Tinomudaishe Chinyoka

In its “General history of Africa, VII: Africa under colonial domination, 1880-1935” which was edited by Albert Adu Bohen, the International Scientific Committee for the drafting of a General History of Africa describes the Rudd Concession as the “conspiratorial deception” of Lobengula masterminded by the British South Africa Company, the Anglican Missionary Society and British imperial interests.

Irony. I remember well the first time that I learnt this word, it was in Mr Mtande’s class, Form 3, Chegato High School 19 Gochanhembe, as we started delving into my very first Shakespeare: Macbeth. That was of course the expulsion later in the year, for offences in respect of which I was completely innocent, naturally, but that really is a non-story for another day. Back to Irony.

It is not normally everyday that a simple question leads to a teaching moment, but when you have students it must. As was the case today. Mine was: Is 10 years jail for robbery where only $30 was taken fair? Having seen news reports and some limited social media comments on the recent robbery case in Plumtree, I was not surprised when one of my students asked me a version of this question.