Tawanda Moyo | On this day.

On this day in 1975 Herbert Wiltshire Pfumaindini Chitepo was assassinated in Lusaka by a bomb planted on his blue VW Beetle. The explosion killed Chitepo and one of his guards instantly while another bodyguard was severely injured.

The question of who killed Chitepo has never been conclusively answered. ZANU PF naturally blamed the Rhodesians, while other people have pointed to ZANU and its infighting and tribalism. An inquiry commissioned by the Zambian government suggested that Chitepo was killed by his Comrades within ZANU and led to souring relations between ZANU and the Zambian government including arrests of prominent leaders.

The death of Chitepo had profound implications. Firstly the deterioration of relations between ZANU and Kanda meant ZANU had to find a new home and luckily in June of that year Mozambique became independent after a coup in Portugal and the nationalists changed base to Mozambique.

Secondly, and most importantly, the death of Chitepo led to the rise of Robert Mugabe as undisputed leader of the nationalist movement after he was endorsed by the military wing of ZANU at Mgagao ahead of Sithole who was the legitimate leader of the Party. Mugabe would cross into Mozambique to take charge of the nationalist movement at the brink of victory disappearing, as some allege, with Chitepo’s “chema” in the process.

Herbert Chitepo was, by all accounts, a truly extraordinary man who had defied all odds to become the first black lawyer in Zimbabwe.

We can’t help but wonder what might have been had he not been tragically taken away that March morning 43 years ago.

May he rest in peace.

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