- Jacob Chikuhwa
Infobox Writer
imagesize = 150px
name = Dr. Jacob W. Chikuhwa
caption = Jacob W. Chikuwha, Zimbabwe Historian
birthdate = birth year and age|1940
occupation =Author
website = http://www.chikuhwa.net/jacob/Dr. Jacob Wilson Chikuhwa is an author and leading political and cultural historian of
Zimbabwe . Now retired and living in Sweden he is the author of six books on Zimbabwe, is a lecturer and painter.Early years
In 1959,
Edgar Whitehead 's government ofSouthern Rhodesia banned the ANC (African National Congress ) and arrested nearly 500 leaders including one of young Jacob Chikuhwa's teachers. Shortly thereafter, the National Democratic Party against minority rule was formed and lasted less than two years. When the NDP was banned, the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU ) was formed and Jacob Chikuhwa was a member of the youth league involved in political activities against colonial Rule.In exile
Chikuhwa was arrested in 1964 for his involvement in the resistance, following his release from detention, he escaped into
Zambia and later got a scholarship to study in the former Soviet Union where he received degrees in Economics and International Relations from the Kiev Institute of National Economy in Ukraine. Dr. Chikuhwa sought political asylum in Sweden where he attended the University of Stockholm. In the mid 1970's he became the publicity secretary forZANU in Northern Europe, establishing a monthly Journal Zimbabwe Chimurenga/Impi yeNkululeko (Zimbabwe Revolution). He returned to the Zimbabwe in 1981, following it's decolonization.Zimbabwe historian
Because of his close contact with Zimbabwean government officials dating back to his detention and time in exile, Dr. Chikuhwa published his first book on Zimbabwe in 1998. Dr. Chikuhwa was in Zimbabwe when the opposition party, the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) participated in the June 2000 parliamentary election, and March 2002 presidential election, and suffered the effects of the violence during that period. He has since returned to Sweden and now writes full time and lectures on Zimbabwe, in the US and Sweden.Bibliography
* Zimbabwe: The Rise to Nationhood
* Zimbabwe at the Crossroads
* A Crisis of Governance: Zimbabwe
* A Cheer for Sanity
* A Thought for the Day
* Shona Proverbs and Parables
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