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Land ranked highest among the grievances that motivated the indigenous black majority to launch the Second Chimurenga/Imfazwe to free the country from colonial oppression. It is worthy of note that in the period preceding the liberation war, “mwana wevhu/umntwana womhlabati” (child of the soil) became the nationalists’ rallying call.
National hero Herbert Chitepo, Chairman of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) party, put it succinctly when he said: “I could go into the whole theories of discrimination in legislation, in residency, in economic opportunities, in education. I could go into that, but I will restrict myself to the question of land because I think this is very basic. To us the essence of exploitation, the essence of white domination, is domination over land. That is the real issue.’’
(Herbert Chitepo: Speech on a trip to Australia in 1973)
Chitepo died on March 18, 1975 in Lusaka, Zambia, when a car bomb, planted in his car, exploded.
He and Silas Shamiso, one of his bodyguards, were killed instantly. Sadat Kufamadzuba, his other bodyguard, was injured.
Although his murderer remains unidentified, Rhodesian author Peter Stiff says that a former British SAS soldier, Hugh Hind, was responsible. Born in Mutasa on June 15 1923, Cde Chitepo became the first black citizen of Rhodesia to become a barrister
He was educated at St David’s Mission School, Bonda, St Augustine’s School, Penhalonga, and then at Adams College, Natal, South Africa, where he qualified as a teacher in 1945. This was where he met his wife, Victoria.
After teaching for a year, he resumed his studies to graduate with a BA degree from Fort Hare University College in 1949.
In 1954, Cde Chitepo became the then Rhodesia’s first black lawyer . On returning to Rhodesia in 1954, he practised as a lawyer and defended African nationalists such as Ndabaningi Sithole in court.
In 1961, he served as legal adviser to the late Father Zimbawe, Dr Joshua Nkomo, founder of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), at the Southern Rhodesia Constitutional Conference in London. In the same year (1961) he was also appointed to the Board of Governors of Bernard Mizeki College along with Sir W. C .R. Honey and Sir Robert Tredgold. In May 1962, ZAPU was banned because of militarism and Cde Chitepo was persuaded to go into voluntary exile to escape possible detention.
He became Tanzania’s first African Director of Public Prosecutions. The Rev Ndabaningi Sithole and Dr Nkomo factions of ZAPU split apart in July 1963. Dr Nkomo’s supporters founded the PCC-ZAPU and favoured a more militaristic approach. As the more moderate faction, Cde Chitepo sided with Rev Sithole and was elected Chairman of ZANU from its foundation. He held this post until December 7, 1974 when the Lusaka Accord was signed.
Both parties vied for domination but in 1964 they were banned and the leaders were all arrested. Both parties chose to leave the country and reorganise and form armies from outside Rhodesian borders, although they chose different countries to make their base. ZAPU based itself in the West and Zambia where it organised ZIPRA (the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army.) They allied with the Soviet Union and organised a vanguard of highly trained soldiers. ZANU, however, moved into Tanzania and then to Mozambique and set up ZANLA (Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army) which concentrated more on mobilising the masses in the countryside in a method pioneered by the Chinese.
In January 1966 Cde Chitepo resigned as Director of Public Prosecutions and moved to Zambia to concentrate on the armed struggle. He toured world capitals canvassing support for ZANU and for the enforcement of total economic sanctions against Rhodesia. With his friendly disposition, he was very effective and earned for ZANU international recognition and respect.
Rev Sithole and others prepared a comprehensive document giving powers to Cde Chitepo to lead ZANU while Rev Sithole was in detention and specifically authorising him to carry out the armed struggle. Accordingly, Cde Chitepo with the military supremo Josiah Tongogara organised and planned successful military guerilla attacks and underground activities in Rhodesia from 1966 onwards.
In 1972, he co-ordinated war operations with FRELIMO and opened up the north-eastern region of Zimbabwe as a new and effective war front.
He was reburied in Zimbabwe on August 11, 1981.
Online Reporter