Abstract
This chapter interrogates the intersection of the concepts of humour, identity and ethnicity in the Zimbabwean political landscape in the digital age. Zimbabwe is one of the countries hovering on the brink of being labelled authoritarian as far as freedom of expression is concerned and quite a number of people have been arrested for spreading falsehoods through social media platforms such as WhatsApp. Despite this, many ordinary Zimbabweans who do not have access to mainstream media have taken to humour both as a way of mocking the elite and expressing their identity claims taking advantage of social media platforms that have amplified their agency. This chapter therefore discusses the use of humour and laughter by a Ndebele street theatre comedy group called Omkhula based in South Africa. The group’s shows, which are a sprinkling of humour, ridicule and laughter, circulate widely on social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. Considering this as part of popular culture, the chapter shows that while humour can reproduce the status quo, it can also challenge and trouble it. The chapter concludes that through humour, ridicule and laughter, language can be used towards self-liberation and self-rehabilitation.
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Ncube, B.J. (2021). Humour, Identity and Ethnicity in the Zimbabwean Political Landscape. In: Mpofu, S. (eds) The Politics of Laughter in the Social Media Age. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81969-9_15
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