Chronicle Editor
Dr Milton Chemhuru
THE raising of the Union Jack above the grounds of Salisbury on 12 September 1890 by the Pioneer Column marked the beginning of a foreign ruthless government in the country.
To strengthen its control of the land, the government of Southern Rhodesia introduced The Land Apportionment Act of 1930. This was a segregated land ownership law. The law empowered the government to grab fertile land from the blacks.
The law created conflict between the whites and the locals. Hence, the black nationalists formed political parties with the objective of negotiating with the whites to remove those suppressive laws.
However, the government from 1959 to 1963 banned all African political parties, that is the Southern Rhodesia African National Council (ANC) and the National Democratic Party (NDP) respectively. The late Vice President, Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, was the subsequent leader of these parties.
There is evidence to suggest that without our freedom fighters, independence by 1980, could have been delayed by many more years. This article briefly analyses the political impact of the sacrifices of our gallant fighters during the armed struggle for independence.
The impact of the Land Apportionment Act 1930
The government was involved in police brutality, adoption and assassination of human rights and political activists like Cde Edson Sithole and Dr Samuel Parirenyatwa. Political leaders were detained for 11 years without trial. The grabbing of fertile land and livestock resulted in blacks being resettled on overpopulated arid land. In addition, blacks were forced to sell their stocks at low prices as determined by the whites.
The result was that the blacks became poverty-stricken because their livelihood depended on land and livestock.
Government secret agents were planted among ZAPU/ZANU members and supporters. The agents stirred inter and intra-fighting and tribal divisions among African political parties.
The blacks attempted on several occasions to find a negotiated settlement with the whites such as The Sir Edgar Whitehead and ZAPU Southern Rhodesia Constitutional Conference 1961. The conference was aborted because the proposed transitional government from minority to majority rule respectively was to be 14 years. Sir Edgar Whitehead refused to reduce the proposed transitional period.
Due to perceived political unrest among blacks, the government had an alibi to ban ZAPU and ZANU in 1963.
On 11 November 1965, Ian Douglas Smith announced a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). The UK government did not arrest Smith for treason against Her Majesty. On the contrary, two years later in 1967, Anguilla declared UDI and UK sent troops to suppress it.
Response by the blacks towards the repressive laws
The UDI by Smith closed doors for negotiations between the blacks and the whites in the country. Hence, the armed struggle by the blacks was the alternative action to free themselves from white domination. People were sent for guerrilla training in Cuba, Egypt, Tanzania, Zambia, Algeria, China and Russia among other countries.
ZANU and ZAPU leadership appointed Cdes Herbert Chitepo and James Chikerema as their external party representatives in Tanzania and Zambia respectively.
Cde Chikerema led the armed struggle from Zambia from 1963 up to 1971 when there was political crisis within the party. Cde Chikerema then formed a short-lived party, FROLIZ while Cde Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo re-organised ZAPU and founded ZPRA in 1971. Cde Chitepo directed the armed struggle through ZANLA.
The success of the armed struggle
By 1974 November, the Smith rebel government had felt the heat of the armed struggle. The regime set free all political leaders from detention. Captured freedom fighters remained in prison. The black leaders of ZAPU, ZANLA, ZIPRA and FROLIZ were integrated as the Zimbabwe Peoples’ Army (ZIPA) under one command. ZIPA collapsed in less than six months of its functionality. ZIPA was a product of Cde Moyo and the Lusaka imprisoned ZANU executive.
The black political leaders, under the umbrella of ANC Muzorewa had no common goal to enable them to unite ZIPA because they were deeply politically divided. That political crisis contaminated ZIPA administration and catalysed the demise of ZIPA faster than it was formed.
From May 1976 to end of that year, guerrilla operations and training were scaled down.
A number of trained guerrillas disappeared or died under unexplained circumstances. Those guerrillas who survived the ZIPA crisis reorganised themselves and continued with the armed struggle as ZPRA and ZANLA.
The Patriotic Front was formed between ZAPU and ZANU, another product of Cde Moyo and ZANU leadership in Mozambique.
Then came the Lancaster House Conference in 1979 which paved way for the 18 April, 1980 independence. Sadly some guerrillas on the hanging list were still executed after 18 April 1980.
Impact of the war of liberation on the population
The war lasted for years with more than 50 000 civilians killed by the enemy. Many were displaced internally while over 500 000 became refugees. There was evidence of government atrocities against both captured guerrillas and civilians.
There is evidence in our brief documentation to suggest that there was resilience among the guerrillas during the armed struggle. Their contribution towards our freedom is beyond our imagination. Independence was achieved, hence the Heroes Day commemoration.
λ Dr Milton Chemhuru whose pseudonym was Cde Mbeya or Albert Ntonga is a former ZPRA guerilla and instructor who trained at Morogoro in Tanzania with the commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Philip Valerio Sibanda. After Independence, Dr Chemhuru a Cuban trained medical doctor worked in the Ministry of Health and Child Care and at some point was the Provincial Medical Director for Midlands Province.
Online Reporter