‘As Thick as Thieves’: Social Media Celebration of the Bulawayo Ecobank Robbers as Vicarious Dissent

Abstract

This paper examines how dominant discourses celebrating the Bulawayo Ecobank robbery on the ‘4 Million Heist updates’ WhatsApp group are an expression of vicarious dissent. It draws on Eric Hobsbawm’s Social Banditry framework and the concept of vicarious dissent to reveal how the endorsement and support for the robbers underscores citizens’ anger and frustration over the state’s complicity in the prevailing social, political and economic hardships. These are punctuated by low salaries, the cash crisis, weak institutions and state-enabled corruption. This form of digital protest signals a broader demand for justice and the government’s accountability in addressing hardships facing Zimbabwe.