Mark Anderson Writes

Tohwechipi Zharare aka Chibhamubhamu "The Gun" In the collective memory of many Zimbabweans, the fall of the mighty Rozvi Empire is often reduced to one tragic moment: the gruesome death of Mambo Chirisamhuru (also known as Chirisamhuru II or Chilisamhuru). In around 1835–1836, Queen Nyamazana and her Swazi-Nguni forces stormed the sacred Rozvi stronghold of Ntabazikamambo. As the invaders overran the royal capital, the fighting turned savage. According to oral traditions preserved among Rozvi descendants, Chirisamhuru realised that capture was inevitable. Fearing ritual torture, mutilation, or a slow execution at the hands of the conquerors, the ageing Mambo chose threw himself from the moutain to his death rather than be taken alive. In other accounts, he was seized during the chaos, brought to Nyamazana and slowly skinned aliv. Then his body was left amid the smouldering ruins as Nyamazana’s warriors burned the royal enclosures and looted everything of value. The once-impr...

   Two groundbreaking prison dramas, two very different approaches. Orange Is the New Black (Netflix, 2013–2019) brought women’s incarceration into the mainstream with humor, heart, and a diverse ensemble. OZ (HBO, 1997–2003) was a raw, nihilistic plunge into the hell of a maximum-security men’s prison. Both shows tackled the prison-industrial complex — the profit-driven, racially skewed system that warehouses people rather than rehabilitating them. But which one captured the truth more honestly? The Setup: Very Different Worlds Orange Is the New Black follows Piper Chapman, a middle-class white woman serving time in a low-security federal women’s prison (Litchfield). It uses flashbacks to explore how poverty, addiction, racism, and bad choices lead women into the system. As seasons progress, it dives into privatization, corporate greed, guard abuse, and the ripple effects on families. OZ is set in the fictional Oswald State Penitentiary’s experimental “Emerald City” unit...