American International Journal of Contemporary Research Vol. 2 No. 6; June 2012 Political Intolerance, Diversity and Democracy: Youth Violence in Bindura Urban, Zimbabwe Obediah Dodo Lecturer Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) P. Bag 1020 Bindura, Zimbabwe & Collen Musorowegomo Peace and Governance Masters‟ Student at BUSE Abstract Following political violence that was witnessed in Bindura constituency urban area during election periods between 1999 and 2011, a research was conducted to assess and evaluate the level of youth participation in the violence. The research, guided by the Culture of Violence theory by Wolfgang and Ferracuti and the Youth Bulge theory by Gunnar Heinsohn, sampled 243 respondents from various stakeholders. The research was conducted between August 2011 and January 2012. After a critical analysis and evaluation of all the information, the research did establish that indeed, the youth played some role in all the violence over the period. The research also noted that to some extent, youth participation was due to idleness, poverty and adult influence. (117) Key words: Youth, Democracy, Violence, Tolerance, Diversity. Introduction Zimbabwe attained its independence through a protracted liberation struggle that claimed thousands of lives. Ever since the independence in 1980, the country has had timely elections that have however been characterised by violence and bloodshed. In all these cases of violence and bloodshed, on the front line were the youth who have been described as vanguards of their political parties. It is therefore the intention of this paper to critically evaluate the role that these youth have played in Zimbabwe‟s violence with particular focus on the Bindura urban constituency between 1999 and 2011. Background Bindura urban is the town of Bindura district, the provincial capital for Mashonaland Central province. It attained a town status in 1999 and has four residential suburbs; Chipadze, Chipindura, Chiwaridzo, Chiwaridzo Phase 2 and the low density called Claverhill. It is mainly a mining town with two of the biggest mines in the country; Ashanti Goldfields and Trojan Nickel mine. The town has 7 primary schools and 3 High schools. The town has an estimated population of 150 000 and the Council is run by 12 councilors all from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) and three special interest councilors from ZANU PF and the legislative post is presently vacant following the death of former parliamentarian in 2010. In 1999 when MDC was introduced on the political scene, there was serious animosity between Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) and MDC as the two parties fought for membership. Apparently, ZANU PF had dominated the arena for too long that it could not imagine seeing an opposition party claiming any part of the niche. Meanwhile, MDC also wanted to register its presence and enlarge its membership base ahead of ZANU PF. The other area of clash was witnessed in the areas of ideology. While ZANU PF was a nationalist revolutionary party that had waged the liberation struggle, MDC was a labour and contemporary movement that wanted to change systems of governance and leadership. As a result, the two parties physically clashed. In Bindura, the clashes have been serious and fatal such that lives have been lost. Traditionally, Bindura has been considered the back-borne and one of the strong-holds of ZANU PF and as such, its leadership has not allowed any other party to make any in-roads. 134 © Centre for Promoting Ideas, USA www.aijcrnet.com This belief, on the part of ZANU PF has therefore motivated its youth to engage in violence against other contestants each time there are elections; 2000 Parliamentary, 2001 Bindura Parliamentary by-election, 2002 Presidential, 2003 Local Government, 2005 Senatorial, 2006 General and the 2008 Harmonised elections. Delimitation The research was conducted in Bindura Urban area; Trojan Mine to the south, to the east, there is Chiwaridzo, Chiwaridzo phase 2, Aerodrome, Chipadze, Ran Mine and Chipindura. To the west is Batanai, Zororo Park and Coach-House Inn while to the north is the low-density, Mt Darwin Road flats, Bindura University new site and Shashi and the Bindura Central Business District. Research Problem In the post-independence political history of Zimbabwe, Bindura district has been the hub of political violence. It has been considered the strongest base of ZANU PF considering its traditional strength, support and the numbers of leadership in the top echelons of ZANU PF. It is one district where political opponents are murdered, independent press banned, opposition political parties banned and high polarization levels. Perpetrators of violence are selectively arrested depending on one‟s political party. Objectives To critically understand youth involvement in political violence in Bindura urban. To establish causes of exceptionally high cases of political violence in Bindura. To craft possible solutions to the problems. Methodology The study employed qualitative research design tools (questionnaires, interviews, observation and archival material) to gather and analyse data. Information was sought from 215 questionnaires and 28 interviews from respondents‟ based in Bindura and Harare. All questionnaires had open-ended questions which focused on the following; their understanding of democracy and violence, political parties‟ ideology, motivation for violence and possible solutions. Respondents were sampled from the political parties‟ leadership, the youth, Police, Ministry of Education, Bindura Municipality and ordinary members of the society. The study was conducted between August 2011 and January 2012. Secondary data was obtained from published research, articles, and official documents such as the constitution and Police records. This is a rich source of both qualitative and quantitative data that provided background information on the constituency and history of political parties and party systems. Party documents such as constitutions, manifestos, and annual reports supplemented data obtained from the structured questionnaires. Sampling In selecting respondents, the researchers used purposeful and snowball sampling methods. The purposeful helped in deliberately identifying respondents ideal for specific questions and issues while the snowball helped in that participants in violence and or its management identified some of their colleagues. Respondents sampled from ZANU PF and MDC-T were as follows; ZANU PF – 50 for questionnaires MDC- 50 for questionnaires The questionnaires were administered as follows; Of the 50 questionnaires, 10 went to the provincial leadership, 10 to the district leadership and 30 to the youth. Male youth got 20 questionnaires mainly because they were the major participants in the violence and female youth got 10 questionnaires because it was assumed they were not really into violence. ZANU PF- 10 for interviews MDC-T – 10 for interviews Interviewees were selected as follows; 2 provincial leaders, 2 district leaders and 6 youth members distributed as follows; 3 from each of the male and female categories. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) – 5 questionnaires. Ministry of Education – 5 questionnaires 135 American International Journal of Contemporary Research Vol. 2 No. 6; June 2012 Bindura Municipality – 5 questionnaires Ordinary citizens – 100 questionnaires. ZRP – 2 respondents for interviews Local Government – 2 for interviews Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) – 2 for interviews. Ordinary citizens – 2 for interviews. It was difficult extracting information from CIO respondents especially on issues they considered „sensitive‟. However, the researchers had to employ elicitation method as a last resort to extraction of vital information. ZANU PF- 2 meetings were covered. MDC-T – 2 meetings were covered. In covering the meetings, the study sought to familiarize with the respective parties‟ policies, manifestoes and hear how the speakers addressed the issues to do with violence and democracy. In total, 215 questionnaires were administered while 28 interviews were conducted giving a total of 243 respondents. Theoretical Framework This study was guided by the Youth Bulge theory by Gunnar Heinsohn, which states that an increase in youth who are unemployed and have no guaranteed income creates opportunities for youth violence, (Beehner 2007). The Culture of Violence Theory by Wolfgang and Ferracuti (1967) also compliment the above theory. The theory holds that the open use of violence is a reflection of basic values that stand apart from the dominant and parent culture. Wolfgang argues that large, complex, and pluralistic societies, develop specialized norms and values through differential associations and organizations that emphasize and justify the use of physical force above and beyond that which is regarded as “normative” of the culture as a whole (DeKeseredy and Perry, 2006). This paper‟s hypothesis is therefore based on the assumption that youth violence is fueled by political parties‟ internal cultures of violence and the obvious divergent ideologies. Political parties A political party is defined as an association of people with similar interests and common purposes. Political parties serve to groom and avail potential leadership in any country. Rose (1978) defines a political party as an organization concerned with the expression of popular preference and contesting control of the policy making offices of government. In Zimbabwe, political parties have become popular