaruzhinji focuses on effectively meeting the social and economic needs of all citizens who had been marginalised by colonial apartheid development trajectory. This will immediately see the abandonment of both capitalism and socialism as guiding ideologies in African social, economic and political development. Gutsaruzhinji was nurtured throughout the pre-colonial period and is evident in such traditional practices as nhimbe or majangano or letseka, where free labour and service was given to enable every member of the community to get food and be self-sufficient. The merit of this thesis is that it brings a new African political thought and consciousness needed to continue embracing hunhu/ubuntu values which are key to the survival of African Philosophy and good governance. The two important vehicles of African identity and survival, hunhu/ubuntu and gutsaruzhinji are set to continue defending the African intellectual territory and political landscape to eternity. This thesis is intended to also assist in extricating and blending African philosophies like Ujamaa, Consciencism, Negritude and Humanism from the label ―African Socialism‖ and bond them with hunhu/ubuntu philosophy, making them an integral part of gutsaruzhinji polity. Africa will for the first time adopt and use its own political ideology to better the livelihood of its citizens. v Table of Contents Contents DECLARATION .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ v Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................... vi General Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE: NATIONALIST IDEOLOGICAL PHILOSOPHIES AND THE GUTSARIZHINJI POLITY .................................................................................................................................................. 5 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 5 1.1 Hunhu/ubuntu Philosophy as the Root of Gutsaruzhinji ........................................................... 5 1.2 Hunhu/ubuntu Ethics and Politics as a guide to Gutsaruzhinji .................................................. 8 1.3 Hunhu/ubuntu Epistemology couched in Gutsaruzhinji .......................................................... 11 1.4 A Critique of Hunhu /Ubuntu .................................................................................................. 12 1.4.1 Wim Van Binsbergen‘s Critique of Ubuntu ............................................................................ 12 1.4.2 Response to Wim Van Binsbergen ......................................................................................... 14 1.4.3 ―The End of Ubuntu‖ by Bernard Matolino and Wenceslus Kwindingwi ............................... 17 1.5 A Critique of Gutsaruzhinji and African Socialism ................................................................ 23 1.5.1 Julius Nyerere‘s Ujamaa.......................................................................................................... 24 1.5.2 A Critique of Nyerere‘s Ujamaa philosophy ........................................................................... 30 1.6 Consciencism by Kwame Nkrumah ......................................................................................... 34 1.6.1 A Critique of Nkrumaism/Consciencism ................................................................................. 38 1.7 Negritude by Leopold Senghor ................................................................................................ 40 1.7.1 A Critique of Senghor‘s Negritude .......................................................................................... 45 1.8 Kaunda‘s Humanism ................................................................................................................ 46 1.8.1 Principles of Zambian Humanism ........................................................................................... 47 vi 1.8.2 A Critique of Kaunda‘s Humanism ......................................................................................... 49 1.9 Kenyan African Socialism ....................................................................................................... 51 1.9.1 A Critique of Kenyatta‘s African Socialism ............................................................................ 55 1.10 Ethiopian Socialism ................................................................................................................. 57 1.11 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER TWO: GUTSARUZHINJI IN ZIMBABWE ...................................................................... 61 2.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 61 2.1 The Conceptual Framework of Gutsaruzhinji ......................................................................... 61 2.2 Definition of Gutsaruzhinji ...................................................................................................... 62 2.3 The Theoretical Framework of Gutsaruzhinji ......................................................................... 66 2.4 The Historical origins and reasons for Gutsaruzhinji in Zimbabwe Pre- Colonial period ...... 73 2.4.1(a) The Zunde raMambo as gutsaruzhinji basis ............................................................................ 73 2.4.1(b) Mapungubwe Dynasty and Gutsaruzhinji................................................................................ 76 2.4.1(c) The Great Zimbabwe era as the basis for gutsaruzhinji ........................................................... 77 2.4.2 The Colonial Period as a Catalyst for gutsaruzhinji ............................................................... 79 2.4.3 The War of Liberation as Gutsaruzhinji .................................................................................. 81 2.5 Comparative Analysis of Gutsaruzhinji and five African philosophies .................................. 83 2.6 Difference between Gutsaruzhinji and Ujamaa ....................................................................... 85 2.7 Differences between Gutsaruzhinji and Consciencism ........................................................... 86 2.8 Differences between Gutsaruzhinji and Negritude .................................................................. 87 2.9 Differences between Gutsaruzhinji and Zambian Humanism ................................................. 88 2.10 Differences between Kenyan African Socialism & Gutsaruzhinji .......................................... 89 2.11 Differences between Gutsaruzhinji and Ethiopian socialism .................................................. 90 2.12 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................