Unity goes beyond the 1987 Accord

21 Dec, 2014 - 00:12 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Unity observance must be on both sides: that is why the Unity Accord was signed by Cde Nkomo and Cde Mugabe.

Historically, the people of Zimbabwe have always been united judging from the first Impi yoMvukela of 1890, the Lobengula wars at Matopos, the Lalaphansi, Imbizo and Umgandane until 1893 when Lobengula’s regiment wiped out the Allan Wilson Battalion at Pupu-Shangani River near Lupane Matabeleland North.

In 1896 the Chiefs in Mashonaland joined the fight against the colonial invaders as one people with Matabeleland fighters.

In 1910, when the Union of South Africa was formed, the people of Zimbabwe remained united when the British gave Rhodes’ British South African Company authority to run the political and economic affairs of Rhodesia.

The year 1923 saw a white’s only referendum to decide whether to join South Africa or become a “self-governing” state. African Zimbabweans remained united and none supported the White Rhodesians in that referendum.

In 1932, the settlers introduced the Land Apportionment Act, whereby fertile land was given to settlers and Africans sent to areas with poor soils were called Reserves, which meant the land was still reserved for whites and they would be removed anytime as and when settlers needed more land.

And in 1945, Douglas Samukange formed the African National Congress to oppose the settlers who continued to give each other land as reward for joining and fighting in the Second World War against Germany’s Adolf Hitler.

The whites rode a horse across the land and marked the boundary of a single farm where the animal tired. Africans who had been recruited to fight in the World War were given bicycles as a token of appreciation.

Douglas Samukange handed over the ANC to Cde Joshua Nkomo in 1958 when he became a full-time Methodist minister.

Cde Nkomo was disturbed by the formation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and he joined forces with Kamuzu Banda and Dunduza Chisiza of Malawi as well as Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia in resisting this.

In Bulawayo, Cde Joseph Msika formed the South African Youth League while James Chikerema organised the Salisbury City Youth League.

Cde Joshua Nkomo was a trade unionist and social worker under the Rhodesia Railways.

In 1957, a united group of political leaders – Cde Msika from Bulawayo Youth League and Cdes James Chikerema from the Salisbury Youth City League, Enoch Dumbujena and George Nyandoro – went to Bulawayo to ask Cde Nkomo to lead the new African National Congress.

The meeting was held in a back office at Stanley Hall. Nkomo asked the group if they were aware the liberation struggle should include every Zimbabwean regardless of tribe, race or creed and that it would be a protracted struggle.

He asked them if they knew that the liberation struggle was like “Intaba engabhodwa kalula” – “Gomo risina mapotereko”.

Cde Nkomo accepted to take up the leadership.

The first formidable political party with truly united Zimbabweans was formed at Cyril Jennings Hall in Highfeild, Harare on September 27, 1957.

I, having come home on holiday from South Africa, was so impressed by the developments such that I wrote in the Bantu Mirror quoting Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s mentor, Dr Aggrey of Ghana, who stated that: “We are not fowls but eagles, stretch forth your wings and fly” to take over the country.

We cannot talk of unity today as if it only started in 1987 without a historical perspective.

Roots of unity

In 1959 the ANC was banned and its leaders arrested. Cde Msika and others were sent to Marondera Prison.

The National Democratic Party was formed with Cde Nkomo as President.

That is when Cde Robert Mugabe returned from Ghana, where he was teaching.

Cde Mugabe visited the political leaders at Marondera Prison and offered to join the liberation struggle. He was told to go to Highfield and join the party structures there.

Being young, educated and politically astute, and having been influenced by Ghana’s political developments, he became a shining star in the NDP and was elected secretary for information and publicity.

At the end of 1960, the NDP was banned.

A meeting was convened where a decision was made to form a new political party. Cde Nkomo suggested that the name Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), following such names as TANU of Tanzania and KANU of Kenya.

The name was adopted.

In 1963 ZANU was formed as a breakaway led by Ndabaningi Sithole, Cde Mugabe, Cde Enos Nkala, Cde Edson Zvobgo and others.

When the armed struggle continued in the 1970s under ZIPRA of ZAPU and ZANLA of ZANU, it became necessary to unite through the formation of the Joint Military Command, whose leadership would rotate between Cdes Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo (ZAPU) and Herbert Chitepo (ZANU).

Again we see that unity did not start in 1987 after the internal upheavals after Independence.

The revolutionary commanders did not lose focus on unity and the Zimbabwe People’s Army was formed.

ZIPRA cadres like our new Vice-President Phelekezela Report Mphoko, Nikita Mangena, Cele, Akim Ndlovu and Ambrose Mutinhiri joined ZIPA in Mozambique and others went for joint training at Mgagao.

Nyerere had his own idea of a third force which would leave Ndabaningi out and wanted ZIPRA cadres also to abandon Joshua Nkomo. At Mgagao there was loss of life of our ZIPRA cadres.

ZIPRA cadres remained loyal to their commander-in-chief, Cde Nkomo. ZANLA cadres called on Cde Mugabe to come and lead them from Mozambique.

Sithole had been discredited and joined Muzorewa’s Internal Settlement.

The Patriotic Front was then formed between ZAPU-ZIPRA under Cde Nkomo and ZANU-ZANLA under Cde Mugabe – again a sign of unity.

As the Patriotic Front we went to the Geneva Conference and Gibraltar negotiations.

The Fontline States (Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and Angola) were eager for a settlement to end the war which was causing a strain on their resources.

In 1979 British prime minister Margret Thatcher convened the Conference on Zimbabwe at Mlungushi Hall in Zambia where the liberation movements were coerced to attend the Lancaster House talks in London.

It was at the time when our forces had penetrated right inside Zimbabwe.

ZANLA forces moved from the eastern front in a devastating manner. ZIPRA forces had downed a plane with a heat-seeking missile thinking that Smith’s General Walls was in it. He was saved by his wife who asked him not to go on the plane as she still wanted to enjoy a braai and drinks. The petrol tanks in Salisbury were destroyed by Soviet-made Katushars brought by our ZIPRA cadres.

After the bombing, Smith and General Walls admitted that Nkomo had brought in sophisticated Soviet weapons.

No-fly zones had been declared from Kariba to Kadoma.

Encounters with the enemy were devastating as recorded by the ZIPRA Combat Journal.

Ian Smith came with Muzorewa in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.

As the united Patriotic Front,we engaged the British and their Smith and Muzorewa megaphones.

The land issue took the longest time to resolve.

The British Conservative government offered to pay compensation to white settler farmers for the land they stole from our people as we said we were not going to pay for it.

America and the European Union in Brussels offered to add more money. When Blair’s Labour government took over it was not ashamed to disown the agreement.

After Lancaster, we came for Independence elections as separate parties but united in or ideological focus.

We had joint elections preparatory committees.

I was deputy executive secretary for PF-ZAPU elections and the Central Committee co-ordinator and deputy to Dr Ariston Chambati, with Cde Josiah Chinamano as director of elections and Cde Nkomo as ZIPRA commander-in-chief. Lookout Masuku was our commander and Dabengwa our intelligence chief.

Cde Mugabe led ZANU and Cde Solomon Mujuru was head of the election committee.

We had to work for the integration of our forces and Smith’s forces to form the Zimbabwe National Army, the Police and Intelligence.

Lookout Masuku became deputy commander to Gen Mujuru in the ZNA.

Dr Nkomo visited all assembly points and urged peace and reconciliation among former freedom fighters and Rhodesian forces.

After 1980

After a year of Independence came internal upheavals which caused a lot of loss of life when a few of former PF-ZAPU comrades like Thambolenyoka and Andrew Ndlovu took to the bush protesting ill-treatment. It was never Nkomo’s or PF-ZAPU policy to allow those young former freedom fighters to go into the bush.

Indeed it was the darkest time for us all.

President Mugabe has called it a moment of madness.

I called it the dark hour of revolutionary degeneration never to be repeated.

Our own home-grown negotiations for unity started when Dr Nkomo returned from temporary exile in the UK where he had gone through Botswana after escaping whilst dressed like a woman.

While in the UK he wrote his book “The Story of My Life” published in 1984 by Robert Harnoll Ltd UK.

PF-ZAPU and ZANU-PF set up negotiation teams. Our team led by Cde John Nkomo and lawyers such as Justice Kennedy Sibanda and Cyril Ndebele would report to Cde Nkomo and PF-ZAPU’s Central Committee.

Cde Nkomo and Cde Mugabe would also meet separately.

On the party symbol the two agreed that there be the Great Zimbabwe Monument without the ZAPU bull and the ZANU jongwe.

The name of the new United Party would be ZANU-PF.

The Unity Accord was ratified by the ZAPU Congress at the National Sports Centre. The ZAPU Congress was chaired by Cde Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu as the then national chair. At least 6 000 delegates attended the Congress.

The accord provides for unity between the two revolutionary parties.

It provides that the President shall appoint his two Vice Presidents, one from ZANU-PF and another from PF-ZAPU.

The national chair, by mutual understanding, was from PF-ZAPU.

This has been the case until our 6th National People’s Congress when party constitutional amendments abolished the position of chair and gave the functions to the two VPs.

The Unity Accord calls for unity of the two parties and for peace among the people of Zimbabwe.

Our theme for the first United Congress was “Unity, Peace and Development”.

This is the legacy which Cde Nkomo and Cde Mugabe have bequeathed to the people of Zimbabwe.

The signing of the Unity Accord was symbolic of the unity of the people of Zimbabwe as a whole.

We all must carry that further into practice, in words and deeds.

We must respect each other and ensure all people benefit from the fruits of the hard-won Independence.

Our 2014 Unity Celebrations must help us introspect and ask ourselves what we have done to make our people benefit from unity.

Let us have affirmative action to open Bulawayo industries, provide funds for cattle ranching and water resources in Matabeleland.

Let’s have science and mathematics teachers, school infrastructure and proper indigenisation, economic empowerment programmes for our youths and women.

Factories must be removed from judiciary management to attract investment since our banks cannot lend due to the liquidity crunch.

Our leadership must be supported and helped to open closed companies in Bulawayo and development in agriculture and cattle ranching in Matabeleland.

We have Cde Nkomo’s unfinished projects as the Ekusileni Hospital and these must be revived and opened now.

We have the Joshua Nkomo National Foundation which has established a Joshua Nkomo Museum in Matshemhlope by liberation struggle lieutenants like Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo, myself, Nhema, Hadebe, Nkolomi Jabu Nkomo and Cde Nkomo’s children.

The foundation is struggling alone, why? It needs a substantial budget to carry out Cde Nkomo’s vision to finish the museum, build schools, community centre in Kezi and build a roof on the Nkomo Shrine.

We need to establish a Nkomo Professional Chair of Peace, Humanity and Development at the National University of Science and Technology and open Nkomo’s Canning Factory among other projects.

Unity observance must be on both sides: that is why the Unity Accord was signed by Cde Nkomo and Cde Mugabe.

Let Black Umfolosi sing “unity is ever important”, and we should hear the same from Mtukudzi, Chimbetu and Chinx.

Long live unity for the benefit of all Zimbabweans.

 

Dr Sikhanyiso Duke Ndlovu is a member of Zanu-PF’s Politburo

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