George Hamandishe Karekwaivanane. The Struggle over State Power in Zimbabwe

In his important book The Struggle over State Power in Zimbabwe: Law and Politics since 1950, George Hamandishe Karekwaivanane situates the law firmly in the history of Rhodesian settler rule, African nationalism, and state making in Zimbabwe. Karekwaivanane’s singular contribution is to meticulously chart the shifting tensions between using the law as a means of legitimization and as a tool of coercion over a half century of state building (7). A constant theme throughout the period reviewed in this book is people’s insistence on using the law to claim their rights. The history of “legal agency” provides a foundation for a brighter future grounded in rights. But, as Karekwaivanane makes clear, this history reflects how deeply the Rhodesian and Zimbabwean states have relied on the law to maintain authority. The first four chapters of the book examine the Rhodesian period. The Law Department and the Native Affairs Department struggled for supremacy over lawmaking, which created space for rule-bound challenges to the state. Indeed, African activists used the law to demand their citizenship rights. Rhodesian officials feared that such tactics threatened the authority of the state, which was founded in racial difference. In response, the legislature, with the blessing of other parts of the state, revised the standards for evidence and testimony. Such legal gymnastics continued well into the eve of independence.

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