Hate Speech as a Politico-Religious Tool in Contemporary Zimbabwe

Abstract

The dawn of the new second Republic of Zimbabwe raised the hopes of the people of Zimbabwe for a moment. Zimbabwe has experienced diverse challenges, including socioeconomic meltdowns, a decline in the rule of law, and human rights abuse. To address these challenges politicians and religious leaders use ‘hate speech’ to express their ideologies and criticise their opponents’ struggle to win people. The availability of social media has made it easy for these attacking statements to reach a wider audience. Through documentary analysis, this article explores how politicians and religious leaders use hate speech as electioneering and a response to the problems bedeviling Zimbabwe. This study concludes that hate speech from politicians and religious leaders is socialising some Zimbabweans into violent, angry individuals, murderers, and vandals. The problem of hate speech is that it creates violence, causes psychological effects, dehumanises people, and conditions a negative national trait.