Minorities in Postcolonial Transitions: The Ndebele in Zimbabwe

This article argues that there is a legal and political basis for attending to concerns of ethnic minorities inpostcolonial transitions. If left unattended, this issue may prompt members of minority groups to resortto preservative measures, including violence to the detriment of the security which is a fundamentalobjective of the transition. This reaction is often generated by an axiomatic fear of assimilation. The caseof the Ndebele of Zimbabwe illustrates this. The article’s position is confirmed by post-colonial statepractice that implements minority rights and accords affected groups a right to self-determination orautonomy in tandem with liberal democratic reforms.