WRITER & SCRIPTER ◆ RADIO & SCREEN PRODUCTION ◆ SADC REGION DEVELOPMENT ◆ SOCIAL PLAY SKITS ◆ POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT ◆
WRITER & SCRIPTER ◆ RADIO & SCREEN PRODUCTION ◆ SADC REGION DEVELOPMENT ◆ SOCIAL PLAY SKITS ◆ POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT ◆
THE HIJACK
ERESINA HWEDE
The Hijack focuses on major symptoms of economic decline: high levels of unemployment among the youth, drug and alcohol abuse, rural to urban migration in search of greener pastures, and deteriorating services in cities. It is against this background that the theatre skit The Hijack was developed.
In it, two youths try to fix potholes on their local road with the hope that motorists would be kind enough to drop a dollar or two in appreciation. When this doesn’t happen a fight breaks out which ultimately engulfs the whole community. Several groups are roped into this fight, including the police, the city council, and law makers.
The debate centres around whether fixing public roads is now the responsibility of ordinary citizens rather than the state and if so, whether they should be able to demand payment in return. Is this sovereign act of self-proclaimed local authority legal, necessary, or simply a violation of the existing social contract? The Hijack exposes the cracks within contemporary Zimbabwean society and how certain departments are dodging their responsibilities towards the citizens they supposedly represent.
MEDIUM
THEATRE SKIT & TEXT
YEAR
2026
COLLECTIVE
ZIMBABWE DEVELOPMENT DRAMA
PLACE
HARARE, ZIMBABWE
THEMES
UNEMPLOYMENT / POTHOLE POLITICS / SOCIAL CONTRACT
VIDEO STILLS
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Eresina Hwede
Eresina Hwede — HARARE, ZIMBABWE
Eresina Hwede is a writer who first started writing for print but then moved into writing as a tool for supporting development projects through radio, stage and screen productions. Eresina has worked with a number of non-governmental organisations in Zimbabwe but has also been active in the wider SADC region and beyond.
She has written stage plays, short stories and film scripts all of which blend reality with creative imaginations. Eresina feels most comfortable writing about concrete things that she can observe, touch, study, witness and the microcosms she is ultimately familiar with. Therefore her work is mainly focused on Zimbabwe, its people and children.
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