By Political Correspondent- Rugare Gumbo, the former Zanu PF heavyweight and the only surviving member of the Dare Rechimurenga, says the November 2017 coup that ousted the late president, Robert Mugabe, was the third in the history of Zanu.

Dare Rechimurenga was the supreme council of the Zanu in the 1970s and was responsible for giving direction to party operations, and it was operating from Lusaka, Zambia.

Blessed Sunday Zimbabwe. Dare re Chimurenga was the supreme council of the nationalist movement tasked with the execution of the armed struggle. In this instalment Elder Rugare Gumbo its last surviving member speaks to its composition, its contradictions, FROLIZI, a break away… pic.twitter.com/p6lHGoBOAf

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Rugare Gumbo says: Dare ReChimurenga was the supreme Council of when the nationalists movement migrated to Zambia after the disbandment of political parties and Herbert Chitepo was made the director, the chairman of ZANU the external wing. He was the director of prosecutions in Tanzania and then after the UDI in 1965 he took over the external wing and he went to Lusaka so he was based in Lusaka. He started with the revolutionary council which involved the people who were elected in the Congress in 1964- the trained cadres who were outside the country, so they formed a revolutionary Council in 1967 and after 1969 Hebert Chitepo said we have to have an elected body of the party not an appointed body. So they said we have to have a Dare ReChimurenga, of the party; so they held regular conferences to elect new members at bi annual conferences, every two years. So in 1969 they started and elected the new leadership; and then in 1971 they held their second conference, errm in 1973 they held another conference; that is where I come in myself, and I was in America, so that is how I got in, in 1973. The first Dare ReChimurenga in 1969 involved Chitepo, Hamadziripi, Mukono, Simpson Mutambanengwe, Parirehwa, Mutizwa, and Chitepo? I had forgotten Shamuyarira in 1971. He was he was the one in charge of foreign affairs. In 1971 Shamuyarira and Mutambanengwe, I think we left them out because there had emerged problems, because Shamuyarira had wanted to take over as chairman of the party and he failed at Kafue Conference of the party. Then in 1973 there was again an election that’s where I came in; conference at Kafue, that’s why I come in and Chitepo was elected chairman, Cde Mudzi, Cde Hamadziripi, Tongogara came in, myself and Kangai. John Mataure became the political commissar. I should say in 1971 I had forgotten Richard Hove he had taken over the position that had been under Shamuyarira of foreign affairs, Then Secretary of publicity in 1971 was Washington Malianga. The function of the Dare ReChimurenga was the overall board that was running the armed struggle and formulated policies, the execution of the armed struggle; basically I would say these are the people who are giving the general direction of the party providing them with the national ideological position to the ministry of defence and also the Recruitment training and welfare of the people who were fighting the cadres and so on and so forth. You mentioned a particular yeah between 1973 the emerged a breakaway where Froliz came up, what happened there? Froliz came up in 1971 after the Kafue Conference. What happened was that Shamuyarira wanted to take over as Chairman so that he can work with Chikerema of ZAPU. ZAPU had its own problems of tribalism and so Shamuyarira and Chikerema teamed up and To form the one behind the scenes who were putting Siwela as chairman. THAT’S WHY IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US IF YOU READ THE TAKE BY MASIPULA, HE TWISTS THAT NARRATIVE TO GIVE CREDIT TO HIS BROTHER, NDABA. The natives are easily tested so that is why it is important for you the originators to give us the truth . Ndabaningi Sithole does it feature at all in 1971. Neither does a feature in 1973 he features in after the death of Herbert Chitepo. Before the death of Herbert Chapel when we had a meeting of nationalist in Zambia in December 1974 Sithole was still president of ZANU. A problem had damaged that during that time when they were preparing for that meeting, there was a coup in the prison, at Connemara Prison (in Gweru) where Ndabaningi was ousted by Mugabe; it is reported that Mugabe did not vote but Tekere, and the others the Nkalas, the Maliangas overthrew Sithole in prison. They had sent Mugabe and Malianga for consultations to do a meeting. Kaunda wanted Sithole to be president; Sithole and Nkomo, those two were preferred but to Kaunda ‘s surprise there came Mugabe and Malianga. Kaunda then asked what the heck are you people doing? Who is the president? And they answered saying we later removed him. How can you remove Sithole the six of you? Kaunda asked them how on earth can you the six of you do that? Go back. When they had gone back, we then conducted a meeting. When we held them meeting, we refused and said no there is nothing like that that you remove Sithole when there are just the six of you. So we decided that we are all united and we then went to the talks while united and we came out within an agreement of Muzorewa, [of Zimbabwe Rhodesia.] LAUGH LAUGH. The United African Council. So after that, they came some nationalists who when they were now back home problems emerged of the Muzorewa and the Nkomo’s. Meanwhile, that is when certain people got arrested, on March 4 1975 Sithole was arrested and he was charged with trying to eliminate the other African nationalists, the ANC, these were the tricks of Smith. So After that, that is when that March, on [date unclear] March 18. 1975 is when Hebert Chitepo was assassinated. So from there that is when the downfall of Sithole began. Sithole was supported by Kaunda who was saying that he thinks that Chitepo was killed by us the Karangas, and Chitepo was Manyika, and yet when Chitepo was killed what actually happened? Was that on the 17th of March 1974 Muzorewa came to Zambia, we went to the airport to welcome him. We went to sit in our own place just to watch while they were celebrating, the Chikeremas and the Nyandoros. And he arrived and then we went to meet him and then we went to State House to decide on the following day’s meeting on the 18th and when we got there; there were more or less altercations between Nyandoro and Chitepo and so on. Anyway, that is not the issue, but after we agreed to meet tomorrow, we said that Justin Nyoka who was reporting… Isn’t it, you know Justin Nyoka? He said that he wanted to see me and Tongogara so so we then left and went towards Chitepo’s in order to out what our line for the following day tomorrow for about 30 minutes or so to decide who is going to be representing the party externally, the Muzorewa’s were saying this [and that]. So we said Chitepo and Jaison Moyo are those who will represent the party outside the country and so we followed each other and then we had BBC, with the Muzorewa’s and so forth. Chitepo saw us at the veranda and waved bye-bye we will meet tomorrow. And that was it. The first time we were in different houses in fear of arrest or so on, but after that we went to one house in a nice way so we can wake up tomorrow to the publicity office to meet Justin Nyoka of the BBC. Tongogara arrived. As soon as we arrived there, we received a phone call from Mudzi at the liberation centre, he said a bomb has hit at Chitepo’s home. So we said oh. So right there, Tongogara said to me aah, Gumbo, our liberation struggle has been terminated. Without Chitepo I don’t think our revolution will come out well. We said that let us go to liberation and as we got to the gate at liberation the commander of SWAPO came and said I am so sorry he is no more political bomb. There has been a bomb at Chitepo’s at Chilenje South. We then went there to see and we saw his body ripped apart. His bodyguard had also been hit and a child and another bodyguard also affected. So that is how the problems started in ZANU. Even though they had been other problems before, but for the future that is how everything started. Question: So is it fair to say that the 2017 coup was not the first ZanuPf? You are quite right. There was another attempt in 1974 to mount a coup against party leadership in Lusaka but basically it was tribal oriented it was of the Manyika’s targeting the Tongogaras. So it was an attempted coup, but it failed Question: Were you considered a Karanga as well? Yes. Myself, Hamadziripi, the Tongogaras. After that in terms of overthrowal of leadership that I pointed out of Sithole, the first one was done by Mugabe, which failed, and then came this one of 2017.