BY DR MASIMBA MAVAZA
The first conference of ZANU was held in 1969 with Chitepo as Chairman.ZANU was formed 8 August 1963 when Ndabaningi Sithole, Henry Hamadziripi, Mukudzei Midzi, Herbert Chitepo, Edgar Tekere and Leopold Takawira decided to split from ZAPU the formation was commenced at the house of Enos Nkala in Highfield.The founders were dissatisfied with the militant tactics of Nkomo.
In contrast to future developments, both parties drew from both the Shona and the Ndebele, the two major tribes of the country. Both ZANU and ZAPU formed political wings within the country (under those names) and military wings: the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) respectively to fight the struggle from neighbouring countries – ZANLA from Mozambique and Zambia, and ZIPRA from Zambia and Mozambique. The founding fathers of ZANU grew very impatient with the old way of politics playing at ZAPU. So ZANU was a militant organisation that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People’s Union ZANU founders had grown tired of the games being played by the colonisers who continued to plunder our wealth sharing amongst themselves. However ZANU had to split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Mugabe and Ndabaningi Sithole, later respectively called ZANU–PF and ZANU – Ndonga. These two sub-divisions ran separately at the 1980 general election, where ZANU-PF has been in power ever since, and ZANU – Ndonga a minor opposition party faded into History. Dare ReChimurenga was a Zanu War Council that led in the confrontation with the Rhodesian colonial regime as part of the Second Chimurenga. Dare ReChimurenga was initially led by Herbert Chitepo as chairman and Noel Mukono as Secretary of Defence. Dare ReChimurenga was created as a wing of the Zanu party soon after its formation in 1964.
Dare ReChimurenga has been likened to the modern day politburo in Zanu-PF. The Dare met regularly with the High Command. It’s role in the liberation war was to deal with administrative issues while High Command comprised commanders responsible for executing the war. Dare ReChimurenga would source materials for the war from all over the world. This Dare was like some central government outside Rhodesia.
Members
Members of the Dare reChimurenga elected at the biennial conferences and their portfolios. The Dare was expanded from four to eight members in 1969. At the 1971 review conference two people lost their positions and one resigned. Of those elected in 1971, four people were replaced at the 1973 conference and the military was represented for the first time when Tongogara came in. So from the formation of ZANU the conference was held once after every two years. Before the first conference of 1969
Herbert Chitepo led as Chairman. Cde Noel Mukono was the Defence Secretary Cde Henry Hamadziripi was the Secretary for finance he was a Zimbabwean politician, member of the Dare ReChimurenga, member and co-founder of ZANU. Hamadziripi was allegedly involved together with Joram Gumbo, Mukudzei, Joseph Chimurenga and Augustine Chihuri in the 1978 rebellion against the ZANU’s top leadership.
Hamadziripi and Mukudzei Midzi were jailed by Robert Mugabe in Mozambique in 1978 for rebelling against his leadership.Hamadziripi died a pauper and were denied burial at Zimbabwe National Heroes Acre. Secretary for Administration was cde Mukudzei Midzi.
1969 there was the first Biennial Review Conference Herbert Chitepo retained the Chairmanship while cde Noel Mukono took the Defence secretariat with Hamadziripi retaining the Finance position cde Mukudzei Midzi remained at Administration.
The conference agreed to extend the Dare and cde Nathan Shamuyarira was elected as External Affairs Secretary. Cde Taziana Mtizwa was elected publicity secretary with cde Stanley Parirewa as welfare and Social Affairs Secretary with Political affairs given to cde Simpson Mutambanengwe. In
1971 Biennial Review Conference cde Richard Hove was elected external affairs secretary replacing cde Shamuyarira. A new department of publicity was created and was headed by cde Washington Malianga. With the rest maintaining their positions.
In 1973 Biennial Review Conference Noel Mukono was elected to be in charge of External Affairs and Cde Kumbirai Kangai was elected to head Labour social services and welfare replacing cde Parirewa. Cde Rufaro Gumbo was elected Information and Publicity while cde John Mataure was elected secretary for Political affairs and cde Josiah Magama Tongogara landing on defence.
It has been alleged by some members of the Dare ReChimurenga that some leaders in Dare ReChimurenga were selling information to the Smith regime.
While DareRechimurenga was seized with the sellouts scandal cde Herbert Chitepo was murdered in Zambia.
After Herbert CHitepo’s assassination at his home in a car bomb in 1975 in Lusaka, Zambia, some Dare ReChimurenga Gumbo and Kangai were arrested by the Zambian government. Speculation was rife Kangai was involved in the murder of Chitepo, but Gumbo defended him. Later in an interview Gumbo said:
We were arrested by the Zambian government on March 18, 1975 over the murder of Chitepo but we put out a position that he was murdered by the Rhodesian forces. We were incarcerated in Zambia at Kabwe Maximum Prison which is just like Chikurubi Maximum Prison here. Kangai was not involved in the killing of Chitepo even though all of us were arrested; none of us was involved. There was nothing of that nature.
The Dare ReChimurenga would coordinate its activities with those who were in prison in Rhodesia using letters that were smuggled into the prisons. These prisoners would help with advice. In 1977 cde Robert Mugabe chaired the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) group from 1975 to 1980 and led its successor political party, the ZANU – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), from 1980 to 2017. In 2017 Emerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa took over the reigns of the party and government.
Cde Mnangagwa was born in 1942 in Shabani, Southern Rhodesia, to a large Shona family. His parents were farmers, and in the 1950s he had to move with his family to Northern Rhodesia because of his father’s political activism. There, he became active in anti-colonial politics, and in 1963, he joined the newly-formed Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army, the militant wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), and returned to Rhodesia in 1964. Leading a group called the “Crocodile Gang”, he attacked white-owned farms in the Eastern Highlands.
In 1965, he bombed a train near Fort Victoria (now Masvingo) and was imprisoned for ten years, after which he was released and deported back to Northern Rhodesia, by then independent as Zambia. He then studied law at the University of Zambia and later at the University of London, and practiced as an attorney. He soon left legal private practice and went to Portuguese Mozambique to rejoin ZANU. There he was assigned to be Robert Mugabe’s assistant and bodyguard, accompanying him to the Lancaster House Agreement, which resulted in the recognised independence of Zimbabwe in 1980.
After independence, Mnangagwa held a series of senior Cabinet positions under Mugabe. From 1980 to 1988, he was the country’s first Minister of State Security, and oversaw the Central Intelligence Organisation. Mnangagwa was Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs from 1989 to 2000 and then served as Speaker of the Parliament from 2000 to 2005, when he was demoted to Minister of Rural Housing . Mnangagwa served as Minister of Defence from 2009 until 2013, when he became Minister of Justice again. He was also appointed First Vice-President in 2014 and was widely considered to be a leading candidate to succeed Mugabe.
He secured his first full term as President in the July 2018 election with 50.8% of the vote.
Mnangagwa is nicknamed “Garwe” or “Ngwena”, which means “the crocodile” in the Shona language,initially because that was the name of the guerrilla group he founded, but later because of his political shrewdness.
This conference is the second conference cde Mnangagwa is to preside as the party president and First Secretary.
