El Nino Induced Drought and its Negative Effects in Zimbabwe: Assessed through the Indigenous Knowledge System of Hunhu/Ubuntu

Abstract

This paper seeks to assess El Nino- induced drought from the perspective of the indigenous knowledge system of hunhu/ubuntu philosophy and ethic. The research uses two methods: the philosophical (content) analysis and applied ethical theories. Thus, through the philosophical analysis method, the researcher admits and acknowledges that the problems confronting the Southern African countries are many, ranging from drought, war, hunger, corruption and many others and these problems create confusion, suffering and frustration. In such situations, fundamental questions need to be pursued for deeper knowledge and solutions and this pursuit of fundamental questions constitutes the stock-in-trade of philosophy. Thus, fundamental questions are raised on the nature and character of El Nino- induced drought from the perspective of hunhu/ubuntu philosophy in order to discover deeper knowledge and ultimate solutions thereto. The argument is that the basic premises governing the African people’s world-view and existence have to be taken into account on the issue of El Nino- induced drought. The African world-view is deemed absolutely necessary in order to infuse the academic field with hunhu’s/ubuntu’s rational interpretation of El Nino- induced drought. The ethical theory of hunhu/ubuntu will help Zimbabweans to reason more clearly about principles of action and unravel the logical knots in their unpacking of the ethical problem of El Nino- induced drought. Hunhu/Ubuntu is the proper and correct tool picked to probe the issue since it is a home-grown philosophy that may guide Zimbabweans and enable them to deal with the problem of El Nino- induced drought in a humane manner by drawing on the humanistic values they have inherited throughout their history.The application of hunhu/ubuntu addresses the questions of epistemic justice and the need to expand the analytical framework beyond  Western orthodoxy that has often and always been the analytic framework within which to engage with problems in Africa and post-colonial societies in general.