Postcolonial Disillusionment A Study of Selected Playscripts from Malawi Zambia and Zimbabwe
Liberation movements, which had begun after the partition of Africa and before the world wars, gained momentum in pursuing independence (Rotberg, 1965:124). The British government proposed federations as stable political entities to manage these pressures. This, among others, led to the UK Parliament’s enactment of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Act in 1953. This established a Governor General as the Queen’s representative (Phiri, 2010:134) stationed in Salisbury (now Harare, Zimbabwe). However, intense nationalist opposition led to its dissolution in 1963. These movements eventually forced Britain to shift its colonial policies, paving the way for southern African independence (Phiri, 2010:126; McCracken, 2013:388). The connection among Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe dates back to the pre-colonial era, with ethnic intermarriage, cultural exchange, and trade routes. Under British rule, Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) was self-governing, while Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and Nyasaland (Malawi) were British protectorates (Baxter, 2018; Phiri, 2010).
