Edson Furatidzayi Chisingaitwi Sithole (5 June 1935; disappeared 15 October 1975) was the second black African to be admitted to the Rhodesian Bar in 1963 after Herbert Chitepo. [1] He received his LLB from the University of London through correspondence. Subsequently, he was the first black person in the entire southern and central African region to obtain a Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree from the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 1974. [2] [3] In October 1975 he was kidnapped together with his secretary, Miriam Mhlanga, by suspected agents of the Rhodesian Special Branch. [4] [5] [6]
In December 1975, Rhodesian politician William Harper publicly stated that Sithole had been abducted by the Rhodesian Special Branch. [7] Harper released the information he had available about Sithole's abduction in what became known as the "Harper Memorandum", which stated that both Sithole and Mhlanga were initially taken to Goromonzi prison, but then shuttled between various other detention sites throughout the country. [7]