As long as there are people, movements, organisations, and communities ready and willing to fight the good fight, there is hope.
Dzimbabwe Chimbga came from humble beginnings, growing up in Gweru, a small town in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe. After completing his primary and secondary education in Gweru, he moved to the capital city, Harare, where he pursued a degree in law at the university of Zimbabwe.
He rose through the legal ranks to become one of the top human rights attorneys in Zimbabwe. He solidified his expertise in the field of human rights by subsequently completing a specialized degree in international law on human rights at the University of Notre Dame in the United States of America.
He said that coming from a poor background, it was always a struggle for his parents to afford his education, from primary school to tertiary level.
“However, I managed to finish school after a few missed lessons due to non-payment of fees, and sometimes without the tools needed at school, such as a full uniform, textbooks, pens, and other necessary tools needed to complete my education,” said Chimbga.
He states that when he looks back after graduating and beginning his professional career, he is always struck by how hard his parents worked to give him a chance in life by educating him in university.
“It just reminds us how important it is for every child to be given that opportunity to pursue their dream and achieve their goals. In the context of poverty and lack of support from the state, the inevitable always happens, ” said Chimbga.
Chimbga’s areas of specialization are human rights, justice, and the rule of law, and he used to work for a human rights organisation in Zimbabwe, where he led the human rights litigation and advocacy work at the domestic and international level.
At OSISA, he is responsible for advancing work that supports Human Rights Defenders (HRDs), access to justice, and the rule of law, and he manages a portfolio that advances HRDs’ work, the rule of law, and access to justice.
“There are so many projects that we have supported that have given me a fulfillment and satisfaction from the investments we made. Some highlights include the project we worked on in Malawi, where we supported an organisation called the Women Lawyers Association (WLA) that used strategic litigation and advocacy to hold state actors accountable for grave atrocities and sexual violence against women in Nsundwe,” said Chimbga.
Growing up at a time when there was a collapse of political plurality, economic turmoil, and increased civil action, Chimbga became quite conscious at a very early age that he had to have a role in shaping the trajectory of ordinary people in the fight for rights and decent living in Zimbabwe.
“I did not necessarily have that ‘aha moment’ that inspired me to do this work, but it was more a question of gradual conscientization of the human struggle through exposure to the people’s struggles in the ‘ghettos’, as we called them, and the inevitable initiation we got at law school where we taught that the law is supposed to serve the greater good and promote the well-being of people,” said Chimbga.
He said the recurring challenge of fighting for human rights and justice is that the perpetrators always have the resources, power, and capacity to sustain violations of human rights. The perpetrators fall into several categories, including state actors, politically connected actors, and private actors such as powerful corporations and armed groups.
Referring to OSISA, he said the organisation’s philosophy has always been to focus on promoting a more open society by enabling everyone’s voices and strengthening the agency of communities to demand rights and accountability.
These ideals align well with my personal beliefs that people must be empowered to stand up for their rights and be able to hold those in power (the duty bearers) accountable. It is quite fulfilling when you see OSISA’s investments bearing fruit through our work with partners who share our values of creating open societies and promoting human rights.
Dzimbabwe believes that Southern Africa has a multitude of challenges that vary from state to state and that this story cannot be told in a single narrative.
“We have seen some positive democratic shifts in countries like Zambia and Malawi where OSISA invested heavily in partners, civics, and citizens to drive political change and political plurality. We now see more civic voices in these countries, with people participating and taking agency in issues that affect them from a governance perspective,” said Dzimbabwe.
He said the challenge that remains with these two countries, like many other sub-Saharan countries, relates to weak economic fundamentals, with the result that democratic gains have not yet translated into strong economic gains for the populace.
Despite the challenges, the region has seen stronger mass movements in civic space across the region, which is quite promising for the advancement of rights in the bigger scheme of things.
He says that one of OSISA’s flagship projects has been its two-fold investment in strengthening protection mechanisms for in-country HRDs and regional safety networks for HRDs. This has seen the establishment of strong HRD organisations in countries like Angola and Mozambique.
“As long as there are people, movements, organisations, and communities ready and willing to fight the good fight, there is hope. Of late, we see a lot of ‘woke’ young people taking on struggles on a range of issues of concern today, from climate issues, democracy, social justice, and equality,” said Chimbga.
