Zimbabwe: Activities of the Zimbabwe People's Revolution Army (ZIPRA), the military army of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), including leaders, platform and whether it has been alleged or has been found to have participated or committed human rights abuses (1980-July 2002)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 4 July 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ZWE39553.E |
| Reference | 1 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Zimbabwe: Activities of the Zimbabwe People's Revolution Army (ZIPRA), the military army of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), including leaders, platform and whether it has been alleged or has been found to have participated or committed human rights abuses (1980-July 2002), 4 July 2002, ZWE39553.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4bed10.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Sources indicate that, after the independence of the country, the Zimbabwe People's Revolution Army (ZIPRA) joined the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the Rhodesia Forces to form a Zimbabwean single national army (Daily News 22 Jan. 2002; Chiumbu 1997; Africa Confidential 12 Mar. 1980, 2).
Describing the Zimbabwean early post-independence period, Sarah Helen Chiumbu wrote the following:
At independence, the government had decided to integrate the three armies, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), Zimbabwe People's Revolution Army (ZIPRA) and the Rhodesian Forces into one single national army. In November 1981 fighting started between the ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas who were encamped at Entumbane in Bulawayo. The fight ended after a few days. However, another fight erupted again in February 1982 and this one spread to other groups awaiting integration and this only ended when the new government deployed ex-Rhodesian units to deal with the fighting. Close to 300 people died. These clashes provoked the first large-scale defection from the army. However, what gave more strength to the dissident problem was the sacking of opposition PF-ZAPU's leader, Joshua Nkomo, from the cabinet by President Mugabe in 1982 following the discovery of arms caches on land belonging to Nkomo's party, PF-ZAPU. After this, many ex-ZIPRA soldiers deserted from the newly-integrated national army and went back to the bush.
Unity between the two parties effectively broke down with the sacking of Nkomo. War-time ZIPRA army leaders, Dumiso Dabengwa, former Chief of Intelligence and the Deputy Commander of the newly established Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), Lieutenant-General Lookout Masuku, were arrested and charged with treason. They were later acquitted, but rearrested and detained without charge until 1986. This was Zimbabwe's first treason trial (1997, 87-88).
About the difficulty of the army's integration, a 26 May 1982 Africa Confidential report noted that:
The most encouraging aspect for him [President Mugabe] is that the national army, though facing considerable tension in the integrated (mixed ZIPRA-ZANLA) battalions which form the bulk of the armed forces, is so far holding well together. Out of 46 integrated battalions, only two have been badly affected by ZIPRA defections. The key to unity and discipline is the quality of the battalion commanders, of which around 40% are ex-ZIPRA. Of these, only two have been dismissed (and put in detention) (2).
According to Africa Confidential, up to 4,000 ex-ZIPRA guerrillas deserted from the national army (1 Dec. 1982, 3). The same source of information described the deserters' activities in the following terms:
Activity by the ex-ZIPRA dissidents usually takes the form of armed robberies of stores, farms, buses, trucks and mines, and harassment, sometimes murder, of resident Shonas. Probably about 100 people have been slain including eight whites and an Asian in Matabeleland since February [1982], when Joshua Nkoma was ousted (ibid.).
In its 4 August 1982 edition, Africa Confidential referred to "six foreign tourists abducted by ZIPRA guerrillas on 23 July" [1982] (8).
Describing the dissidence within the Zimbabwean army, Africa South of the Sahara revealed that:
During 1982 dissiden[ce] from ZIPRA, ZAPU's former guerrilla army, and former colleagues who had deserted from the new national army, perpetrated numerous indiscriminate acts of violence. Their exact links with Nkomo and his party could not be fully established, but the government held ZAPU largely to blame for the worsening situation (2000, 1185).
The campaign of anti-government guerrilla activity conducted between 1982 and 1987 (Mitchell Sept. 2000) ended when a ZANU-ZAPU peace accord was reached in December 1987 (Palmer and Birch 1992). "The dissidents, who had certainly fed upon popular discontent, returned home" (ibid.).
No information on the subsequent status and activities of ZIPRA could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, recent reports refer to some ex-ZIPRAs guerrillas as members of Zimbabwean war veterans (The Times 5 June 2001; Zimbabwe Standard 14 Aug. 2001; Daily Telegraph 19 Apr. 2000; SAPA 19 June 2000).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Africa Confidential [London]. 1 December 1982. Vol. 23 No. 24. "Zimbabwe: An Economic Plan, in Theory: Civil Rights and Security Problems."
_____. 4 August 1982. Vol. 23, No 16. "Zimbabwe: Goodbye to the Pyongyang Men."
_____. 26 May 1982. Vol. 23, No. 11. "Zimbabwe: Comrade, Pragmatism Prevails."
_____. 12 March 1980. Vol. 21, No. 6. "Zimbabwe: Can Mugabe Consolidate?"
Africa South of the Sahara. 2000. 29th Ed. London: Europa Publications Ltd.
The Daily News. 22 January 2002. Michell Quintana. "Why the Rank-and-File Soldiers Will Defy Orders to Oust an Elected Political Leader."
The Daily Telegraph [London]. 19 April 2000. Anton La Guardia. "News: Retired Colonels Condemn Thugs in Farm Attacks." (NEXIS)
Michell Emily. September 2000. "UK Army Exports to Zimbabwe."
Palmer Robin and Isobel Birch. 1992 Zimbabwe: A Land Divided. Oxford: OXFAM.
South African Press Association (SAPA) [Johannesburg]. 19 June 2000. "Farmers Gear Up for Zim Polls." (NEXIS)
The Times [London]. 5 June 2001. "Chenjerai Hunzvi." (NEXIS)
Chiumbu Sarah Helen. 1997. "The Matabeleland Conflict."
Zimbabwe Standard [Harare]. 14 August 2001. "Zimbabwe; 'Life as Living Hell', Says Couple." (NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Confidential 1980-May 2002.
Africa Research Bulletin 1991-February 2002.
Amnesty International. 2002. Annual Report. Electronic Version.
Europa. 2002.
IRB Databases.
LEXIS/NEXIS.
Resource Centre country files. Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. August 2001. Political Motivated Violence in Zimbabwe 2000-2001: A Report of the Campaign of Political Repression Conducted by the Zimbabwean Government under the Guise of Carrying Out Land Reform.
Websites, including:
Amnesty International.
BBC Africa.
The Financial Gazette [Harare].
Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The Mail & Guardian [Johannesburg].
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA).
Missionary Service News Agency (MISNA).
Panafrican News Agency (PANA).
ReliefWeb.
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum.
Zimbabwe News.
