76 BOOK REVIEWSBenjamin Burombo: African Politics in Zimbabwe, 1947-1958 By N. Bhebe.Harare, College Press, 1989, 160 pp., ISBN 0-86925-831-1, Z$14,95.One of the problems of writing historical biographies of modern nationalistleaders of Zimbabwe is that of 'heroism'. If a person is acclaimed as aheroine or hero this almost automatically involves stressing the morepositive aspects of a person's character and career. However, professionalhistorical research also almost automatically uncovers the less creditableangles as well. It is a test of the honesty of the historian to present anaccurate picture of the subject, and of the maturity of the society in itsresponse to that picture. Moreover, there is an inevitable delay betweenthe hero's life and the clearance by the archives of the essential documentsthat must be read to correct or confirm impressions left by contemporaries.Burombo died in 1958 at 50 years of age so his biography would have beeneasier to research than that of one of the nationalist leaders of thegeneration born in the 1920s, a generation which is still very much with us.However, this consideration should not be allowed to detract from thevalue of Bhebe's work.The book starts with two chapters setting the scene of Burombo's tenyears of political life; one chapter dealing with the towns and the otherwith the countryside. These chapters are not intended to provide adefinitive study of colonial rule in the 1940s, but they give the non-specialistreader a clear idea of the conditions that led to the urban strikes and ruralprotests in the 1940s and early 1950s.The next chapter provides a brief survey of Burombo's life up to 1947,when he suddenly emerged on the trade-union scene, a scene that wasinevitable political by the standards of the time, given the practicalexclusion of Africans from the formal politics of the colony. The sourcesfor the life of such a man cannot be easy to discover. The broad outline isobvious, but it is not always clear just when Burombo moved from oneplace to another in Matabeleland and the Transvaal seeking education andemployment. Nevertheless, this account presents a most interesting imageof the man. Burombo came from a family which was relatively well-off butwhich does not seem to have been very stable. When Burombo's fatherdied (before Burombo was born) his mother was inherited by her husband'sbrother but was neglected by him. Both Burombo's father and motherwere moyo Rozvi (that is, both belonged to the Rozvi clan and both hadthe same moyo (heart) totem), and it would be interesting to know whetherthe marriage was thought to be close to incest and whether this affectedmatters. As Bhebe shows, Burombo himself did not have a happy marriage.Unable to obtain more than primary education, Burombo tried hishand at many activities. In this he was not unusual, given the limitedopportunities for Africans in Huggins's Rhodesia, but his career as cook,cafe owner, storekeeper, farmer, cattle-trader, security guard and insurancesalesman was exceptionally varied. As Bhebe explains, Burombo wasrarely successful for long in most of his undertakings and could not alwaysafford to be scrupulous; for example, he bought cattle from peasants whowere being forced to de-stock and he paid his labour force in kind insteadof in cash. Although he seems to have learned labour politics and amateurBOOK REVIEWS 77law in South Africa, his sudden emergence into the field of labour unionsin 1947 seems at first to be a break in the pattern, but trade-union workwas also a career option.In the two chapters on the 1948 strike Bhebe shows how Burombotried to make his African Workers Voice Association a movement for the(even) poorer African workers. Historians dealing with this period are stilluncovering fresh information on the strike and such questions as towhether the leaders were behind or apart from the surge of anger thatlead to the strike. I cannot comment on this specialized topic, but two
points emerge from Bhebe's work which arouse my curiosity: Firstly,although some evidence from 1948 shows Burombo's direct involvement
in the strike (such as in the posting of placards) other evidence comesfrom the eulogy at his burial, when he was beyond the reach of the state.Although Bhebe refers to Burombo's trial and appeal he does not tell usexactly what happened and how he escaped punishment. Secondly, Whitessuch as Bailey and Davies were evidently involved to a greater or lesserextent but Bhebe does not explain their role or their motivation.Two chapters deal with Burombo's activities in the countryside in thelate 1940s and early 1950s when he was combating the great post-wareviction programme and a wide range of repressive legislation. Bhebesuggests convincingly that these activities were not a failure, for in a wayBurombo was preparing the ground for the nationalism of the mid- andlate 1950s, even though he was not able to stop the evictions and the
legislation. Finally, after an unexplained gap from 1953 to 1956, the book
deals with Burombo's sudden re-emergence on to the political stage andchronicles his tour of the Federation, his illness, his death as a result of a
bungled operation, and his triumphant funeral. At the time his enemieshinted that business troubles lay behind his sudden activity, which is
possible but not proven.After all this, with evidence from Bhebe's own judgement and fromthe account itself, it seems clear that Burombo's reputation as a nationalisthero and worker for the common people is justified, even if his career hada strong element of self-interest at times. Bhebe has given us a clear and
realistic account, but I would very much like to see a second edition witha little more detail in places. Burombo deserves it.University of Zimbabwe D. N. BEACH