Politics and the legacy of street renaming in postcolonial Zimbabwe

Abstract

ABSTRACT The announcement by the government of Zimbabwe on 21 November 2019 that a good number of streets were to be renamed motivated this study. We argue that the postcolonial urban landscape in Zimbabwe is increasingly becoming a space of contestation regarding renaming streets. Street renaming in Zimbabwe emphasizes the struggle against coloniality and a search for resilience and purpose among those in power. The leaders seek to use the renaming process to show their contribution to the national struggle and patriotism by honouring some fallen heroes and heroines. However, in a country characterised by hyperinflation, corruption, and fuel and cash shortages, such an emphasis has been deemed (by many ordinary citizens) a cover-up for failure to address glaring challenges. The narrative contributes to the literature on place names as ‘spaces of contestation,’ as street names are used to embody a particular narrative related to the postcolonial government’s history. The renaming provides another ‘soft layer’ of the urban landscape, which is about heritage and less of history.