Borderless boundary? Historical and geopolitical significance of the Mozambique/Zimbabwe border to the Ndau People (c. 1940-2010)

Abstract

This study explored cross-border migration on the Zimbabwe/Mozambique borderland. The Ndau speaking people, who inhabit the borderland, were separated by the colonial border in 1891. Vast expanses of land were parcelled out, especially to Europeans who migrated to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from South Africa. Owing to a bitter and protracted geopolitical rivalry between the British and Portuguese over the Manica region where the Ndau area is located, the British and Portuguese encouraged European settlements and plantations in the region that was populated by the Ndau prior to the advent of European colonialism. Furthermore, plantation owners and missionaries gained access to large tracts of land. Some viewed these developments as a gimmick by the British and Portuguese colonialists to strengthen their colonial positions in the Ndau region. However, the European settlements had far-reaching ramifications on the Ndau society which, in addition to being segmented by the colonial border, lost possession of its long-time land in the region. In particular, the Ndau on the Zimbabwean side of the border were left with limited land to subsist on. Consequently, they had to resort to cross-border search for land in the borderland as a survival pursuit. Equally, the post colonial government in Zimbabwe has contributed to the misery of the Ndau as regards land ownership and usage. In addition to their failure of availing land to the landless Ndau people, it carried out the Land Reform Programme in 2000 which had far reaching effects on the Ndau. Most importantly, the Ndau lost their employment as Zimbabwe’s commercial farming system and the economy collapsed. Taking advantage of their proximity to Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique) and their cross-border ethnic relations with the Ndau in Mozambique, the Ndau from Zimbabwe sought farming land in Mozambique. While survival initiatives such as relocation to Mozambique, cross-border farming and trading ameliorated the plight of the landless Ndau people in Zimbabwe, “cross-border farming” in general had negative impact on the border itself. Uncontrolled human traffic across the border rendered the colonial border obsolete, making the boundary region “borderless”. In addition to compromising regional and international security, informal cross-border farming is causing land-related conflict in Mozambique. This thesis focuses on the borderland discourse that mainly historically outplayed between1940 and 2010.Other emphases in this study are the Ndau people’s position and challenges within the Bantu migration history, the shaping of Ndau identity, the British/Portuguese geopolitical rivalry, colonial land alienation policies, estate farming and cross-border farming. Thus, this study on the Ndau fills a historiographical lacuna in existing literature on cross-border migration by providing a fresh perspective on the causatives of cross-border migration in the borderland. Land shortage, as a cause of cross-border migration in the borderland, is the central focus of this thesis. The contribution of other causes of cross-border migration such as cultural explanations is not overlooked.