nass notes- history module1

8/11/2019 Nass Notes- History Module1

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A SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF ZIMBABWE

According to Verrier,

In coming to the heart, the history of Zimbabwe is that of the world class architectural

work, land seizure and settlement, alienation, anger and bravery. Before 1 !" no inZimbabwe called them #hona, which is a linguistic term and only came to be a$$lied tothose who s$oke the language during the twentieth century.

#imilarly the %debele were not a tribe. &here was a %debele state with sub'ect $eo$les$eaking many different languages. (eo$le)s identities in the $re*colonial $eriod derivedfrom their +embershi$ of chiefdoms and ingdoms. &he most these were the ingdomof +wene +uta$a, which the (ortuguese encountered in the Zambezi Valley and itsu$lands, and the ingdom of -ozvi +ambos in the #outh* est.

&here were many $owerful chiefdoms, such as /hief +utasa)s /hiefdom of +anyika in

the east. In the nineteenth century +zilikazi led his warriors into the est of Zimbabweand created the %debele ingdom, which was inherited by his son 0obengula. &hesestates and statelets have ins$ired many Zimbabwean writers looking back to a $ast of inde$endent African citizenshi$. &here were $owerful religious figures in $re*colonialZimbabwe. In the +ato$os mountains of the #outh* est there as there still are2 cave*shrines of the 3igh 4od, +wali where $ilgrims went to ask for rain, were given seeds

$lant, and the voice of 4od from the rocks.

In many other country there were as there still are2 s$irit mediums* both men andwomen who were $ossessed by rain 5making s$irits or by the s$irits of $ast ings and/hiefs. #uch figures a$$ear in many Zimbabwean novels. &wo in $articular have

achieved great fame in modern Zimbabwe and have given their names to streets and buildings. &hese are male mediums, aguvi and the female medium, %ehanda, who were both hanged by the British after the 1 !6 u$rising against the white settlers. &he %ehandas$irits was a rainmaker and a $rincess, of the +utata ingdom. 3er 1 !6 mediums isZimbabwe)s great heroine and reference to her a$$ear in many novels.

&he im$ortance for Zimbabweans of the +uta$a #tate and the %debele ingdom, of 4reat Zimbabwe and the %ehanda mediums, is all the move in tense because the whitecon7uerors and rulers of the county denied, traduced or mocked this $ast. hitegovernments denied that Africans had built 4reat Zimbabwe, called +zilikazi a des$otand %ehanda a witch. hite missionaries and traders had reached Zimbabwe in the midnineteenth century and were later based at Bulawayo. (ressure u$on the %debele ingincreased as re$orts s$read that +atebeleland was rich in gold. &he (ortuguese from+ozambi7ue, the Afrikaaners from the &ransvaal, the 4ermans, the British and /a$e/olony were all interested in controlling the gold*fields.

In the end the im$erialist*ca$italist /ecil -hodes, managed through bribery and trickeryto e8tort a 9concession: from 0obengula. ;n the basis of this concession he thenobtained a -oyal /harter for his British #outh Africa /om$any. &he 7uestion was how to


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make the /om$any effective inside Zimbabwe. -hodes contem$lated a commando raidwhich would seize Bulawayo and kill 0obengula. In the end he decided to outflank the

%debele #tate. In 1! " he sent in a (ioneer /olumn from the /a$e to wind its way east of the %debele and to settle in the %orth*,therefore, -hodes decided that +atabeleland must be invaded. A $rete8t was devised?British troo$s advanced north from Botswana and 0eander @ameson led the Victoria/olumn of $ioneers in an advance from east.

@ameson)s men, de$loying their devastating machine guns, moved down the %debeleim$is and seized Bulawayo. 0obengula fled north and disa$$eared into the bush. &hecom$any encouraged its $ioneers to fan out into the countryside to search for gold. Itraided %debele cattle and took them into the 90oot raal: in Bulawayo. isregarding

%debele indignation, @ameson took most of the /om$any (olice with him on the ill*fated

@ameson -aid into the &ransvaal in 1 ! . #eizing their o$$ortunity, many of the %debelerose u$ against the whites in +arch 1 !6, killing almost all of the settlers in the outlyingareas. In @une 1 !6 many #hona /hiefdoms also rose in revolt.

&he 1 !6 risings are known as the 9=irst /himurenga: &he #econd /himurenga being theguerilla ar of the 1!6"s 5 C"s. &he risings were su$$ressed with great brutality. &he

%debele kingshi$ was abolished? other /hiefs became salaried functionariesD s$iritmediums and +wali $riests were arrested and s$ied u$on.

#vikiros like %ehanda and aguvi were a$$rehended and handed to 3er +a'esty)s /ourtin +arch 1 ! alongside Zindoga, 3wata and 4utsa for the alleged murder of one 3enry3awkins (ollard a white commissioner who resided near +azoe and terrorized blacks inthat district. &he case was entered as 9&he British2 Eueen against %ehanda. &hee8ecution $rocess was authorized by the British 3igh /ommissioner for #outh Africa,one a. +ilner and endorsed by the British Im$erial #ecretary on F +arch 1 ! . =urther e8ecutions were again to take $lace in the subse7uent months of 1 ! with F1condemned %debele fighters being e8ecuted in may 1 ! alone. &hese included amongothers, 4eneral +agwegwe, +kwati, +afuyana etc. In +ashonaland, the ame bloodyorgy continued, with leaders of resistance as +ashonganyika, +uzambi, maremba,

%dowa, Zvindembo, 4unduza, +venuri, +ashindu, +anyongori, /hiriseri and /hief 4utu getting e8ecuted in the same violent way.

In the case of /hief /hingaira, the civilized British savagely and bizarrely deca$itatedhim and carried his head to Britain as a tro$hy for their museum. &o this day that headhas not been recovered for a decent burial. &o those who sought cover in caves, they weredynamited and their cro$s were torched to break their resistance against violent im$erialencroachment. &he years that followed the =irst /himurenga, witnessed hunger andstarvation artificially caused by the invaders but even that did not break the s$irit of resistance and sooner or later Africans would regrou$ and fight again.


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The Consolidation of White Settler Rule and the Mar inali!ation of Bla"#s

After the blacks had been brutally su$$ressed in 1 ! , there was a great need toconstantly monitor their activities such that what had ha$$ened in the =irst /himurengacould not ever ha$$en again es$ecially if one takes into account the large numbers of

white casualities which were around F"" deaths and several in'ured. &o com$lement theefforts of the white state machinery, various Acts were $ut in $lace to deal with issues of governance. =irstly, the 1 ! %ative -eserve ;rder in /ouncil Act was enacted with thesole $ur$ose of removing all traditional /hiefs who were anti*colonial rule from their

$osts. &hey were to be re$laced by white colonial administrators. &he Act also createdwhat was later to be called the African -eserves. In 1!"> there came the 3ut &a8 Act to

beef u$ the 1, was enacted the +aize /ontrol Act which made it anoffence for a black farmer to $roduce more than F tonnes of whatever $roduce.

&he 1!>G Industrial /onciliation Act was enacted to bar blacks engaging in skill labour although it was later rela8ed to allow blacks to venture into teaching, nursing andagricultural e8tension services. &he same year also saw the enactment of the -acial

iscrimination Act which made it an offence for blacks and white to share socialamenities like toilets, hos$itals, schools, bars and hotels 'ust to mention a few. #uffice toadd here that blacks were not allowed to stay in lowdensity suburbs and were forbiddento vote. &hus, it was im$ossible to become a black +ayor, /ouncillor, +inster or (resident.


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given an e7ual area of land in the least fertile regions with the lowest rainfall. It alsorestricted movement into areas reserved for one race by members of another race e8ce$t

by s$ecial $ermit. &his unfair division of land was a ma'or theme in African %ationalism.

The Rise of $ationalis% and the &rose"ution of The Se"ond Chi%uren a

+eanwhile, after the colla$se of traditional resistance in 1 ! , and the seizure of $olitical $ower by the re$resentatives of the white settlers in 1!F>, /om$any rule had become ananachronism. In the 1!F> referendum the white settlers were offered a choice between

'oining the Hnion of #outh Africa and res$onsible self*government. &hey chose the latter and between then and 1!C!, -hodesia was governed by a #ettler /abinet res$onsible to a#ettler (arliament. African intellectuals felt betrayed by the $olicies of segregationenforced in the 1!>"s and beyond.

4radually African $rotest movements emerged. &he most significant movement in the $eriod between the two orld ars was the growth of $owerful trade unions, es$ecially

the African -ailways orkers Hnion and the -eformed /ommercial and Industrialorkers) Hnion, which mobilized the growing urban $roletariat on non*tribal and non*regional lines. Accelerated white settler immigration, and deteriorating #ocio*economicconditions in the $ost*war $eriod brought issues to a head. Bulawayo, then the ma'or industrial city, became the centre of African trade unionism and $olitics. In 1!G , theAfrican -ailway orkers) Hnion struck first by organizing a general strike which broughthis vital communication network to a stand still from +utare Hmtali2 in -hodesia to theZambian /o$$erbelt.

In 1!G broader demands were made in a country*wide general strike that brought all/ommercial and industrial activities in the ma'or cities to a stand still for a week. &hecam$aign for the establishment of the =ederation of -hodesia and %yasaland by thewhite settlers in 1! lulled the workers a little with a $romise of reforms, but they soonreorganized and launched the /ity %ational outh 0eague in 1! . As the name indicates,the 0eague re$resented the young $roletariats in the growing cities. In the late 1! "s, the;ld +oderate /ongress was re$laced by a much more radical successor. ;n #e$tember 1F, 1! C, the African national /ongress was reborn, and it 7uickly mobilized the rural

$easantry whose livelihood was made $recarious by the combined effects of the landA$$ortionment and native land 3usbandry Acts. &he late @oshua %komo was a leadingfigure in these trade unions and $olitical develo$ments. #ome white -hodesian demandedoutright re$ression. ;thers ho$ed for accommodation. 4arfield &odd as (rime +inister

between 1! > and 1! C o$ted for greatly accelerated African education and $romises of $artnershi$. hen &odd was overthrown by his /abinet colleagues for going too fast, allchanges of com$romise vanished.

&he #outhern -hodesia African national /ongress #-A%/ was banned in 1! ! byavid hitehead and hundreds of Africans thrown into 'ail. A host of re$ressive laws

were introduced against the nationalist movement to add to those already in e8istence.Among them were the native Affairs Act, Hnlawful ;rganizations Act, (reventive


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etention Act all in 1! !. &hese were soon followed by the under the leadershi$ of

%dabaningi #ithole. &his was also banned in 1!6G. &he whites failed to realize thatnationalism, after all, involves imagining a $ast and a future in order to change the $resent. Inevitably the nationalist literary imagination focused es$ecially on the glories of the African $ast and on the o$$ressions of colonialism. By 1!6G most of the nationalistleaders were either in $rison, detention or e8ile. 3owever, numerous incidents of sabotage followed in the early months of 1!6G. A grou$ of 1"" blacks under 4eneral/hedu calling themselves the Zimbabwe 0iberation Army organized sabotage in somerural areas of the country. &o gain credibility, ZA%H launched the first guerilla unit, the/rocodile 4rou$ in 1!6G as it attacked a $olice cam$ and killed a white farmer in+elsetter /himanimani2. +eanwhile, the emergence of a more militant Africannationalism created a backlash in the white community leading to the election in

ecember 1!6F of the -hodesia =ront -=2 (arty, of which Ian #mith became leader in1!6G after taking over form inston =ield.

&he reactionary -hodesia =ront issued a Hnilateral eclaration of Inde$endence 5 n1!6H I2, throwing off remaining restraints from Britain, intensifying segregation and

undoing what advances had been achieved by $artnershi$. &here was no course o$en toAfrican nationalists but to $re$are for guerilla war. It was a long drawn out $rocess. &henationalists resolved that they were to be their own liberators through direct confrontationas a state of emergency 1!6 2 was declared giving license to the -hodesian #ecurity=orces to kill any African they sus$ected to be o$$osed to them, take $risoners and seizethe little $ro$erty of the $easants, including goats and shee$ without any com$ensation or recourse to the law.

+eanwhile, the internal $olitical situation in -hodesia by 1!6>, had forced thenationalists to seek foreign bases for the military training of young black cadres as ZA%Hand ZA(H armed wings were to be known as the Zimbabwe African %ational 0iberationArmy ZA%0A2 and Zimbabwe (eo$le)s -evolutionary Army ZI(-A2 res$ectively.


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the armed struggle $ro$er. &he armed struggle began in 1!66 when the -hodesian#ecurity =orces clashed with a small grou$ of guerillas in #inoia now /hinhoyi2, withthe result that all C members of ZA%0A were killed.

In August 1!6C, ZI(-A formed an alliance with #outh African %ational /ongress

#AA%/2 armed wing Hmkhonto e #izwe, de$loyed for four grou$s of F" guerillasinto -hodesia. &he result was fiasco as a series of bitter running battles took $lace from1> August in the ankie istrict resulting in the loss of many guerillas. #ome of theguerillas managed to esca$e back into Zambia while others fled into Botswana.Immediately, there were air s$ace violations of Zambia by the -hodesian =orces -=2.0eaflets were dro$$ed in the Zambezi Valley calling on the guerillas to surrender or die.

es$ite this, ZI(-A and Hmkhonto e #izwe de$loyed another larger contingent of about 1 " guerillas but again were re$ulsed.

&hese events $rom$ted the #outh African 4overnment to send troo$s to -hodesia toassist the -hodesia =orces track down the insurgents. &here was introduced the 0aw and

;rder +aintenance Amendment Bill by the -hodesian 4overnment on C #e$tember 1!6Cwhich $assed without dissent on the 1! th of the same month. &his Anti*Insurgency Billmade the death #entence mandatory for $ersons found with arms of war unless he could

$rove beyond reasonable doubt that he had no intention of endangering the maintenanceof law and ;rder in -hodesia or a neighbouring country. In retros$ect, these incursionswere virtually suicidal hence remedial measures were to be found.

A vital role was $layed by the =ront for the 0iberation of +ocambi7ue who were fightingthe (ortuguese. In late 1!6! and early 1!C", the Zimbabwe nationalists met the =relimoleaders and agreed to coo$erate in carrying out military o$erations. =relimo which haddevelo$ed considerable e8$erience in guerilla warfare was able to train Zimbabwean4uerillas in the art of $olitical mass mobilzation. &his move forced the -hodesian =orcesto conduct combined military o$erations with their (ortuguese counter$arts in+ocambi7ue from 1!6 onwards. es$ite this, the mass mobilization was $racticed bythe insurgents with great success starting ecember 1!CF when guerilla attacked Alternafarm in /entenary. &he situation a$$eared brighter due to the colla$se of the (ortugueseAuthority in +ocambi7ue, Angola and 4uinea Bissau in A$ril 1!CG after the successful+ilitary /ou$ in (ortugal headed by 4eneral #i$onola against #alazar then (rime+inister of (ortugal.

3owever, this was not to be as @ohn Voster then #outh Africa)s (remier, came u$ with theJtente (olicy whose main them was to stifle the guerilla war effort in -hodesia. &his

was e8acerbated by /hite$o)s death on 1 +arch 1!C in Zambia in a landmine incident.It has to be remembered that when most %ationalists were arrested after the banning of their (arties, an e8ternal $olitical wing known as are -e /himurenga was established tos$earhead the $rosecution of the armed struggle. &he late 3erbert /hite$o was a$$ointed/hairman of this establishment in 1!6 . #oon after the 1!CFK> 4uerilla offensives, the-hodesian 4overnment in retaliation, forcibly drove the blacks into (rotectedVillagesK ee$s to deny them from feeding the guerillas albeit with little success.


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+eanwhile, both ZA(H and ZA%H had been rocked by internal s7uabbles in the earlyC"s and 1!CG res$ectively. Hnder the influence of the ;AH 0iberation /ommittee, thetwo $olitical $arties ZA(H and ZA%H2 were forced to unite. &he situation was rectifiedin ecember 1!C when the two $arties formed a combined armed wing to be called theZimbabwe (eo$les) Army ZI(A2 with the blessing of both %yerere and +achel. &hus

guerilla warfare gathered momentum in early 1!C6 as ZA%0A guerillas intensified itso$erations in &ete, +anica and 4aza (rovinces whilst ZI(-A intensified its o$erations inthe %orthern and #outhern =ronts. ZA%0A)s &ete, +anica and 4aza (rovinces weredivided into sectors whilst ZI(-A)s =ronts were divided into -egions. +eanwhile the-hodesians killed thousands of guerrillas and refugees in bombing raids on cam$s inside+ocambi7ue and Zambia e.g %yadzonia, /himoio, and &ete in +ocambi7ue, =reedom/am$, +ulungishi and /hifombo in Zambia. But gradually the guerillas began to e8ert

$ressure on the -hodesia #tate. &he turning $oint came when ZA%0A guerillas began too$erate from +ocambi7ue in themed 1!C"s. By 1!CC, -obert +ugabe had achievedcontrol of both ZA%H and ZA%0A. &housands of young guerillas were infiltrating thecountry from +ocambi7ue. +eanwhile in Zambia, @oshua %komo was unchallenged

leader of ZA(H and of its army ZI(-A. ith #oviet backing, a$art from guerillawarfare, he had manned a conventional air tank and artillery assault on -hodesian towns.

&he #mith regime was under $ressure from its ally, #outh Africa. Ian #mith tried toundercut the guerillas by coming to terms with moderate African leaders in an Internal#ettlement. In A$ril 1!C!, Bisho$ Abel +uzorewa was elected as the 0eader of Zimbabwe -hodesia. But his regime was recognized by noone. 3e and #mith were drawninto negotiations with %komo and +ugabe at 0ancaster 3ouse at the end of 1!C!.

%one of the $arties involved got what they wanted from 0ancaster 3ouse but all believedthat they could win the inde$endence electionsD +uzorewa thought so because of hislarge scale financial su$$ort and his electoral victory in 1!C!, %komo thought so becausewhen nationalist $arties were banned in 1!6G his ZA(H had en'oyed more countrywide

backingD +ugabe also thought so because he had so many young guerillas in $lace.+ugabe)s $rediction was the most accurate. In the 1! " elections, his $arty won twothirds of the votesD %komo won a third and +uzorewa was routed.

-ecalcitrant whites emigrated to #outh Africa, Australia, %ew Zealand or to Britain $roviding an audience for genre of war reminiscences and war novels which em$hasizedthe victories of the -hodesian fighting men and their betrayal by the $oliticians and theBritish. &his was countered within Zimbabwe by a literature of the war which was a firsttrium$halist but which gradually faced u$ to the horrors. It soon became clear thatinternal violence was not over and that there were to be horrors of inde$endence too. A

bare two years after inde$endence there was a civil war in the +idlands and+atebeleland $rovinces.


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cam$aign to redress the colonial imbalances that had been in e8istence since 1! ". A lotof social, $olitical and economic develo$ments took $lace es$ecially during the =irst tenyears of inde$endence. &he government de$loyed troo$s to assist =relimo against the#outh African s$onsored -


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Readin 'ist

1. riger %orman Zimbabwe)s 4uerilla ar, (easant VoicesAfrican #tudies #eries C" /ambridge,1!!F

F. +c0aughlin @anice ;n the =rontline /atholic +issions in Zimbabwe)s0iberation ar.3arare Baobab Books, 1!!6.

>. +orris +ichael &errorism/a$e &own, 3oward &immins, 1!C1.

G. Astrow Andre ZimbabweD A -evolution that 0ost its ayZed (ress, 0ondon, 1! >

. 0ane +artha &he Blood that made the body go

&he -ole of #ong.&oetr( and dra%a in Zi%)a)*e+s War of 'i)eration ,-../,-01Illinois 2&h3 Thesis4 3e"e%)er ,--56


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Zi%)a)*e Histor( and Herita e

&re/Colonial States / an O7er7ie*

Zimbabwe)s $re*colonial history is largely characterized by the rise and e8istence of four

ma'or states, three of them #hona and another one of %guni origin. &hese were 4reatZimbabwe, +uta$a, -ozvi and the %debele #tate. A brief survey of the history of thesestates reveals a lot of similarities in terms of their economics, religion, $olitical and evenmilitary systems.

4reat Zimbabwe was the earliest state to emerge during the Iron Age around 1F"" A .All the states had develo$ed centralized $olitical structures which were centred on theabsolute authority of the rulerKking. &his ruler was given the title +unhumuta$a in the+uta$a #tate, /hangamire in the -ozvi, mambo in the 4reat Zimbabwe and %kosi in the

%debele.

hatever the title, the rulers in all the $re*colonial Zimbabwe states seemed to havesimilar functions. &hey acted as the chief 'ustices, 3igh $riests and commander in chief of their armed forces. In all these states the king had the final decision on any matter butthis was not necessarily dictatorshi$. &hese rulers infact, oftenly consulted s$ecial bodiesof advisors called the dare in #hona states and the Hm$hakathi in the %debele states.&hese advisory councils were mainly constituted of sub*chiefs and senior members of thearistocracy.

&he %debele because of this %guni background has a slight different $olitical structurefrom that of the #hona #tates. &he %debele was a military state? +zilikazi controlled thenational as an army through military officers called induna $lural Izinduna2 who alsodoubled as $olitical leaders.

&he economics of the three #hona states were basically similar? agriculture was themainstay of the economy. &hey ke$t herds of cattle and grew traditional cro$s such asmillet and sorghum which were drought resistant. +aize was a #outh American cro$

brought to Africa later by (ortuguese shi$s. Although maize2 doubled the size of harvests, it also led to worse famine as it could not withstand long dry s$ells whichcharacterized Zimbabwe)s climatic conditions.

4old mining and dealing was central feature of the economies of all $re*colonialZimbabwean states. 4old was mined from various $laces through the country, some of which are still ma'or gold $roducing sites today. &he level of technology however onlyenabled them to access only shallow de$osits and those near to the surface. #uch kind of escavations was effectively what is now called gold $anning today. +ining in generalwas seasonally done mainly during the dry seasons $artly because the mine holes werefilled with water during the rain season and mainly because agriculture remained theeconomic backbone of the states. 4old mining enabled the early Zimbabweans to makecontacts with the outside world. Arabs and +uslims were the first outsiders to maketrading contacts with the early Zimbabwean communities when they o$erated from the


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Indian ocean coast and made some travels into the interior from around 1""A . &he(ortugeuse became the first


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Zimbabwe when the latter was in decline, took control of gold e8$orts along the ZambeziValley. /ivil wars, droughts and famines also devastated the states.

3owever, the fall of states such as the +uta$a and the %debele can largely be attributedto foreign $ressures. &he +uta$a state was destabilized by the (ortuguese who wanted to

take control of the states gold fields. &hey continuously fuelled instability by incitingcivil war and backing weaker candidates to the throne form who they would demandnumerous gold de$osits as com$ensation. &he (ortuguese would hel$ into $ower weaker candidates who would virtually become their $u$$ets. #ome (ortuguese later onundermined the authority of +unhumuta$a by grabbing large $ieces of land andcontrolling them. #uch areas were called prazos . In 1 C1 the (ortuguese sent an army of 1""" soldiers led by 4eneral =rancisco Barreto to attack the +uta$a #tate ostensibly toavenge the death missionary =ather 4onzalo da #ilveira who had earlier on been killed inthe +uta$a #tate. &he %debele #tate was crushed by the military mighty of the British#outh African /om$any in 1 !> at the onset of colonialism.

Salient Feature of the States

Hnity and nation building ca$acities were strong attributes for the $re*colonial states of Zimbabwe. &hese states, using uni7ue $olitical administrative systems unkown in


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THE SCRAMB'E A$3 &ARTITIO$ OF AFRICA

,61 Introdu"tion

&he term scramble sim$ly means a disorderly rush for something and to $artition

is to divide something. &he #cramble and $artition for Africa started with theoccu$ation of


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/a$e was colonized because its $ort was used to offload goods and to $rovide afuelling $oint for shi$s traveling to the east.

,69 &resti ious Reasons

/ountries like =rance and Italy took $art in the #cramble and (artition of Africa inorder to enhance their image in


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would guarantee their total hold over +atebeleland . &hey sent -ochifort+aguire, =rancis &hom$son and /harles -udd to negotiate a concession with0obengula. &his was known as the -udd /oncession of 1 . Hnder the terms of the treaty, 0obengula agreed to grant e8clusive mineral rights in his kingdom tothe British agent /ecil -hodes. 3e also agreed to grant the whites the $ower they

deemed necessary to $rocure the minerals. &his was misinter$reted to mean that0obengula was in agreement to the occu$ation of his kingdom. &he -udd/oncession $romised 0obengula N1"" $er month, 1" """ rifles and 1"" """rounds of ammunition and a 4unboat to be $laced on the Zambezi &his wasnever $laced2. &his gunboat had it been $laced as $romised would have benefitedthe British and not 0obengula because the British ho$ed to use it to ward off the(ortugues threat from the east +ozambi7ue2.

&he -udd /oncession was used by /ecil @ohn -hodes to ac7uire charter in 1 !which he used. Hsing the /harter -hodes was able to secure the services of a

band of mercenaries, soldiers and $olicemen known as the (ioneer /olumn who

$layed a leading role in the occu$ation of Zimbabwe. &he column was under theleadershi$ of /olonel (ennefeather and it traveled to Zimbabwe through =ort &uli,=ort Victoria, =ort /harter and finally =ort #alisbury. &he (ioneer /olumn hoistedthe Hnion @ack at =ort #alisbury on the 1F th of #e$tember 1 !" &his day becamea $ublic holiday for the white settlers and it was known as (ioneer ay2

It should be em$hasized 0obengula was tricked into signing the -udd/oncession. #ome of the verbal agreements made between 0obengula and -hodesemissaries were not included in the final written document. &he emissariesnegotiated in bad faith and misconstrued facts when they were dealing with0obengula. ;ne can argue that 0obengula did not sell the country but was sim$lymisled. 3is folly, $erha$s was to $lace too much trust in white missionaries like-everend 3elm who was in fact $art of the treachery and indeed an agent of /ecil@ohn -hodes. +oreover, it is highly unlikely that he could have $revented theoccu$ation of Zimbabwe. es$ite his attem$ts at re$udiating the -udd/oncession by sending emissaries to


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ZIMBABWE HISTORY A$3 HERITA;E

RESISTA$CE TO CO'O$IA' E$CROACHME$T

&ART , the An lo/$de)ele War of ,0-5/9 2The Mate)ele War of 3is


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The Vi"toria In"ident

In +ay 1 !>, some men under headman 4omara between the &uli and =ort Victoria cut

and carried away about """ yards of telegra$h wire 5 $ossibly to make snares. 4omorawas ordered to either hand over the cul$rits to settlers2 or $ay a fine in the form of cattle.3e $aid in cattle which he claimed to be his own but later $roved to belong to 0obengula

$ossibly through the Lukusisa) Lkuronzera) or loaning system which the settlers failed toa$$reciate2 0obengula demanded their immediate return @ameson com$iled but warnedthat there would be serious conse7uences if the telegra$h wire was interfered with again.

As this was going on re$orts reached Bulawayo that another #hona 3eadman Bere some1 miles est of +asvingo had taken cattle belonging to 0obengula. &he angry0obengula decided that the #hona in the Victoria district had to be taught a lesson . &husa raiding army of >"" men mainly Lama'aha) the young bachelor warriors2 was

dis$atched under the 'oint command of +anyao and +gandani. &he two %debelecommanders were given strict instructions to avoid clashes with white $eo$le in carryingout their mission but they got carried away.

It was in the $rocess of carying out the mission in the areas Bere, Zimuto and in theneighbourehood of =ort Victoria that hundreds of white owned cattle were driven away

by the raiders. ithin a day or two white farms and mines in the +asvingo district had been deserted by their labour force. &he districts economic activities were brought to ahalt as many local Africans in the area were either taking to the hills or streaming towardsthe little town of +asvingo.

&his was the sort of e8cuse that @ameson had been waiting for since the settlers arrival in+asvingo. 3e swiftly moved to mani$ulate the incidents in =ort Victoria to convince the3igh /ommissioner to formally agree to war. &he %debele were made to a$$ear to havestarted the war. hile the setter were sim$ly fighting to defend themselves. 0obengula)sefforts to avoid war, therefore failed due to his overzealous indunas and treachery on the

$art of @ameson and the white settlers.

The War and Its Results

&he war began in ;ctober /om$any forces were numerically heavily outnumbered by the %debele ie 1 """ %debele #oldiers com$ared to the > "" /om$any fighters whoincluded &swana Au8iliaries $rovided by hama and about G"" #hona and /a$eAu8iliaries mainly white em$loyees2. &he /om$any forces were however, better e7ui$$ed and could move faster than the %debele in addition they had "" horses andtheir modern firearms included 16 heavy machine guns eg. the ma8im gun . agonsensured continued su$$lies. &he general command of the Volunteer forces was given tothe +agistrate of #alisbury (atrick illiam =orbes a street in 3arare K #alisbury waslater to be named in his honour2


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;n the other hand the %debele regiments used their traditional s$ears as they did not trustmodern firearms %debele intelligence units carefully monitored the movements of thesettler forces. Although the %debele $ut u$ a brave fight against the invaders thecom$any forces over $owered them and they took over Bulawayo on %ovember G0obengula had set his ca$ital on fire and fled northwards towards the Zambezi Valley.

&he settlers immediately hoisted the Hnion @ack the British =lag2 over the burning cityand its ruins thus com$leting the con7uest of Zimbabwe.

&he grand $lan however had been to storm Bulawayo, ca$ture 0obengula and demoralizethe %debele army . &he settlers felt $erha$s rightly so that as long as 0obengula was stillat large the %debele would not easily submit to the new authority. hen 0obengulafailed to take u$ the offer from @ameson to surrender so that he harmed a $ursuit of the

%debele king was started by a $olic force led by +a'or =orbes.

=earing that his $ursuers could ca$ture him any time 0obengula sent two of his men witha message and money admitting that he had been con7uered. &he money and letter

reached =orbes as both items were withheld and the money stolen by two white troo$erswho received them. =orbes then cam$ed on the #hangani -iver while Alan ilson and F1others were tasked to investigate the direction taken by 0obengula.

ilson caught u$ with 0obengula)s $arty on the side of the river, but =orbes was unableto com$ly with ilson)s re7uest for reinforcements. In any case the #hangani river had

become dangerously flooded. ilson therefore decided to attack the %debele and ca$ture0obengula but he was too seriously over$owered. All his men e8ce$t > scouts andhimself were cut to $ieces by the %debele.

;n ecember , =orbes and the rest of the e8$edition were com$elled to retreat. &hee8$edition had been costly in men, horses and cattle and it had failed to achieve its mainob'ective* the ca$ture of 0obengula.

Results

O &he %debele lost their inde$endence but they were not made to surrender unconditionally and they entered into $eace negotiations with the B#A/.

O hile the settler volunteers were rewarded their service during the war with largeareas of land and with some of 0obengula Ls cattle. &he rest of the royal herd wereconverted into com$any $ro$erty by right con7uest.

O &wo very $oor dry, infertile, unhealthy and generally hot reserves 5 4wai and#hangani were created to settle the dis$ossessed %debele.

O -hodes @ameson and the B#A/ began taking ste$s to introduce the whiteadministrative machinery effectively $lacing the whole of Zimbabwe under colonial rule. &his also saw the birth of the notorious and infamous %ative

e$artment Africans2


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O In 1 ! Zimbabwe was named -hodesia as tribute to /ecil -hodes for his effortsin the colonization of the country.

O /olonial rule changed the day* to *day life of the Africans which now included

$aying ta8es to an illegal government forced labour and other forms of $oliticalre$ression and economic e8$loitation.


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RESISTA$CE TO CO'O$IA' CO$=UEST A$3 SHORT TERM EFFECTS OFCO'O$IA' RU'E

&ART ,,> The First Chi%uren a?U%7u#ela 2Shona/$dde)ele Risin s4 of ,0-./@

&he =irst /himurenga broke about at a time when the settlers were of the o$inion thatthey had $acified the Africans in Zimbabwe. &hey considered the #hona as cowards whowere more than grateful to the whites for liberating them from the %debele had realizedthe futility of resistance after the 1 !> war. In any case, the %debele no longer had a kingand the memories of the 1 !>*G war were still fresh in their minds.

&he o$$ressive and abusive nature of settler rule 7uickly encouraged the #hona and %debele to take u$ arms against the invaders. African grievances were so similar thatthey had a national rather that a mere district or regional a$$eal. ;n the whole, the risingscame about as a result of an inter$lay of factors.

;rie7an"es A%on the Shona

* %ative Africans2 e$artment of 1 !G 5 un$o$ular for its role, which was tofacilitate the collection of the 3ut ta8 and to ste$ u$ the recruitment of chea$labour for the mines, settler farms and $ublic works was wrecking havoc.


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traditional religious leaders all throughout the country, like aguvi, %ehanda,+kwati and #iginyamatshe who blamed white $eo$le for having angered+wari. &he settler veterinary officials in their efforts to eradicate the diseasee8acerbated the situation. &hey ordered that all cattle showing signs of rinder$est be killed and $eo$le were not allowed to eat the meat of the dead

cattle. &his angered both the #hona and the %debele.

* Abuse of #hona women who were used as mistresses by settlers to cook for them.

;rie7an"es A%on the $de)ele in"luded ?

* 0oss of cattle after the 1 !>KG war 5 before this war 0obengula owned overF " """ and about G" """ were left in the hands of the %debele mainly senior Indunas2 after the war. &his im$overished the %debele and the distribution of cattle totally disregarded %debele customs.

* 0oss of land 5 some of the %debele $eo$le were $ushed to the 4waai and#hangani reserved created after the 1 !>KG which were unfit for humansettlement. &his also made them $oor and vulnerable to e8$loit.

* 9;ne cause of dissatisfaction and unrest:, e8$lained /hief 4ambo, 9is thatafter we have lived many years in a s$ot, we are told that the white man has

$urchased it and we have to go:

* =orced labour 5 many %debele $eo$le were forced to live on white farms $roviding chea$, semi*slave labour for low or no wages or even for a mere $ermission to remain on white $ro$erty.

* 0oss of inde$endence 5 meant the disru$tion and even the destruction of their way of life e.g the age of regiment system. &his was worsened by the generalarrogance of government officials and the use of L%ative) or African $olice) in+atebeleland who often abused $ower to settle old scores.

* %atural isasters 5 rinder$est, drought and locusts 5 like in +ashonaland,these were attributed to the $resence of white settlers in +atebeleland by their religious #iginyamatshe religious leaders2 declared that the settlers were bothres$onsible for the death of their %debele father, 0obengula and for

bewitching the clouds so that there was no rain.

$de)ele Resistan"e

&he %debele were the first to rise around +arch 1 !6. #ettler stores, mines and farmsand their occu$ants were targets of the u$risings. &he timing of the u$risings was7uite tactical because @ameson had taken some of the military men to the &ransvaal to


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hel$ an attem$t which was abortive2 to overthrow the Boer 4overnment of (aulruger. &hus, the white settlers and the government had been taken com$letely by

sur$rise.&he %debele were aided by men like +kwati, #iginyamatshe and &engera in co*ordinating their resistance. &here were, however, two broad divisions, the old and

young grou$s which had conflicting succession interest. &he officials of the +wari/ult whose shrine was near &haba Zika +ambo2 were also instrumental in giving theresistance im$etus and tenacity.

&he war itself was however, costly to both the %debele and the settlers. &he senior grou$, therefore, decided to enter into $eace negotiations with -hodes, resulting in-hodes deciding to call 9indaba: or a $eace conference with the %debele leaders.

&he %debele leaders agreed to sus$end all military o$erations against the settler forces. All the %debele who had committed atrocities were to be tried. ;fficials of the+wari /ult were to be $unished for their $art in the risings. Abour 1> """ s$ears and

F """ guns were surrendered. -hodes agreed that whites forces would be withdrawn,their $lace being taken by a $ermanent $olice force. 3e also agreed that no African $olice, es$ecially #hona, would be in +atebeleland without the authority of the %debele chief. #enior %debele officials were to be granted official recognition andwould receive a regular salary. -hodes also $romised grain to see the %debelethrough the rest of the year as well as seed for the ne8t $lanting season.

P %B. #tudents are encouraged to debate and evaluate the Lindaba) and its terms2

Shona Risin

&he +hondoro /ult in +ashonaland had the im$ortance similar to the mwari /ult inmatebeleland (olitical leaders /hiefs2 like /hinamora, /hikwaka, %yandoro,Zvimmba, +angwende, +ashayamombe, /hiweshe, %egomo, +akoni worked handin hand with s$irit mediums in their areas.

#ome of the s$irit mediums who gallantly committed themselves to fight against thesettlers included the aguvi +edium, 4umboreshumba in the 3artely /hegutu area2who worked in close co*o$eration with the famous heroine of #hona -esistance in the+azowe Valley area, /harwe the %ehanda +edium. /o*o$eration also e8isted

between a number of religious and $olitical leaders in +atebeleland and+ashonaland.

&hus the religious leadershi$ gave religious sanction a$$roval2 to the risings andtheir centers were also abused for intelligence $ur$oses. It took government officialslong to realize that shrines of cult, were being used to $ass information betweenvarious $aramount chiefs. %ight meetings, sometimes disguised as rain*makingceremonies, were used to organise $eo$le.


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hat weakened the im$act of the #hona and the African cause was that somechiefdoms refused to 'oin in the war of resistance nursing the false ho$e that thiswould s$are them the cruelties of coloniasm e.g the whole of Victoria district andseveral chiefdoms in Buhera and /hikomba area. &his made it easy for settlers tosu$$ress the resisting grou$s and to being in reinforcements from #outh Africa since

the route to #outh Africa was left free of resistance.

#hona /hiefs used mountain forts e.g +akoni and +angwende and avoided o$enclashes with the settlers who had su$erior fire$ower, they resorted to guerilla tactics.&his, and the fact that there was no single authority in +a#honaland made it difficultto bring the #hona risings to a formal end.

&owards the end of 1 !C, however, resistance was gradually weakening as the settlerswere either killed or ca$tured. Although both the #hona and %debele failed to defeatthe settlers, their gallant fight ins$ired later African %ationalists to rise againstcolonialism and finally free Zimbabwe from the york of colonial e8$loitation.


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Referen"es

.% Beach, &he #hona and Zimbabwe !""*1 ". An ;utline of #hona 3istory,+ambo (ress 4weru 1! "

%. (arsons, A %ew 3istory of #outhern Africa, /ollege (ress, 1! >

%. (arsons, =ocus on 3istory on 3istory, /ollege (ress, 3arare 1!!1

A. /higwedere, , =rom +uta$a to -hodes, /ollege (ress, 1! 1

#.I.4 +udenge, A (olitical 3istory of +unhumuta$a 5 =rom the =ifteeth /entury to

the %ineteeth /entury, +ambo (ress 1!C!.


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THE CO$SO'I3ATIO$ OF WHITE SETT'ER RU'E A$3 THEMAR;I$A'ISATIO$ OF B'AC S ,0-@/,-.:

After the brutal su$$ression of the first /himurengaKHmvukela #hona*%debele -isings2of 1 !6*!C, the setters sought to consolidate their hold to both $olitical and economic

$ower in the country. &he Africans had to be monitored constantly so that another /himurenga liberation struggle2 would never ha$$en again.

/olonial rule in Zimbabwe #outhern -hodesia2 was therefore characterized by highlyinterventionist white settler governments #uccessive settler governments $er$etuatedsettler interest through a host of draconian laws that were also deliberately crafted toeffectively marginalize disadvantage2 the blacks. A two $yramid two nations2 systemwas ado$ted by the settlers. Its $ur$ose was to $romote se$arate develo$ment betweenwhites and Africans. &hus $olitical economic and social $olicies based on racialdiscrimination reinforced that system.

All African traditional rulers who were anti* colonial rule were to be removed from their $ositions and were re$laced either by white colonial administrators or by African $u$$ets. &his was achieved through the 1 ! %ative -eserve ;rder in /ouncil Act./olonial -ule in Zimbabwe also $assed through various $hases or $eriods by the fate of Africans remained the same 5 that of $rogressive $au$erization. =rom 1 ! to 1!F>,Zimbabwe was under the British #outh Africa /om$any rule which was ended by areferendum for whites in 1!F> which voted for res$onsible government in 1! > after >"years of res$onsible self*government #outhern -hodesiaKZimbabwe 'oined with %orthern-hodesiaKZambia and %yasalandK+alawi to form the /entral African =ederation.

In 1!6G +alawi was granted inde$endence and was to be followed shortly after byZambia and the =ederation broke u$. &he white settler government of #outhern -hodesiaalso attem$ted to negotiate its inde$endence from Britain but on terms which were 7uiteunacce$table to the African $eo$le. &he British government was for historical andeconomic reasons unwilling to alienate the white settler many of whom had influentialcontacts in 0ondon. =or this reason as well as resources in Zimbabwe the British failed totake the decisive ste$s needed to grant inde$endence on Zimbabwe on the same basis asother British colonial territories in Africa. isagreements therefore grew between theBritish government and the white settlers on one hand and between the increasinglyarticulate and united African nationalist movement on the other.

;n 11 %ovember 1!6 , the white settler government led by Ian ouglas #mith still atthis stage a legal government in the eyes of the British2 unilaterally or illegally declaredtheir inde$endence from Britain. &he Hnilateral eclaration of Inde$endence H I2 wasan illegal act for in terms #outhern -hodesia remained a British colony.

P %B hite Asians and colours mi8ed race2 were all grou$ed together as 9


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a2 'and Allo"ation and O*nershi"2 was $assed segregation of land was thus legallyenforced.

&he 1!6! 0and &enure Act which re$laced the land A$$ortionment Act2 consolidated the $osition and lad ownershi$ rights of the settlers by abolishing the unreserved land whichu$ to that time had remained o$en to all races.


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these areas by forcing Africans to de*stock and own an average of to C hectares $er family. &his further marginalised blacks and e8$osed them to blatant e8$loitation by thesettlers.

(overty in the &&0s huge and cumbersome ta8es as well as discrimination in marketing

of $roducts e.g2 through the maize /ontrol Acts of 1!>> to >G which gave better $ricesfor ". 0ocal Africans haddemonstrated an unwavering unwillingness to work for the settlers. &he -hodesian

%ative 0abour Bureau -%0B2 had also failed to solve the labour $roblem for thesettlers. &his was also one of the reasons why the B#A /om$any rule had come to an endin 1!F>.

In the white areas on the other hand, huge tracks of $otentially $roductive agriculturalland remained idle. In addition to chea$ labour, a 0and Bank Act was set u$ in 1!1F to

give loans to settler farmers. &hey had little deeds which gave them a sense of security asan e8tra to the best land they owned both in terms of 7uality and 7uantity. In &&0s areas,land could be e8$ro$riated from the Africans without com$ensation in the event of amining claim being established.

b2 &ro7in"ialisation &he $olicy of 9regionalisation: or 9$rovincialisation: was im$lemented since 1!CF withmany features similar to the #outh African Bantustan #ystem. &he nation was dividedinto > grou$s 5 whites, +ashonas and +atebeles 5 on the basis of e8isting landdistribution and ownershi$. By delegating greater local government $owers to chiefs and9tribal: authorities and em$hasising the differences between the two main Africangrou$s, the regime)s aim was to encourage a narrow tribal identity instead of a wider national identity among the black $eo$le.

c2 Ur)an Centres

Hrban areas i.e the main towns in -hodesia and all the country)s industrial andcommercial areas were in


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&he African townshi$s were overcrowded 'ust like the &&0s in rural areas2 often with nodomestic electricity and water had to be fetched from a ta$ in the street. &he sanitaryfacilities were not good. &here were few entertainment or recreational facilities e8ce$tmunici$ality owned beer*halls, inade7uate schools and other social services.

&he townshi$s were strategically designed to minimize the threat of African $oliticalactivity. +ost of them were located several miles from white business districts andsuburbs. ater and electricity could be cut off in the event of strikes or demonstrations.In #alisbury 3arare2 there was a small townshi$ 5+arimba $ark where a small number of better 5 off African families owned


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f2 Edu"ation

&he education system was divided along racial lines. &he +inistry of


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THE RISE OF MASS $ATIO$A'ISM A$3 THE &ROSECUTIO$ OF THESECO$3 CHIMURE$;A

After the colla$se of traditional resistance in 1 ! , and the seizure of $olitical $ower bythe re$resentatives of the white settler in 1!F>, /om$any rule had become anachronism.

In the 1!F> referendum the white settlers were offered a choice between 'oining theHnion of #outh Africa and res$onsible self*government. &hey chose the latter and between then and 1!C! -hodesia was governed by a settler /abinet res$onsible to asettler $arliament. African intellectuals felt betrayed by the $olicies of segregationenforced in the 1!>"s beyond.

4radually African $rotest movements emerged. &he most significant movement in the $eriod between the two world wars was the growth of $owerful trade unions, es$eciallythe African -ailway orkers Hnion and the -eformed /ommercial and Industrial

orkers) Hnion, which mobilized the growing urban $roletariat on non tribal and nonregional lines. Accelerated white settler immigrating, and deteriorating #ocio* lulled the workers a little with a $romise f reforms, but they soonrecognized and launched the /ity national outh league in 1! . As the name indicates,the league re$resented the young $roletarians in the growing cities. In the late 1! "s, the;ld +oderate /ongress was re$laced by a much more radical successor. ;n #e$tember1F, 1! C, the African %ational /ongress was reborn, and it 7uickly mobilized the rural

$easantry whose livelihood was made $recarious by the combined effects of the landA$$ortionment and naRve 0and 3usbandry Acts. &he late @oshua %komo was a leadingfigure in these trade unions and $olitical develo$ments. #ome white -hodesiansdemanded outright re$ression. ;thers ho$ed for accommodation. 4arfield &odd as (rime+inister between 1! > and 1! C o$ted for greatly accelerated African


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decolonisation, which had already initiated in other $arts of Africa. &his strategy failed towork. &he %ational emocratic (arty was launched in @anuary 1!6" to re$lace the

banned #-A%/. ;@oshua %komo was elected (resident and among his lieutenants was %dabaningi #ithole, 3erbert /hite$o, -obert +ugabe,, Bernard /hidzero, 4eorge#ilundika, @aison +oyo, 0eo$old &akawira, @osiah /hinamano and umbutshena among

others.

&he % ( was banned in 1!61 and re$laced with the Zimbabwe African $eo$le)s HnionZA(H2 in ecember 1!61. ZA(H was banned in 1!6F, in #e$tember and there was

increased frustration among the nationalist movement. &his led to the formation of theZimbabwe African national Hnion ZA%H2 in August 1!6> under the leadershi$ of

%dabaningi #ithole. &his was also banned in 1!6G. &he whites failed to realize thatnationalism after all, involves imagining a $ast and a future in order to change the

$resent. Inevitably the nationalist literal imagination focused es$ecially on the glories ofthe African $ast and on the o$$ressions of colonialism. By 1!6G most of the nationalistleaders were either in $rison, detention or e8ile. 3owever, numerous incidents of

sabotage followed in the early months of 1!6G. A grou$ of 1"" blacks under 4eneral/hedu calling themselves the Zimbabwe 0iberation Army organised sabotage in the ruralareas of the country. &o gain credibility, ZA%H launched the first guerillas unit, the/rocodile 4rou$ in 1!6G as it attacked a $olice cam$ and killed a white farmer and in+elsetter /himanimani2. +eanwhile, the emergency of a more militant Africannationalism created a backlash in the white community leading to the election in

ecember 1!6F of the -hodesian =ront (arty, of which Ian #mith became leaser in 1!6Gafter taking over from inston =ield.

&he reactionary -hodesia =ront issued a Hnilateral eclaration of Inde$endence H I2throwing off remaining restraints from Britain, intensifying segregation and undoing theadvances that had been achieved by $artnershi$. &here was no course o$en to African

%ationalists but to $re$are for guerilla war. It was long drawn out $rocess. &henationalists resolved that they were to be either their own liberators through directconfrontation as a state of emergency was declared giving license to the -hodesian#ecurity =orces to kill any African they sus$ected to be o$$osed to them, take $risonersand seize the little $ro$erty of the $easants, including goats and shee$ without anycom$ensation or recourse to the law.

+eanwhile, the internal $olitical situation in -hodesia by 1!6>, had forced thenationalists to seek foreign bases for the military training of young black cadres as ZA%Hand ZA(H armed wings were to be known as the Zimbabwe African %ational 0iberationArmy ZA%0A2 and Zimbabwe (eo$le)s -evolutionary Army ZI(-A2 res$ectively.


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In August 1!6C, ZI(-A formed an alliance with the #outh Africa*African %ational/ongress #AA%/2 armed with Hmkhonto e #izwe, de$loyed four grou$s of F"guerillas into -hodesia. &he result was a fiasco as a series of bitter running battles took

$lace from 1> August in the ankie district resulting in the loss of many guerillas. #omeof the guerillas managed to esca$e back onto Zambia while others fled into Botswana.

Immediately, there were air s$ace violations of Zambia by the -hodesian =orces. 0eafletswere dro$$ed into the Zambezi valley calling on the guerillas to surrender or die. es$itethis ZI(-A and Hmkhonto e #izwe de$loyed another larger grou$ of about 1 "guerillas but again were re$ulsed.

&hese events $rom$ted the #outh African 4overnments to send troo$s to -hodesia toassist the -hodesian =orces track down insurgents. &here was introduced the 0aw and;rder maintenance Amendment Bill by the -hodesian 4overnment on C #e$tember 1!6Cwhich was $assed without dissent on the 1! th of the same month. &his Anti*InsurgencyBill made the eath #entence mandatory for $ersons found with arms of war unless hecould $rove beyond reasonable doubt that he had no intention of endangering the

maintenance of law and ;rder in -hodesia or a neighbouring country. In retros$ect, theseincursions were virtually suicidal hence remedial measures were to be found.

A vital role was $layed by the =ront for the 0iberation of +ozambi7ue =relimo2, whichhad develo$ed considerable e8$erience in guerilla warfare, was able to train Zimbabwean4uerillas in the art of $olitical mass mobilization. &his move forced the -hodesian=orces to conduct combine military o$erations with their (ortugues counter$arts in+ozambi7ue from 1!6 onwards. es$ite this, the insurgents $racticed the massmobilization with great success starting ecember 1!CF when guerillas attacked Alterna=arm in /entenary. &he situation a$$eared brighter due to the colla$se of the (ortugueseAuthority in +ozambi7ue, Angola and 4uinea Bissau in 1!CG after the successful+ilitary /ou$ in (ortugal headed by 4eneral #ionola against #alazar, then (rime +inster of (ortugal.

3owever, this was not to be as @ohn Voster, then #outh Africa)s (remier, came u$ withthe Jtente (olicy whose main theme was to stifle the guerilla war)s effort in -hodesia.&his was e8acerbated by /hite$o)s death on 1 +arch 1!C in Zambia in a landmineincident. It has to be remembered that when most %ationalists were arrested after the

banning of their $arties, an e8ternal wing known as dare -e /himurenga was establishedto s$earhead the $rosecution of the armed struggle. &he late 3erbert /hite$o wasa$$ointed /hairman of this establishment in 1!6 . #oon after the 1!CFKC> guerillaoffensives, the -hodesian government in retaliation, forcibly drove the blacks into(rotected VillagesK ee$s to deny them from feeding the guerillas albeit with littlesuccess.

+eanwhile, both ZA(H and ZA%H had been rocked by internal s7uabbles in the early1!C"s and 1!CG res$ectively. Hnder the influence of the ;AH 0iberation committee, thetwo $olitical $arties A(H and ZA%H2 were forced to unite. &he situation was rectified in1!C in ecember when the two $arties formed a combined*armed wing to be called theZimbabwe (eo$le)s Army ZI(A2 with the blessings of both %yere and +achel. &hus


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guerilla warfare gathered momentum in early 1!C6 as ZA%0A guerillas intensifiedo$erations in &ete, +anica and 4aza (rovinces whilst ZI(-A intensified its o$erations inthe %orthern and #outhern =ronts.ZA%0A)s &ete, +anica and 4aza $rovinces weredivided into sectors whilst ZI(-A)s =ronts were divided into regions. +eanwhile, the-hodesians killed thousands of guerillas and refugees in bombing raids on cam$s inside

+ozambi7ue, +ulungishi and /hifombo in Zambia. But gradually, the guerillas began toe8ert $ressure on the -hodesian #tate. &he turning $oint came when Z%0A guerillas began to o$erate from +ozambi7ue in mid 1!C". By 1!CC, -obert +ugabe had achievedcontrol of both ZA%0A and ZA%H &housands of young guerillas were infiltrating thecountry from +ozambi7ue. +eanwhile, Zambia @oshua was the unchallenged leader ofZA(H and of its army ZI(-A. ith #oviet backing, a$art from guerilla warfare, he hadmanned a conventional air, tank and artillery assault on -hodesian towns.

&he #mith regime was under $ressure from its ally, #outh Africa. Ian #mith tried toundercut the guerillas by coming in terms with moderate African leaders in an Internal#ettlement. In A$ril 1!C!, Bisho$ Abel +uzorewa was elected as the leader of Zimbabwe

-hodesia. But no one recognized his regime. 3e and #mith were drawn into negotiationswith %kom and +ugabe at the end of 1!C! at the 0ancaster 3ouse.

%one of the $arties involved got what they wanted from the 0ancaster 3ouse but aDD believed that they could win the inde$endence electionD +uzorewa though so because ofhis large scale financial su$$ort and his electoral victory in 1!C!, %komo thought so

because when the nationalist $arties were banned in 1!6G, his ZA(H has en'oyed morecountrywide backingD +ugabe also thought so because he had so many young guerillas in

$lace. +ugabe)s $rediction was the most accurate. In the 1! " elections, his $arty wontwo thirds of the votesD %komo won a third and +uzorewa was routed.


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&OST I$3E&E$3E$CE 3EVE'O&ME$TS I$ ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe obtained inde$endence on the 1 th of A$ril 1! " after waging a bitter and $rotracted armed struggle against the British settler regime. A new era was ushered onthat historic day, $utting and end to a ninety year $eriod of colonial rule characterised bye8treme social, $olitical and economic marginalisation of the ma'ority Africans. Againstthis background, the new Zanu (f government was always going to be under $ressurees$ecially as $eo$le had high e8$ectations. &he new government had to tackle ma'or

$olitical and socio*economic challenges most of which had arisen from the need toredress the $ast colonial imbalances.

&oliti"al 3e7elo


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enemy forces with different military training backgrounds and e8$eriences Zanla andZi$ra were essentially guerilla units while the -hodesian army was a formal conventionalforce2 into one force. +ilitary e8$erts from the British army $layed a vital role in theintegration $rocess. =ormer -hodesia Army /ommander 4eneral (eter alls was givencommand of the new Z =.

3owever this successful integration of the forces did not sto$ senior officers fromresigning from service and were soon 'oining their counter$arts in civil service trekkinginto #outh Africa and other destinations. &he com$actness of the forces into the Z%A wassoon $ut to test by $olitical challenges which soon unfolded. According to (rofessor &erence -anger, none of these $arties involved in the 0ancaster 3ouse negotiations gotwhat they wanted but all were $re$ared to com$romise because they each believed theycould win the inde$endence elections?* +uzorewa, because of his large scale financialsu$$ort and his electoral victory in 1!C!, %komo 5 because of the country wide backinghis Za$u had en'oyed before the banning of the nationalist $arties in 1!6G, and +ugabe 5

because his Zanu had covered more grounds in the liberation war and he had so many

young guerillas in $lace. &he reality of +ugabe)s victory caused some tremors andaccording to $rofessor -anger, %komo)s votes had come from the west of the country andhe and his $arty could hardly believe their defeat. In the meantime, the former Zi$ra andZanla combatants in the Z%A remained loyal to their res$ective $olitical $arties. Astension increased, clashes between the former Zi$ra and Zanla elements of the Z%Aoccurred in some military barracks in the country notably at


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#ince its overwhelming victory in the 1! " elections ZA%H (= has continued todominate the $olitical landsca$e of the country. Zimbabwe has ado$ted a multi*$artysystem of democracy though at some $oint in the mid "s, the idea of a one $arty statesystem was mooted and $rovoked a hot debate. (arliamentary and $residential electionshave been held on time after every five and si8 years in accordance with the constitution.

(arliamentary elections were held in 1! ", 1! ,1!!",1!! and F""" and (residentialelections 1!!", 1!!6 and F""F. &he ne8t $arliamentary and $residential elections are duein F"" and F"" res$ectively. +ulti $artysm or $olitical $luralism has enabled thee8istence of, and given a rise to numerous $olitical $arties and movements, some of which have since folded.


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7uell the civil unrest ignited a lot of talk with allegations that the establishment meant towi$e out the %debele tribe. &he Hnity Accord of ecember 1! C $ut the issue of civilunrest to rest.

&he se7uence of civil unrest started long before elections in 1! ". ZI(-A and ZA%0A

had a long history of mistrust and blood between them. hen ZI(A was formed in 1!C6the union was a forced marriage whose chief architect was @ulius %yerere. &hesubse7uent colla$se of ZI(A and the clashes then sowed the seed of the dissident $roblemin 1! ". &he ZI(A colla$se was mainly due to differences in tactical a$$roaches in the

$rosecution of the war. ZI(-A had a convention a$$roach while ZA%0A was trulyguerilla army in the ma8ist tradition. 0ogistical su$$ort during, before and after the lifes$an of ZI(A was also crucial since the #oviet Hnion tended to favour ZI(-A whileZA%0A was su$$orted by /hina. &he feeling of big brother by ZA(H continued in s$iteof the clear and undis$utable electoral victory of ZA%H (=2 in 1! ". &he catching of arms of war on ZA(H $ro$erties and the , thegovernment raised its targets to 16F """ families to be resettled on ! million hectares at acost of S C" million. #uch targets were obviously ambitious and were never attained

$artly due to lack of funding and s7uabbles with the British around the disbursement of the $ledged funds. By F""" however, about C1 """ families had been resettled. &heagrarian reforms and general economic growth have been adversely affected by severedroughts in the agricultural seasons of 1! F, 1!!F and F""" 5 F""F.

In education, $rimary education was made free and com$ulsory. +any more schools were built. ithin the first four years of inde$endence, $rimary school enrolment rose from

1! 6 in 1!C! to F "GG G C in 1! >. &he number of secondary schools increased from1CC in 1!C! to 1 G in 1!!!. &he massive e8$ansion of education created increased


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demand for trained teachers and the government had to overcome the early shortages byestablishing more teacher training colleges. ZI%&


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Referen"es

#tate (olitics in Zimbabwe, Hniversity of Zimbabwe (ublications, 3arare 1!!"

A #ocial 3istory of Zimbabwe, ;8ford, F""F

nass notes- history module1

Documents