The Herald and Daily News’ Cartooning of ZANU PF factional fighting from August 2014 to April 2015.

Abstract

The research was an exploration of how The Herald and dailynews cartooned the ZANU PF factional fighting from August 2014 to April 2015. The objective of the research was to reveal the various political discourses hidden in political cartoons by The Herald and dailynews in the reportage of ZANU PF’s factional fighting.A qualitative research paradigm was used for the study where archival research was used to obtain the cartoons which were purposively sampled. In- depth interviews were also used to obtain data for the study. The data collected was analysed using critical discourse analysis and semiotic analysis. The study established that both The Herald and dailynews acknowledged the existence of factions within the ZANU PF party. However, on one hand, The Herald blamed former Vice President Joice Mujuru and her “cabal” for perpetuating factionalism and demonised her. The dailynews on the other hand depicted President Mugabe as a Machiavellian politician who was responsible for the divisions in his party. It is important to note that the ownership and control of both The Herald and dailynews highly influenced the cartoons published in the newspapers on the ZANU PF debacle.