Photographing the Liberation Struggle in Zimbabwe: Politics, Power, and the Images of Zenzo Nkobi

After assuming power in 1980, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) has sought to control the narrative of the struggle for liberation from colonialism, to the exclusion of other players such as the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU). This book investigates the ways in which photographs are being used within Zimbabwe, especially on social media, to challenge the prevailing narrative and reclaim the memories of the subjugated.

The book analyses the photographs produced by Zenzo Nkobi during the struggle against colonialism. Drawing on the memories of veterans from ZAPU and its military wing the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZPRA), the book shows that photographs can both act as a conduit for existing narratives, and as a tool for shaping memory narratives, and evidencing ZPRA military prowess ahead of other movements.

At a time when Zimbabwe is reassessing the legacy of liberation, this book offers a powerful multidisciplinary assessment for researchers across the fields of history, memory, political science, African studies, and media studies.

Tshuma Lungile is a researcher in the Centre for Communication and Culture (CECC), Universidade Católica Portuguesa. He holds a Ph.D. in journalism studies from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), South Africa. Prior to joining Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lungile was a Senior Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the department of Media and Communication at UJ. Lungile’s research interest are in photography, memory, and journalism. His work has been published in local and international journals such as Journal of Genocide Research, African Journalism Studies, Critical Arts, Nations and Nationalism, Journal of Communication Inquiry, and Media, Culture and Society. He also co-edited Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism (Routledge 2024).