Grabbing The Bull by The Horns! Glimpses into The Struggle Against Autocracy In Zimbabwe

This study is an examination of the strategies of resistance employed against the competitive-autocratic regime of Zimbabwe by local opposition leader, Jacob Ngarivhume, between the year 2023 and 2025. Post the 2017 coup, Zimbabwe has slowly spiraled back into quasi-dictatorship mode, with the state imposing a choke hold on freedoms of speech, association and expression. Regardless, many voices of resistance and dissent have emanated and refused to be silenced over the years. This study is an exploration of how Jacob Ngarivhume has stood up to the dictatorial tendencies and practices of the Zimbabwean state, despite facing extreme challenges and backlash from the establishment. Conducted through the combined lens of The Three Pillars of Power framework and Antonio Gramsci’s Cultural Hegemony Theory, the study documents the strategies that Jacob Ngarivhume uses to confront and resist the regime and the ways through which the state clamps down on him to stifle his efforts. The theoretical frameworks provide illumination into what and how Ngarivhume’s efforts are tailored to achieve within the context of a regime that has captured all state institutions essential for democracy. Through the critical discourse analysis of purposively sampled digital content on Ngarivhume’s X account and document analysis of digital local newspaper stories on Ngarivhume’s activism, the research finds that Ngarivhume deploys a systematic attack on the legitimacy and competence of the regime, organizes and executes publicized calls for non-violent demonstrations and actively pursues the unity of like-minded resistance pockets across the country against state tyranny. The study also reveals that the state systematically targets him through lawfare strategies, intimidation and outright violence in a quest to silence him. The study contributes to the sparse scholarship available on individual resistance against quasi-dictatorships that maintain a veneer of democracy in Africa.