The Tonga People of Northern Zimbabwe: An Encounter with Digital Media

Abstract

The advent of digital media, which incorporates social media, has increased the visibility of the othered indigenous people. The Tonga people of Zimbabwe belong to the othered/marginalised. Very few studies have examined the adoption of digital media by the marginalised members from a Zimbabwean perspective. This study examines the extent to which digital media have increased the participation and visibility of the marginalised Tonga people of Zimbabwe and how they have redefined, supplemented or replaced traditional journalism in Zimbabwe. Despite their rich heritage, the Tonga people in northern Zimbabwe lack a suitable local public platform to express themselves, with the only online publication being mulonga.net, launched on 25 March 2001 in Vienna, Austria. Using online content analysis of mulonga.net, this study examines how the new forms of citizenship, participatory cultures and empowerment are expressed among the Tonga people. From the public sphere theory perspective, the study argues that the adoption of this “novel” phenomenon guarantees interactivity at both local and global levels.