Kayisa Ndiweni was chief in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

. He was hugely respected in Matabeleland

Matabeleland

Modern day Matabeleland is a region in Zimbabwe divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people...

, and a revered figure among his people in Ntabazinduna.

He became a chief in 1939. He was a leading figure in the Zimbabwe United People's Organisation

Zimbabwe United People's Organisation

Zimbabwe United People's Organisation was a political party in Zimbabwe, formed in December 1976 by Chief Jeremiah Chirau, an ex-minister in the Rhodesian Front government. ZUPO contested the 1979 election but failed to win a seat. It was disbanded before the 1980 election.The organisation's only...

 (ZUPO) party in the late 1970s, but left to found the United National Federal Party

United National Federal Party

United National Federal Party was a political party in Zimbabwe, formed in November 1978 by Chief Kayisa Ndiweni, who had been a leading figure in the Zimbabwe United People's Organisation. UNFP contested the 1979 election and won 9 seats, mostly in the Matabeleland provinces. It failed to win any...

. He attended the 1979 Lancaster House Conference

Lancaster House Agreement

The negotiations which led to the Lancaster House Agreement brought independence to Rhodesia following Ian Smith’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. The Agreement covered the Independence Constitution, pre-independence arrangements, and a ceasefire...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 where Zimbabwe’s independence from white minority rule was negotiated. He served as the Minister for Works in the government of Abel Muzorewa

Abel Muzorewa

Bishop Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia from the Internal Settlement to the Lancaster House Agreement in 1979...

 in 1979-80. He was an advocate of a federal state for Zimbabwe and a strong critic of the style of governance of Robert Mugabe

Robert Mugabe

Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...

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