adminHISTORICALLY, Zimbabwe was always a united country, judging from the first Impi yomvukela of 1890, the Lobengula wars at Matopos, the Lalaphansi, Imbizo, and Umgandane until 1893 when King Lobengula’s regiment wiped out the Allan Wilson Battalion at Pupu-Shangani River near Lupane, Matabeleland North.
In 1896, the chiefs in Mashonaland joined the fight against the colonial invaders as one people with the Matabeleland fighters.
In 1910 when the Union of South Africa was formed the people of Zimbabwe remained united while the British gave Rhode’s British South African Company authority to run the political and economic affairs of Rhodesia. In 1923 there was a whites only referendum to decide whether to join South Africa or remain out as a self-governing state. African Zimbabweans remained united and none joined the white Rhodesians. In 1932 the settlers introduced the Land Apportionment Act whereby fertile land was given to settlers and Africans removed and sent to barren soil areas which were called “reserves”, meaning that land was still reserved for whites and they would be removed anytime if and when settlers needed more land. No Africans joined the settlers in their plunder of the land.
In 1945, Douglas Samukange formed the African National Congress to oppose the settlers who continued to give each other land as reward for joining and fighting in the Second World War against Hitler. The white farm was measured by where a horse would get tired when ridden by a white man. Africans who had been recruited to fight in the World War were given bicycles instead of land in their land of birth. Douglas Samukange handed over the ANC to Joshua Nkomo in 1958 when he became a full-time Methodist minister. Nkomo was disturbed by the formation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland when he joined forces with Kamuzu Banda, Dunduza Chisiza of Malawi, and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia. In Bulawayo, Joseph Msika formed the South African Youth League and James Chikerema organised the Salisbury City Youth League. Joshua Nkomo was a trade unionist and social worker under the Railways.
In 1957 a united group of political leaders namely Msika from Bulawayo Youth League and Chikerema from the Salisbury Youth City League, Enoch Dumbutshena and George Nyandoro went to Bulawayo to ask Nkomo to lead the new African National Congress. The meeting was held at a back office of Stanley Hall. Nkomo asked the group whether they were aware that the liberation struggle should include every Zimbabwean regardless of tribe, race, origin or creed and that it would be a protracted struggle. He asked them whether they knew that the liberation struggle was like “Intaba engabhodwa kalula/Gomo risina mapotereko”. Joshua Nkomo accepted to take up the leadership. The first formidable political party with truly united Zimbabweans was formed at Cyril Jennings Hall in Highfield, Harare on 27 September 1957. I, having come home on a visit on holiday from South Africa, was so impressed by the developments such that I wrote in the Bantu Mirror quoting Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s mentor Dr Aggrey of Ghana who said: “We are not fowls but eagles, stretch forth your wings and fly; to take over the country”.
We cannot talk of unity today as if it only started in 1987 without a historical perspective. These are the roots and foundation of Zimbabwean Unity. In 1959 ANC was banned, its leaders arrested and taken to detention. Msika and others were sent to Marondera Prison. The National Democratic Party was formed still with Joshua Nkomo as President. That is when Cde Robert Mugabe returned from Ghana where he was teaching at St Mary’s Primary School in Takururand. Cde Mugabe visited the political leaders at Marondera Prison and offered to join the liberation struggle. He was told to go to Highfields and join the party structures there. Being a young educated and political astute and having been influenced by Ghananian political developments, he became a new shining political star in NDP such that he was elected Secretary for Information and Publicity. At the end of 1960, NDP was also banned. A meeting was convened where a decision was made to form a new political party. In the meeting, Dr Joshua Nkomo suggested that the new party’s name should be Zimbabwe African National Union Zanu, following such names as Tanu of Tanzania and Kanu of Kenya. The new vibrant Secretary for Information and Publicity Robert Mugabe objected saying Zanu did not have the thunder, mutsindo/isisindo. He proposed the name Zapu (Zimbabwe African People’s Union). So the Zapu name was adopted and Zapu was formed. In 1963, Zanu was formed as a break-away party led by Ndabaningi Sithole, Robert Mugabe, Enos Nkala, Edson Zvobgo and others.
One would be bound to ask: “What’s there in a name?” When the armed struggle continued outside the country during the 70s with separate liberation movements of Zipra of Zapu and Zanla of Zanu, it became necessary to unite through the formation of the Joint Military Command whose leadership would be rotated between Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo of Zapu and Zipra and Hebert Chitepo of Zanu and Zanla. This unity failed. Here again I am trying to show you my fellow Zimbabweans that unity did not start in 1987 after the internal upheavals after independence. When the revolutionary commanders did not lose focus on unity, Zipa (Zimbabwe People’s Army) was formed. Zipra cadres like our new Vice-President Phelekezela Report Mphoko, Nikita Mangena, Cele, Akim Ndlovu and Ambrose Mutinhiri joined Zipa in Mozambique and others went for joint training at Mgagao.
Nyerere had his own idea of a third force which would leave Ndabaningi out and wanted Zipra cadres also to abandon Joshua Nkomo. At Mugagao there was loss of life of our Zipra cadres. Zipra cadres remained loyal to their Commander-in-Chief, General Josh. Zanla cadres then called on Cde Mugabe to come and lead them from Mozambique where he was kept by Samora Machel. Ndabaningi Sithole had been discredited and joined Muzorewa’s Internal Settlement. The Patriotic Front was then formed between Zapu-Zipra under Dr Nkomo and Zanu-Zanla under Cde Mugabe. As the Patriotic Front we went to the Geneva Conference and Gibraltar Negotiations for independence which collapsed. Again the Fontline States were eager for a settlement as to end the war which was causing a strain on their resources and political cohesion. The Frontline States were Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and Angola. Frontline States transformed into the present SADC.
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher the then British Prime Minister and head of the Commonwealth convened the Commonwealth Conference on Zimbabwe at Mulungushi Hall in Zambia where the Liberation Movements were coerced to attend the Lancaster House Conference in London to negotiate for our independence. It was at the time when our forces had penetrated right inside Zimbabwe. Zanla forces moved from the eastern front in a devastating manner. Zipra forces had downed a plane with a heat-seeking missile thinking that Ian Smith’s General Walls was in it. He was saved by his wife who asked him not to go and board as she still wanted to enjoy a braai and drinks with him. The petrol tanks in Salisbury were blasted by Soviet-made Katushars brought by our Soviet-trained Zipra cadres. After the bombing, Smith and General Walls admitted that Nkomo had brought in sophisticated Soviet weapons. No fly zones had been declared from Kariba to Kadoma. Encounters with the enemy were devastating as recorded by the Zipra Combat Journal. Ian Smith had no choice but to, with Muzorewa, come up with the name Zimbabwe Rhodesia – the name of our nation given the surname Rhodesia. As the United Patriotic Front we engaged the British and their Smith and Muzorewa megaphones. The land issue took the longest time to resolve. The British Conservative government offered to pay compensation to white settler farmers for the land they stole from our people as we said we were not going to pay for it as the money was too little. America and European Union in Brussels offered to add more money. When Tony Blair’s Labour government took over it was not ashamed to disown the agreement.
After Lancaster, we came for independence elections as separate parties but united in our ideological focus. We had joint elections preparatory committees. I was deputy executive secretary for PF-Zapu elections and Central Committee Co-ordinator. Deputy to Dr Ariston Chambati with Chinamano as Director of Elections and Dr Nkomo as Zipra Commander-in-Chief. Lookout Masuku as Commander and Dumiso as our intelligence chief. Cde Mugabe led Zanu while Zanla was led by Cde Solomon Mujuru and the elections committee. We had to work for the integration of our forces and Smith’s forces to form the Zimbabwe National Army, the Police and Intelligence. This was when Phelekezela Mphoko, Butshe, Khohlo, Ngulube and others were integrated. Lookout Masuku became Deputy Commander to Solomon Mujuru in the Zimbabwe National Army. Dr Nkomo visited all assembly points and urged peace and reconciliation among our armed former freedom fighters and the Rhodesian forces before integration into the Zimbabwe National Army. I created education opportunities for our former freedom fighters who were being integrated as a United Force.
After a year of independence then came internal upheavals which caused a lot of loss of life by military activities when a few of former PF-Zapu comrades like Thambolenyoka, Andrew Ndlovu and others took to the bush protesting ill-treatment in the land they fought for so hard with thousands of their comrades dying at the front and bombed while fighting to liberate their country. It was NEVER Nkomo’s or PF-ZAPU policy to allow those young former freedom fighters to go into the bush. Indeed it was the darkest time for us all who had brought the independence of our dear country, Zimbabwe. President Mugabe has called it the hour of madness. I called it the dark hour of revolutionary degeneration never to be repeated. Our own home grown negotiations for unity started when Dr Nkomo returned from temporary exile in the UK where he had gone through Botswana where he had escaped while dressed like a woman. While in the UK he wrote his book The Story Of My Life published in 1984 by Robert Harnoll Ltd UK.
PF-Zapu and Zanu-PF set up negotiation teams. Our team led by John Nkomo and our team of lawyers such as Justice Kennedy Sibanda and Cyril Ndebele would report to Dr Nkomo and the PF-Zapu Central Committee on agreed or not agreed upon areas of negotiations. Zanu-PF had its own team. Dr Nkomo and Cde Mugabe would also meet separately and Dr Nkomo would also brief us in the Central Committee. On the party symbol the two parties agreed that there be the Great Zimbabwe Ruins without the Zapu bull symbol and without the Zanu Jongwe symbol. The name of the new United Party would be Zanu-PF. What is there in a name – after all it’s Dr Nkomo who proposed the Zanu name after the banning of the National Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961 and Mugabe succeeded in having Zapu as the name of the party then though after breaking away from Zapu Comrade Mugabe, Ndabaningi Sithole and Enos Nkala reverted to the name Zanu which had been proposed by Dr Nkomo before.
The Unity Accord was ratified by the Zapu Congress at the City Sports Centre. The Zapu Congress was chaired by Cde Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu as the then national chairman. Cde Kona had resigned from Zapu. Six thousand Zapu delegates attended the Congress. The Unity Accord signed by Dr Nkomo and Comrade Mugabe was ratified overwhelmingly, Zanu did the same. The accord provides for unity between the two revolutionary parties. It provides that the current Zanu-PF President shall appoint his two Vice-Presidents. One from Zanu-PF and another from PF-Zapu. The National Chairman by mutual understanding was from PF-Zapu and that was Comrade Msika. This has been the case until now after our 6th National People’s Congress when the President abolished the position, leaving such activities to be shared by the two Vice-Presidents. The Unity Accord calls for unity of the two parties and for peace among the people of Zimbabwe. Our theme for the first United Congress was “Unity, Peace and Development”. This is the legacy which Dr Nkomo and Mugabe have bequeathed on the people of Zimbabwe. The signing of the Unity Accord was symbolic of the Unity of the People of Zimbabwe as a whole.
We all must carry that further into practice in words and deeds. We must respect each other’s political origins and regions and must make sure that all people benefit from the fruits of the hard won independence, not only those from certain tribal and political groups completely negating the others. Our 2014 Unity Commemorations must make us take stock of what has been happening before, introspect and ask ourselves what we have done to make our people benefit from unity. It seems the people of Matabeleland sing more about unity but while hungry, as others are quiet but enjoying the fruits of unity. Oh no! Let us have an affirmative action to open Bulawayo industries, provide funds for cattle ranching and water resources in Matabeleland. Let’s have Science and Mathematics teachers and school infrastructure and proper indigenisation, economic empowerment programmes for our youths and women, industry and mining. Our factories must be removed from judicial management to attract foreign direct investment since our banks cannot act due to the liquidity crunch.
Our new Vice-President must be supported and helped to open closed companies in Bulawayo and development in agriculture and cattle ranching in Matebeleland. We have Dr Joshua Nkomo’s unfinished projects as the Ekusileni Hospital and these must be revived and opened now at the 2014. The Unity Accord will become an insult to our Father Zimbabwe by shouting: “unity unity” while doing nothing that reflects that unity in deeds. Dr Nkomo is even now he still working and listened to more in death than when he was listened to in life when he talks of unity, peace and development. We have Joshua Nkomo’s National Foundation which has established a Joshua Nkomo Museum in Matsheumhlophe by Dr Nkomo’s Liberation struggle lieutenants like Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo, Myself Dr Sikhanyiso Duke Ndlovu, Nhema, Hadebe, Nkolomi, Jabu Nkomo and Nkomo’s children.
The Foundation is struggling, but alone, why? It needs a substantial budget to carry out Nkomo’s vision to finish the Museum, build schools, a community Centre in Kezi, build, and a roof on the Nkomo Shrine. It also seeks to establish a Nkomo Professional Chair of Peace, Humanity and Development issues graduate. Open up Nkomo’s Canning Factory and other projects. Let us also have talks and unity activities all over the country and in Mashonaland. Why should it be us in Matabeleland, who suffered most during the political upheavals, the only stars? Unity observance must be on both sides not on the aggrieved alone. Reconciliation and Peace must not be by the vanquished alone. That is why the Unity Accord was signed by the two, Dr Nkomo (PF-Zapu) and Cde Mugabe Zanu-PF. So former PF-Zapu should not be singing unity alone. It is time for other musicians to sing the song “Unity is ever important”. Mtukudzi, Chimbetu and Chinx or other singers in Mashonaland not a word about unity?
So people are asking questions. Let us do something about the importance of our unity. Yes, unity is EVER IMPORTANT. Long live unity for the benefit of all Zimbabweans. Amen.
Sidumisile Mabena