Zimbabwe African People's Union
Encyclopedia
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.
The party was formed on 17 December 1961, 10 days after the Rhodesian government banned the National Democratic Party (NDP). Founded by Joshua Nkomo
as president, Parirenyatwa as vice-president, Ndabaningi Sithole
as chairman, Jason Moyo, Robert Mugabe
as information and publicity secretary, Leopold Takawira
as external secretary, at the request of Joseph Msika
, ZAPU was banned in 1962 by the Rhodesia
n Republican government, and was later engaged in a guerrilla war
against it. The armed wing of ZAPU, known as Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), was commanded by General Lookout Masuku
.
ZAPU was aligned with the Soviet Union
whose ideology was to mobilise the urban workers, whereas ZANU had a pro-People's Republic of China orientation which was to mobilise the rural peasantry.
A minor party
with the same name was founded in 2008.
massacres.
UMR – Zimbabwe under a Zanu-PF government, was always going to be a project for the personal humiliation of Joshua Nkomo, and symbolically through him, of the Ndebele. Ominously, it was always going to be a mechanism for the collective punishment of, and revenge against, the Ndebele for Ndebele rule over the Shona before colonialism.
This resulted in a party-internal controversy which culminated in an official severing of ties with ZANU-PF in December 2008.
, a former Home Affairs minister was elected interim chairperson with the mandate to convene a two day congress starting the 11 April 2009. The congress would formally endorse the pullout from ZANU and elect an executive for the party. The convention took place at MacDonald's Hall in Mzilikazi suburb in Bulawayo
and Swaziland
.
A new leadership was not elected. The interim executive was returned with Dumiso Dabengwa
remaining as interim leader.
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...
from its founding in 1961 until it merged with the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front in December 1987.
The party was formed on 17 December 1961, 10 days after the Rhodesian government banned the National Democratic Party (NDP). Founded by Joshua Nkomo
Joshua Nkomo
Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo was the leader and founder of the Zimbabwe African People's Union and a member of the Kalanga tribe...
as president, Parirenyatwa as vice-president, Ndabaningi Sithole
Ndabaningi Sithole
Ndabaningi Sithole founded the Zimbabwe African National Union, a militant organization that opposed the government of Rhodesia, in July 1963. A member of the Ndau ethnic group, he also worked as a Methodist minister. He spent 10 years in prison after the government banned ZANU...
as chairman, Jason Moyo, 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...
as information and publicity secretary, Leopold Takawira
Leopold Takawira
Leopold Takawira served as the Vice President of the Zimbabwe African National Union after supporting the National Democratic Party and later the Zimbabwe African People's Union.Leopold Takawira was also known by his Mhazi to totem as 'Shumba yeChirumanzi'Takawira was born at Chirumanzi, Victoria...
as external secretary, at the request of Joseph Msika
Joseph Msika
Joseph Wilfred Msika was a Zimbabwean politician who served as Vice President of Zimbabwe from 1999 to 2009.-Early life:...
, ZAPU was banned in 1962 by the Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
n Republican government, and was later engaged in a guerrilla war
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
against it. The armed wing of ZAPU, known as Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), was commanded by General Lookout Masuku
Lookout Masuku
Lieutenant General Lookout Masuku commanded the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army, the militant wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union, during the Rhodesian Bush War...
.
ZAPU was aligned with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
whose ideology was to mobilise the urban workers, whereas ZANU had a pro-People's Republic of China orientation which was to mobilise the rural peasantry.
A minor party
Minor party
Minor party is a political party that play a smaller role than a major party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so big that the membership total, donations, and the candidates that they are able to produce or attract are very distinct...
with the same name was founded in 2008.
Unification into ZANU-PF
In 1980 it contested elections in Zimbabwe as the Patriotic Front, but lost to its rival the ZANU. They merged into ZANU-PF in 1987 following the GukurahundiGukurahundi
The Gukurahundi refers to the suppression by Zimbabwe's 5th Brigade in the predominantly Ndebele regions of Zimbabwe most of whom were supporters of Joshua Nkomo. A few hundred disgruntled former ZIPRA combatants waged armed banditry against the civilians in Matabeleland, and destroyed government...
massacres.
Unity Accord
The Unity Accord signed at that meeting stated:- That ZANU PF and PF ZAPU have irrevocably committed themselves to unite under one political party.
- That the unity of the two political parties; shall be achieved under the name Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front) in short ZANU PF.
- That Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe shall be the First Secretary and President of ZANU PF.
- That ZANU PF shall have two Second Secretaries and Vice Presidents who shall be appointed by the First Secretary and President of the Party.
- That ZANU PF shall seek to establish a socialist society in Zimbabwe on the guidance of Marxist-Leninist principles.
- That ZANU PF shall seek to establish a One Party State in Zimbabwe.
- That the leadership of ZANU PF shall abide by the Leadership Code.
- That the existing structures of ZANU PF and PF ZAPU shall be merged in accordance with the letter and spirit of this Agreement.
- That both parties shall, in the interim, take immediate vigorous steps to eliminate and end the insecurity and violence prevalent in MatabelelandMatabelelandModern 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...
. - That ZANU PF and PF ZAPU shall convene their respective Congress to give effect to this Agreement within the shortest possible time.
- That, in the interim, Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe is vested with full powers to prepare for the implementation f this Agreement and to act in the name and authority of ZANU PF.
UMR – Zimbabwe under a Zanu-PF government, was always going to be a project for the personal humiliation of Joshua Nkomo, and symbolically through him, of the Ndebele. Ominously, it was always going to be a mechanism for the collective punishment of, and revenge against, the Ndebele for Ndebele rule over the Shona before colonialism.
2008 Withdrawal from Unity Accord
In mid-October 2008, in the midst of the ongoing negotiations with rival parties, a group of former PF ZAPU and Zipra members became outspoken in the desire to dissolve the alliance with ZANU-PF. According to the website, the members convened a meeting in on 8 November 2008 and it was decided:
- That the political structure of ZAPU cease to operate under the title ZANU PF and to resume the title ZAPU.
- That all party structures operate under the authority of the Constitution of ZAPU.
- That the District Councils should meet to prepare for and convene a Consultative Conference consisting of the ten Provinces by December 2008, for the purpose of electing an Interim Executive charged with the responsibility to mobilise and restructure the party and convene the party Congress by March 2009, in terms of Article 6 of the constitution of ZAPU.
- That a campaign to mobilise resources in the country, from well-wishers everywhere, from fraternal political parties and International Organisations be undertaken forthwith.
- To engage as necessary in the negotiations and peace building initiatives to emeliorate the political and economic hardships presently being endured by the people of Zimbabwe.
- To convene a consultative Conference consisting of all the ten political Provinces by December 2008 for the purpose of electing an Interim Executive, charged to mobilise and restructure the party and convene the Party's Congress by March 2009, in terms of Article 6 of the Constitution of ZAPU.
- THIS IS DONE AND AGREED TO by us the delegates to the Consultative Meeting at Stanley Square, Bulawayo
BulawayoBulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
on 8 November 2008.
This resulted in a party-internal controversy which culminated in an official severing of ties with ZANU-PF in December 2008.
ZAPU National Consultative Convention
At the party conference, the ZAPU National Consultative Convention, held from the 13th to the 14 December 2008, Dumiso DabengwaDumiso Dabengwa
Dumiso Dabengwa is a Zimbabwean politician. He served as the head of ZIPRA intelligence during the Rhodesian Bush War.In 1982 he was charged, with Lookout Masuku and four others, of treason by the Mugabe administration. They were acquitted, for lack of evidence in 1983. On release they were...
, a former Home Affairs minister was elected interim chairperson with the mandate to convene a two day congress starting the 11 April 2009. The congress would formally endorse the pullout from ZANU and elect an executive for the party. The convention took place at MacDonald's Hall in Mzilikazi suburb in Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
Party Congress of 2009
The party congress of 2009 which was supposed to elect new leadership took place a month later that scheduled, on the [May 16, 2009. The congress formally endorsed the party's withdrawal from Zanu PF. The party announced that it had officially cut ties with Zanu PF and had withdrawn support for its former members who had chosen to remain in ZANU. The congress was attended by delegates from the country's 12 provinces as well as representatives from Canada, South Africa, BotswanaBotswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
.
A new leadership was not elected. The interim executive was returned with Dumiso Dabengwa
Dumiso Dabengwa
Dumiso Dabengwa is a Zimbabwean politician. He served as the head of ZIPRA intelligence during the Rhodesian Bush War.In 1982 he was charged, with Lookout Masuku and four others, of treason by the Mugabe administration. They were acquitted, for lack of evidence in 1983. On release they were...
remaining as interim leader.
External links
- Official website of the Zimbabwe African People's Union
- Zimbabwe: History of a Struggle a 1972 pamphlet by ZAPU