Language questions in the press: from colonial to post-independence Zimbabwe

The underdevelopment and structure of the print media in Zimbabwe today is linked to the inception, structure and role of the press in then Rhodesia, where the colonial settlers’ interests antagonised the black population (see Mukasa 2003; Moyo 2003). At its beginnings, mainstream print media in colonial times were controlled by white colonial settlers. Consequently, the settlers ensured that newspaper content conveyed colonial interests and ideology to consolidate their control on the economy and politics of Rhodesia.

According to Mukasa (2003), the first newspapers established, all by 1894, were The Mashonaland Herald, Zombesian Times, The Rhodesian Herald, and The Bulawayo Chronicle. Afterwards, The Sunday Mail and The Sunday News were founded in 1934 and 1935, respectively. All of these newspapers were owned and controlled by the white settlers and were defensive of colonial interests (Mpofu and Salawu 2018b). This is a clear indication that the establishment of newspapers was not aimed at the native black population, but was primarily meant for the white colonists.

However, it is also worth noting that the 1950s witnessed the establishment of newspapers that were also meant for the marginalised black population. The newspapers were edited by blacks, thanks to the rise of black activist politics and journalism. According to Saunders (1999), such newspapers included the Bantu Mirror (previously Native Mirror) and The African Daily News-, these papers were printed by Africans for Africans. Despite the fact that these newspapers were edited by blacks and targeted the black community, it is worth noting that they were owned by whites. These publications reported on issues that were centred on African nationalism and against the colonial regime. However, as the titles of the newspapers suggest, the publishing language was predominantly English (see Mpofu and Mutasa 2014; Mpofu and Salawu 2018b). Although the newspapers were intended to serve the alternative black population, they largely served the educated black elites who stayed in Harare and Bulawayo. Under these circumstances, where target readers were, in the first instance, white settlers, and secondly the educated black elites, publishing in African languages was not a priority in the mainstream press. While there were nationalist and church newspapers that included African languages in varied dimensions, they never developed to become part of the mainstream media in colonial Zimbabwe due to incessant persecution by the colonial regime (see Mukasa 2003; Dombo 2014). Church publications included the Moto, published by the Catholic Church, and Umbowo, printed by the United Methodist Church. The Moto printed content in Shona and Ndebele, over and above English.

According to Mpofu and Salawu (2018b), while the attainment of independence in 1980 sparked a strong zeal to deracialise and decolonise the media, the language of newspapers remained predominantly English; moreover, the content of post-independence press generally reflected the interests of the new black elite (Moyo 2003; Mukasa 2003). Currently, the print media industry is dominated by state-controlled newspapers that are printed and run by Zimbabwe Newspapers (Zimpapers). These newspapers include the main dailies {The Herald and The Chronicle), popular weeklies {The Sunday Mail and The Sunday News), the provincial newspaper {The Manica Post), and the two African language weeklies {Kwayedza and uMthunywa). The state-owned English language newspapers contest for the market with the independent and community press, which are all published in English.

Against this background, this study questions why the print media landscape, both state and privately owned papers, predominantly print in English long after the departure of the colonial regime that controlled the press. I also examine why there are only two African language newspapers, representing two African languages, in a country with many African languages. Ultimately, the findings illustrate the interwoven relationship between colonial and post-independence language policy, ideologies and practices, and language usages in Zimbabwe’s press after independence.

Paying particular attention to the underdevelopment of Zimbabwe’s African language press, existing literature shows that no fully fledged African language newspaper was developed during the colonial era (see Mpofu and Mutasa 2014; Mpofu and Salawu 2018b), though languages such as Shona and Ndebele had reasonable standard orthographies from the 1930s and beyond. The first and only existing African language newspapers are the weeklies, Kwayedza - which literally denotes ‘dawn’ in the Shona language - and uMthunywa — which means ‘messenger’ in Ndebele. The titles evidently signify a new era in print media. Mabweazara (2006) reveals that, whereas the founding of Kwayedza in 1986 was followed by its sustained existence, uMthunywa had a false start. uMthunywa was originally established in 1985 to cater to the Ndebele-speaking audience. However, the newspaper faced sustainability problems due to low circulation. In 1987, uMthunywa was reduced from a twelve-page tabloid to four pages, and in 1988, it was combined with Kwayedza, resulting in the name of the newspaper changing to Kwayedza-uMthunywa. The year 1993 marked the demise of uMthunywa as the Ndebele section in Kwayedza-uMthunywa was removed. According to Saunders (1999), the death of uMthunywa was caused by the newspaper’s failure to establish itself as an alternative source of information since it was a mere Ndebele translation of English language newspapers.

This history indicates that African languages have not received much attention in mainstream print media, from colonial to present-day Zimbabwe. The colonial period is dominated by English language newspapers, with few African languages being included in nationalist and church publications that did not last long. Postindependence Zimbabwe is also marked by the dominance of English language newspapers (both public and private). In fact, there are only two existing African language newspapers {Kwayedza and uMthunywa), which were introduced well after independence. This reflects the paucity of newspapers in other African languages that are spoken in Zimbabwe. If the formation of African language newspapers

African language press in Zimbabwe 39 was inspired by the need to ensure ‘that urban news and events, including official news are read alongside news and events on rural development and the hopes and aspirations of the rural people’ (Government of Zimbabwe 1987, 4), I argue that it is imperative for all African languages spoken in Zimbabwe to be included in the press.

The exposition in this section has also uncovered the instability and unsustainability of Zimbabwe’s African language newspapers as typified by their struggle to survive and contend with the rivalry of English language newspapers. Mpofu and Salawu (2018b) show that Kwayedza's and uMthunywa's survival has been threatened by the imperious competition from established English language newspapers. Therefore, this study shows that English dominance, and the two African languages - Shona and Ndebele - have negatively shaped the structure, management and sustainability of African language press in Zimbabwe.