The Portrait
Business owners in Zimbabwe were long required to hang an official portrait of the former President in their shops and offices. Originally these were supplied by the Ministry of Information, but in 2011 Newsday reported that businesses in downtown Harare were being forced by ZANU-PF youth militia to buy portraits for $US60, or face eviction.
A symbol of Robert Mugabe’s rule, many of the portraits were taken down in the wake of the political events that led to his resignation in November 2017. However, some storeowners were still too nervous to remove them and preferred to wait until they were told to do so. In other places, the portrait was not removed because it had been there so long it had been forgotten.
All images © Davina Jogi
In a small act of defiance, the official portrait of President Robert Mugabe hangs behind a flag where it cannot be seen, at a business in Marlborough, Harare.
In the office of a factory in Willowvale, Harare
The official portrait is seen above the reception desk at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare on the day it was taken down
The official portrait of is seen behind the reception desk at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare on the day it was taken down
At a pharmacy in Greencroft, Harare. The shop assistant was too nervous to have the portrait photographed where it had been stashed behind a filing cabinet so he put it back on the wall.
The portrait is placed among car parts at an auto spares kiosk on Kaguvi Street in downtown Harare.
In the storeroom at the back of a stationery store in downtown Harare.
At a beauty shop, Eastgate Mall, Harare.