This book is a pioneering study of Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, a Zimbabwean nationalist whose crucial role in the country’s anti-colonial struggle has largely gone unrecognized. These essays trace his early influence on Zimbabwean nationalism in the late 1950s and his leadership in the armed liberation movement and postcolonial national-building processes, as well as his denigration by the winners of the 1980 elections, Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front. The Nkomo that emerges is complex and contested, the embodiment of Zimbabwe’s tortured trajectory from colony to independent postcolonial state. This is an essential corrective to the standard history of twentieth-century Zimbabwe, and an invaluable resource for scholars of African nationalist liberation movements and nation-building.

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.