George Nyandoro
Encyclopedia
George Nyandoro served as the General Secretary of Zimbabwe African People's Union
. An ethnic Shona
, Nyandoro was one of the founders of the Southern Rhodesia African National Congress
. The late National Hero Cde. George Bodzo Nyandoro was one of the most persistent and fearless nationalist of his generation.
As a founder member of the earliest nationalist parties, his struggle against colonial domination dates back to the 1950s.
Born in 1926 in the Chihota Reserve, Cde George Bodzo Nyandoro came from a background which made resistance to political domination by whites a family tradition.
He developed a keen interest in public affairs at an early age by joining the British African National Voice Association and later the Inter-Racial Association.
Driven by an insatiable thirst to fight for freedom from colonial domination, he joined James Chikerema, Edison Sithole and others in founding the African National Youth League (ANYL) in 1955. In effect, the organization became the first step in the creation of a full-scale nationalist movement in Rhodesia.
By 1956 he refused a well-paid job as a bookkeeper with an airline company to pursue politics on a full time basis. When the ANLY fused with the old ANC to form a broad national movement, also called the African National Congress, Nyandoro was elected its Secretary-General in recognition of his value both as a thinker and a man of action.
In December 1958 he attended the first All-African People's Conference in Accra, Ghana.
On 25 January 1959 he was present at the famous forest meeting in Limbe, generally regarded as the precursor of the troubles that broke out shortly afterwards in Nyasaland (now Malawi).
Two weeks later, on 10 February, he was sentenced to four months hard labour in Marondera for a contravention of the Public Order Act arising out of a meeting which he had addressed at Chumachanga on 4 January.
On 26 February, a state of emergency was declared and hundreds of active members of the ANC and their leaders (including George Nyandoro) were detained.
He was eventually released in early 1963 due to poor health. Addressing the United Nations Committee of 24 in Lisbon in June 1975, he said that African nationalists were preparing for an armed struggle in Rhodesia, while at the same time exploring the possibilities of peaceful change.
He accused Ian Smith of playing for time and of not being serious. After independence, he retired from active politics and became a successful businessman.
Cde Nyandoro collapsed and died on June 24 1994 in Harare at the age of 67 and is interred at the national heroes acre in Harare
Zimbabwe African People's Union
The Zimbabwe African People's Union was a militant organization and political party that fought for the national liberation of Zimbabwe from its founding in 1961 until it merged with the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front in December 1987....
. An ethnic Shona
Shona people
Shona is the name collectively given to two groups of people in the east and southwest of Zimbabwe, north eastern Botswana and southern Mozambique.-Shona Regional Classification:...
, Nyandoro was one of the founders of the Southern Rhodesia African National Congress
Southern Rhodesia African National Congress
The Southern Rhodesia African National Congress was a multiracial political party in what is now Zimbabwe committed to the nonviolent promotion of Native African welfare. SRANC was the first fully fledged nationalist organization active between 1957 and 1959 before it was banned by the oppressive...
. The late National Hero Cde. George Bodzo Nyandoro was one of the most persistent and fearless nationalist of his generation.
As a founder member of the earliest nationalist parties, his struggle against colonial domination dates back to the 1950s.
Born in 1926 in the Chihota Reserve, Cde George Bodzo Nyandoro came from a background which made resistance to political domination by whites a family tradition.
He developed a keen interest in public affairs at an early age by joining the British African National Voice Association and later the Inter-Racial Association.
Driven by an insatiable thirst to fight for freedom from colonial domination, he joined James Chikerema, Edison Sithole and others in founding the African National Youth League (ANYL) in 1955. In effect, the organization became the first step in the creation of a full-scale nationalist movement in Rhodesia.
By 1956 he refused a well-paid job as a bookkeeper with an airline company to pursue politics on a full time basis. When the ANLY fused with the old ANC to form a broad national movement, also called the African National Congress, Nyandoro was elected its Secretary-General in recognition of his value both as a thinker and a man of action.
In December 1958 he attended the first All-African People's Conference in Accra, Ghana.
On 25 January 1959 he was present at the famous forest meeting in Limbe, generally regarded as the precursor of the troubles that broke out shortly afterwards in Nyasaland (now Malawi).
Two weeks later, on 10 February, he was sentenced to four months hard labour in Marondera for a contravention of the Public Order Act arising out of a meeting which he had addressed at Chumachanga on 4 January.
On 26 February, a state of emergency was declared and hundreds of active members of the ANC and their leaders (including George Nyandoro) were detained.
He was eventually released in early 1963 due to poor health. Addressing the United Nations Committee of 24 in Lisbon in June 1975, he said that African nationalists were preparing for an armed struggle in Rhodesia, while at the same time exploring the possibilities of peaceful change.
He accused Ian Smith of playing for time and of not being serious. After independence, he retired from active politics and became a successful businessman.
Cde Nyandoro collapsed and died on June 24 1994 in Harare at the age of 67 and is interred at the national heroes acre in Harare