A firing squad shooting the woman who led the 1896- 7 uprising

This is refering to the Second Matabele War, also known as the Matabeleland Rebellion or part of the First Chimurenga was lead by the Matabele spiritual leader, the Mlimo. Other commanders were Sikhombo Mguni and Inyanda (probably her). It was well timed as most british troops were elsewhere, but several young Matabeles started it prematurely. Most of the young native police also joined. Two of the leaders (wemen), Nehanda Nyakasikana and Kaguvi Gumboreshumba were captured and executed in 1898. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimurenga

'What is your totem?' 'Nguruwe.' 'Very appropriate,'

The Shona people, from Zimbabwe, have used mutupo, wrongly called totems since the development of their culture. There are over 25 mitupo and they are used to avoid incest, build solidarity, and identification. As a result of colonialization, urbanization and migration lead to relationships of convenience and to abandoned babies. This has created numerous challenges for the communities, though it is possible for a child to be adopted and receive “mutupo”. (Nguruwe is a type of pig.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shona_people

She is bombarded daily by a TV network that assumes that black women are not only ugly but also they do not exist unless they take in laundry, scrub lavatories,

From the 1800s through the mid-1900s, black women were often portrayed in popular culture as "Sassy Mammies". They ruled with an iron fist, berated their family and had sass. They have venomous tongues, one hand on their hip, the other jabbing, and her head moving back an forth. They have irrational states of anger and are shrill naggers in some caricatures. This harsh portrayal is also a social control mechanism, employed to punish those going against the social norms and encouraging them to be passive and servile. https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/antiblack/sapphire.htm

'How can a black person be beaten black and blue?' she demanded. She had latched on to the one subject with which she could browbeat me

The barrator is conscious of the fact that he’s not only been affected by the colonists’ culture, but taken to it as well. He dislikes them, and because of that is ashamed that he’s learning from them. This is the cause of an inner conflict, and is a sore spot for him.

At Mbembezi the Maxims also spoke; within half an hour a thousand Ndebele had fallen. Lobengula fled Bulawayo.

In the late 1830s, the Matabele settled in what is now called Matabeleland in western Zimbabwe and created the Ndebele nation. Members of the tribe were more privileged than outsiders, but were still subject to strict discipline. Any infringements on social responsibility were usually met with death, but this allowed them to dominate their neighbours. After some dispute, Lobengula crushed the rebels and was crowned in 1868. He was tolerant of white settlers, gave a british company the right to search for gold in his territory in 1870 (Tati Concession), but only gave them permission to mine in 1888, when his friend, a british doctor who treated him, persuaded him. A tribe used the settlers’ laws as an excuse to not send a tribute, so the Ndeble had to send a raid. The british protected the locals (of the tribe) and led an assault, starting the First Matabele War in 1893. Lobengula died in 1894 and the territory was colonized by 1897, later known as Rhodesia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobengula

She spoke with an intensity that seemed to refract my character the way a prism analyses clearly the light striking its surfaces. That I have no recollection of what it was she spoke about reveals much of the dirtier side of my nature.

I’m not sure, but this could indicate that the narrator is lost in his thoughts, is inside his own world and only observes fragments of what is actually happening, only the ideas he thinks he sees and understands.

'Get out of my sight!' he shouted, like Jesus saying 'get thee behind me, Satan'.

The colonists’ education has affected the Rhodesian people to such an extent, that even the narrator, who despises the English, naturally turns to the Bible more than once in real situations.

Is the pain of the mind greater than that of the body?

I don’t know the answer to this question, but as the narrator is burning his finger while deliberating over this, I think that for him, the pain caused by the inner conflict between Shona and English or by seeing his friends suffer, is much greater than the physical pain he is already used to.

'I sent you to University,' she said. 'There must be big jobs waiting for you out there.' 'Tell that to Ian Smith,' Peter butted in maliciously. 'All you did was starve yourself to send this shit to school while Smith made sure that the kind of education he got was exactly what has made him like this.'

Ian Smith was born in Rhodesia and became an avid supporter of whte rule. He studied in local universities and participated in WWII as a fighter pilot. When he returned he rose up in politics and became the prime minister (1964) by promising independence from Britain and a white supremacy government. He repressed black activists and declared Rhodesia independent (1965), but faced economic suppression by Britain. This, along with black Rhodesian guerilla activity (1970) causing further strain by diverting funds to the military and causing white emmigration finally compelled Smith to negotiate and transfer power to a black-majority government (1977). https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ian-Smith

And though he finally beat her until she was just a red stain I could still glimpse the pulses of her raw courage in her wide animal-like eyes. They were eyes that stung you to tears. But Peter with his great hand swinging yet again to smash - those eyes stung him to greater fury. It was all a show for me; I knew that, and that made it worse for her because she had told me she would never give that up.

Immaculate might be Peter’s woman, but she loves the narrator. I think Peter hates her, because he realizes this and knows she keeps coming back not to him, but to win over his brother. It seems the narrator started his relationship with Immaculate, but rejects her due to having issues with trusting.

'I was trying not to cry. I jumped up and rushed back into the room and, dragging my box from under the bed, took out my English exercise-books and began to tear them up with a great childish violence. Mother watched me in silence. When I had finished she took out my food and set it before me. I pushed it away. 'I'm not hungry any more.' 'Are you sure?' she asked.

The narrator realizes how he is being influenced by English culture, the one colonizing his homeland, without realizing it. He is filled with distrust and hate toward the white men, but is becoming like them. This inner conflict causes him to lash out and tear his textbooks, even though they are his only way out of the slums.

'What she gets,' he said and laughed like a crow that has fed well. I felt cut to the quick by his gluttonous merriment. And I almost asked him cruelly who he thought was really the father of his baby.

I think that this passage shows that the narrator does in fact have feelings for Immaculate, though he may not realize it. It also implies that he has had an illicit relationship with her. Peter is depicted as at least fairly intelligent (says that the prime minister has ensured that the education influences people in a certain way). This along with his hate for her leads me to believe that he knows what has transpired. Peter not having severely hurt the narrator convinces me that though he is depicted as violent, he loves his brother and is trying to bring him to the right (or what he thinks is the right) path and help him covertly (maybe if he tried to be overt, the narrator would think he is trying to trick him).

There were arrests en masse at the university and when workers came out on strike there were more arrests. Arrests became so much a part of one's food that no one even turned a hair when two guerrillas were executed one morning and their bodies later displayed to a group of schoolchildren.

When Rhodesian people began to actively oppose the colonists, with a wake of countryside guerilla warfare, imprisonment became a tool for repressing and controlling them. In the early 70s, Rhodesian authorities passed several legislation laws to enable them to make thousands of political prisoners. This allowed them to repress and control rebelling organisations like the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) and the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) by imprisoning their leaders. The prisons were fraught with violence and torture. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137482730_3

a distrust necessary for a writer, especially one writing in a foreign language.

The English language is the only apparent escape from the ghetto for the narrator. It is associated with the much more luxurious white side of town, but it also hides their ideology. By learning it, the narrator is assisting in his mental colonization. To retain part of his original ideology and to not be assimilated by this foreign culture, he has to actively fight the language.

The idea that a writer should always be positive, that's always being crammed down one's throat. A writer is part of society; a writer notices what is going on around him, sees the poverty every day. How can you whitewash poverty?

The narrator believes it is a writer’s duty to notice what is going on in a country and to expose it, whether good or bad. This makes them the voice of the people in a way. This, however, puts them in direct conflict with the government when it is not fulfilling its duty towards the citizens. The narrator says that writing can easily become cheap propaganda when the writer conforms to the government (when there isn’t a healthy tension between them).

Rusape was derived from rusapwe which means "may it never dry" in reference to the Rusape River near the town. In the 80s, the town had a population of about 8000. The dominant religion was and is Christianity, though African religions persist. There are currently a number of primary and secondary schools, as well as five colleges. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusape

open shed or shelter

a bite or mouthful, a small amount