Western hysteria over killing of Cecil the lion! Othering from the Zimbabwean gaze

Abstract

The Western media exploded in August 2015 because of a lion killed in Africa. Politicians, conservationists, civil society, musicians, sports stars, talk show hosts and ordinary people were outraged by the killing of a lion called Cecil in Zimbabwe. Interestingly there was not much focus on the reaction of Zimbabweans who were most injured by Cecil’s death. If anything, Zimbabweans were surprised by the blanket coverage of Cecil. In this essay, Zimbabweans’ reaction to the Western media coverage was analysed within the broader context of Edward Said’s concept of ‘Othering’. Viewing the concept of Othering through the Zimbabwean lenses deepened and widened the traditional definition of Othering to include self-Othering and what I termed reverse-Othering. The Zimbabwean gaze must be understood and contextualised. Without this understanding, the ultimate outrage over Cecil, which is about sustainable wildlife management, might not be won for local people must be partners in the sustainability endeavour.