Nkosi, standing up for good governance in Zimbabwe

Interview by Noah Wánebo
Photo: Anette Brolenius

“Now that Mugabe is gone and we see that the system still exists, the euphoria is slowly dying”.

When asked what drove him to activism, Nkosilathi Emmanuel Moyo’s answer is “passion”. “I’m a person who cannot just come across a human rights violation or oppression and fold my hands”. This is why Nkosi started protesting against human rights violations in his native Zimbabwe, through his writings and songs.

Nkosi realised he should leave Zimbabwe and hide for a while when he began receiving death threats through anonymous phone calls, and state agents started coming by and asking for his whereabouts. It was 2014, and he had just written an open letter criticising the human rights abuses and corruption under the long-running rule of President Mugabe.

“Things were very nasty, very difficult for me in that particular year”.

Nkosi progressively gained attention in his country for his opposition to the regime in the form of open letters, books, and music, and state agents were taking notice. Under growing pressure, he went into temporary exile in South Africa, Belgium, and eventually the Netherlands, where he stayed with the programme Shelter City in Utrecht. There he met other activists in the world of human rights, learned new strategies, though more fundamentally, he found room to relax for a moment.

“It was very, very important, because those three months gave me enough time to breathe in fresh air.”

These moments to relax are few and far between for Nkosi, who is no stranger to government pressure. He was formally charged with defaming the state, for which he spent six months in prison. Instead of discouraging him, however, it strengthened his resolve to further his activism—his writing, songwriting, and his organization Zimbabwe Organization for Youth in Politics which aims to train a new generation of political activists in his country. He has also begun a Human Rights Defenders Academy in Zimbabwe inspired by the resilience training course for human rights defenders he took in The Hague with Justice and Peace.

“This is the first time we have a president who is not Mugabe,” he says. “I was very happy, crying tears of joy and everything, but now that he’s gone, we can see that the system is still there, and the euphoria is slowly dying out.”

Mugabe’s overthrow at the end of 2016 made international headlines, heralding a new era for the South African country. Nkosi sees the changes with cautious optimism, noting that this is an opportunity for meaningful political change, though many challenges remain.

Zimbabwe Organization for Youth in Politics

Nkosi continues his fight for good governance, respect for the rule of law, and human rights. His multiple means of activism are reaching an increasingly wide audience through social media and other platforms, though he notes that the future of the country, under new leadership and with deep polarisation, is still unclear.

“We have to see what is going to happen”

Nkosi participated in the Shelter City programme of Justice and Peace, which gives human rights defenders the opportunity to relax, to gain new energy and to build long-term resilience through temporary relocation in the Netherlands.

Read the full interview of Nkosi

Nkosi, standing up for good governance in Zimbabwe

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