DRAMA-ZIMBABWE: Constitutional Journey

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Morris Nyakudya

HARARE, Jun 9 1998 (IPS) - A captivating new drama, which moves beyond the realm of the theatre, highlights a slice of life of a young Zimbabwean woman and, along the way, exposes many of the flaws in the nation’s constitution.

‘Citizen Chi’, which closes Sunday (June 14) after a successful season in Harare Gardens , tells the story of the attempted rape of a young woman who, when reporting the incident is again almost raped – this time by a policeman. The officer accuses her of asking to be raped by the way she is dressed and threatens to lock her up for soliciting, unless she sleeps with him.

Chi, played by Ellen Magoge, goes on a journey in her search for justice and the play reveals all of her trials along the way. Citizen Chi is brave, witty and is stirring political and social temperatures in this Southern African nation.

According to Andrew Whaley, author and co-director of the play with Daves Guzha, the main challenge for the production was “to question and interrogate the constitution through the eyes of a woman in an entertaining way”.

Whaley adds that he chose to use a woman as the central character, because women go through this psychic harassment on a daily basis. “I wanted to say that she has the right to choose,” he says adding that, under the present “warped” constitution, “if they speak out, they are victimised again. We cannot continue with a situation where we have an abusive constitution.”

Waley says Citizen Chi is a play about “how pervasive men’s attitudes are in the constitution, in the way our society is organised.” He is quick to point out that while the play “focuses on women’s rights, it (also) introduces other rights issues.”

Magoge agrees: “Women are always considered second class citizens and this play is about them. But it is also about the rights of people in the rural areas, gay rights and other groups,” she says.

Whaley says the idea was to pose the questions: “How effective are the institutions that are supposed to implement the law? For whose benefit are they operating? And whose interests are they serving?”

Already, there is talk of using the play to teach Zimbabweans about the Constitution and their rights. “It is high time that Zimbabweans stop and start looking around to see what is happening, to be conscious of what is happening,” says Magoge, who adds that many people are ignorant of their rights. “If people know their rights, then they know what to do.”

“We are not against the government or the president, people just want change,” says Eyahra Mathazia, who plays the role of the policeman and a giggly talk-show host assistant in the production.

Constitutional reform is topical in this Southern African nation. In February, the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) was launched. The NCA is spearheaded by religious, labour and human rights groups and aims to come up with proposals to improve the constitution.

The NCA is the first of its kind since Zimbabwe became independent in 1980. The assembly is organising the constitutional debate to allow for broad-based participation. Citizen Chi could have a key role to play in this process.

Catherine Mukinya says she saw the play, because she wanted to know “what Citizen Chi has to say in light of the constitutional reform debate” and, according to another theatre-goer, “it is the kind of play that should have be shown before the (constitutional) debate”.

Beryl Mutonono, who has seen the play several times, says that the play voices many of the issues that people whisper among themselves. “It has said what most people say behind closed doors,” says Mutonono.

“The play is an eye opener for common people – it has given me an opportunity to stop and question the constitution on women’s, gay and rural people’s rights. So far, the constitutional reform debate has been a debate for the intellectual,” she adds.

“The unfortunate thing is that it is the first to address the constitution using a woman, and because of this, the play has created high expectations, which it has not met,” says Mutonono, explaining that it was billed as a play that looks solely at women’s rights.

But ‘Citizen Chi’ has its critics too.

Susan Hains who works with the National Theatre Organisation (NTO) says while Citizen Chi contains some instances of inspired writing, “the play brings too many issues, it lacks focus, and as a result, becomes unclear”.

She concedes, however, that Citizen Chi has a role to play in Zimbabwean society. “This sort of theatre is necessary. It makes people aware.”

The play is produced by Rooftop Promotions. In August the cast is off to Scotland for the Edinburgh Arts Festival and will also tour Sweden.