Kids and adults can write jokes that have negative consequences or cause social and political change. Emmerson Mnangagwa, "the crocodile" who took over when a military coup deposed Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe's President last November, may have comedians, Carl Joshua Ncube and the group called Magamba Network, to thank for his election on July 30, 2018.
Before voters go to the polls, the May 26 - June 1, 2018 issue of The Economist tells how the Magamba Network and Ncube and his white Zambabwean sidekick, Samm Monro, known as "Comrade Fatso," will ridicule the country's previous administration in "fun." Their jibes also are designed to prevent backsliding by those who continue to exercise power in the party that ruled with Mugabe. In addition, the laws that made mocking the president and restricting news reporting illegal are still on the books. Current opposition leaders claim they are now prevented from campaigning in some areas of the country and that their overseas Zambian supporters won't be allowed to vote in the July election.
While Mnangagwa tours outside Zimbabwe spreading the word that his country is now "Open for Business," even for white-owned farms and companies, back home, comics count on widespread mobile phone usage to keep gags, parodies, and satire working for change.
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