Gen Z. Gen Ziii. For us, comfortable in our age and power, they are ziii, we never want them to be juu. But for them, their life is ziii and has been ziii for a long time. My organisation, TAMASHA, did research ten years ago.
In 31 out of 32 villages in eight districts where we did the research, the young people said that they were totally disregarded and hardly allowed to speak in village meetings and other gatherings. All their creativity and ideas were silenced. In at least two villages, they were actually beaten for questioning an elder. Gerontocracy rules!
And what was the impact on young people then? Let me start with a story. When I was with UNICEF, I worked with artists to develop a soap opera about the lives and dreams of young people. It was called Uhai Bongo.
After extensive discussion with artists, activists and young people, we came up with the idea that the main character should be a young man who becomes a rapper in the hope that this would lead to him being able to move to the United States, thus expressing his dissatisfaction with the lack of opportunities for young people here in the country.
However, we wanted to pretest the storyline with young people, and I remember going to talk to a group of young people in a village just outside Bagamoyo.
When I finished reading out the storyline to them, there was a deathly silence. I was worried and asked why no one wanted to speak. Didn’t they like the storyline? They should not fear and say, honestly, what they thought. Finally, one young man spoke up: “To tell you the truth, Mabala, we all want the same as that young man.”
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They all wished they could find a way of escaping from their own country. And they weren’t the only ones. Most places we went, there was a similar reaction. This was 25 years ago, but the sense of frustration and alienation was palpable, and I remember pointing this out to leaders and trying to convince them of the necessity to address such anger and frustration.
Indeed, my proposed strategy for poverty reduction at that time consisted of four words: Mambo yote kwa vijana (invest all in young people). To me, it was so shocking that the deepest wish of so many young people in the country was to ‘get the hell out of here.’
Not very successful
Well, I have to admit I was not very successful. Indeed, it was rather like talking to a wall as the self-enrichment of the political and ruling class and the consequent neglect of young people continued apace, hence the desire to leave the country.
Of course, there were a few token efforts like mabilioni of one President (where did he get the mabilioni from?) but I have asked young people around the country if they benefited from these mabilioni, and only ever found one, who belonged anyway to the youth wing of the ruling party.
And don’t talk to me about the little percentage supposedly allocated to young people by district councils. In many cases, they have to jump through so many hoops to get those loans that they fall by the wayside and twist their ankles or break their legs.
And I wonder why people don’t question why so many loans fail or are never repaid. Research shows that such loans work if they are given to already functioning groups of hardworking young people as it enables them to rise to a higher level.
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Groups formed (often at the instigation of some leaders for their own personal benefit as well) specifically to get the loans are not organic, are dependent only on the loan, do not work well together and disappear along with the loan.
Oct. 29 events
So now comes October 29, and the song of Gen Ziii, ziii once more, because they have been treated to Ziii all their lives, just like their predecessors. After silencing them with bullets and disappearances, the ruling party class expresses shock that “our young people” could behave in such a fashion.
Of course, it cannot be them, it must be some outsiders inciting them (a cry I remember well from the apartheid era in South Africa, who could never believe that young South Africans could rise against their oppressive laws without outside interference).
So it seems a few discussions with young people have been held and the causes and outcomes of their demonstrations have already been swept under the rugs and overlaid with cries for peace … peace … peace. Once again, I remember a politician addressing young people in Manzese many years ago:
Our beloved party is the party of peace. We have brought peace
To which the young people shouted:
We are tired of peace. What has peace brought us?
They don’t need the words of Mwalimu Nyerere to remind them that peace is built on the foundations of justice. Someone whose rights to development are not fulfilled, whose schooling has brought no education, whose dreams, opinions and struggles are ignored or even rejected, is not at peace and will never be at peace.
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But now, instead of wishing to escape from their country like the previous generation, they are pushing for change in their own country. An interesting difference. From escape to demanding change. And change cannot come without freedom to participate fully.
Never be fooled
And people should not be fooled. The events of 29/10 and their murderous aftermath masked another important fact. Whatever the statistics say, a myriad of personal observations, including those by election supervisors, showed that a very large number of people did not vote.
They did not vote because they saw that the election was not an election at all but a procession. So, at least tacitly, many were happy that Gen Z were prepared to do more than vote with their feet. Their demonstrations made visible the widespread dissatisfaction expressed by their refusal to use their ‘right to vote.’
They were then shocked by the killings that followed. But if I were Gen Ziii, I would be bitter about the lack of tangible support after the killings, which is why they did not come out on the streets again despite calls from the safety of our homes and hideouts.
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They have been violently coerced into peace, but it surely is a wake-up call, the writing on the wall to be ignored and falsified at the ruler’s peril. Frantz Fanon’s point will always remain relevant:
The political party in many parts of Africa, which are today independent, is puffed up in a most dangerous way. In the presence of a member of the party, the people are silent, behave like a flock of sheep and publish panegyrics in praise of the government of the leader. But in the street when evening comes, away from the village, in the cafes or by the river, the bitter disappointment of the people, their despair, but also their unceasing anger makes itself heard.
And now, after all these years of silencing young people, it is expressed in a demand for change, for accountability, for justice instead of escapism. Violently coerced peace is not the solution, nor are attempts to deny or falsify what happened.
What is needed is a paradigm shift which puts the majority of the people, the youth, at the centre of development.
Richard Mabala is an educator, poet, and author. He is available at rmabala@yahoo.com or on X as @MabalaMakengeza. These are the writer’s own opinions, and they do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of The Chanzo. Do you want to publish in this space? Contact our editors at editor@thechanzo.com for further inquiries.
