Zimbabwe African People's Union

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Zimbabwe African People's Union
AbbreviationZAPU
Leader Michael Nkomo
Foundedby Joshua Nkomo on 17 December 1961 (historic)
13 December 2008 (13 December 2008)(current)
Preceded by National Democratic Party
HeadquartersBulawayo
Armed wing ZIPRA (until 1980)
Ideology Communism [1]
Marxism-Leninism [2]
African nationalism [3]
Political position Far-left
House of Assembly
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Senate
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Pan African Parliament
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Party flag
Zimbabwe African People's Union flag.svg

The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) is a Zimbabwean political party. It is a militant communist organization and political party that campaigned for majority rule in Rhodesia, from its founding in 1961 until 1980. In 1987, it merged with the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU – PF). [4]

Contents

The party was formed on 17 December 1961, 10 days after the Rhodesian government banned the National Democratic Party (NDP). It was founded by Joshua Nkomo [5] as president, Samuel Parirenyatwa as vice-president, Ndabaningi Sithole as chairman, Jason Moyo as treasurer, Robert Mugabe as information and publicity secretary, and Leopold Takawira as external secretary. ZAPU was banned in 1962 by the Rhodesian white minority government, and later engaged in a guerrilla war against it. The armed wing of ZAPU, known as the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), was founded by Moyo and commanded by General Lookout Masuku.

ZAPU was separate from ZANU as its armed wing, ZIPRA, was aligned with the Soviet Union, [6] who prioritised mobilizing urban workers, whereas ZANU had a pro-People's Republic of China orientation which prioritised mobilizing the rural peasantry.

It was relaunched in 2008 by Joshua Nkomo's son, Michael Nkomo. [7]

Unification into ZANU-PF

In 1980, ZAPU contested elections in Zimbabwe as the Patriotic Front, but lost to its rival ZANU. They merged into ZANU–PF in 1987 following the Gukurahundi massacres. [8] [9]

Unity Accord

The Unity Accord signed at that meeting stated that:

2008 withdrawal from Unity Accord

Under the influence of Benny Ncube and Dumiso Dabengwa in mid-October 2008, in the midst of ongoing negotiations with rival parties, a group of former PF ZAPU and Zipra members loudly pushed to dissolve the alliance with ZANU – PF. The members convened a meeting on 8 November, and it was decided that: [10] [11]

Withdrawal of 16 Znlwva members

Ex-ZIPRA cadres officially withdrew their membership from the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, which was under the administration of ZANU PF. They revived ZIPRA, led by Benny Ncube as chairperson, Tapson Moyo as vice chairperson, Petros Sibanda as secretary, Job Ndlovu as deputy secretary, Belinda Ndebele as treasurer, and committee members are Stanley Ncube and Clement Malaba Ncube. The committee's mandate was to set up the association's structures in provinces and districts in preparation for the inaugural congress where the substantive executive was to be elected. The association would work closely with the mother party ZAPU. [12]

National Consultative Convention

At the party conference, the ZAPU National Consultative Convention, held from 13 to 14 December 2008, Dumiso Dabengwa, a former Home Affairs minister was elected interim chairperson with the mandate to convene a two-day congress starting 11 April 2009. The congress would formally endorse the pullout from ZANU and elect an executive for the party. [13]

Party Congress of 2009

The party congress of 2009, which was supposed to elect new leadership, took place a month later than scheduled, on 16 May 2009. [14] The congress formally endorsed the party's withdrawal from ZANU PF and withdrew support for its former members who had chosen to remain in ZANU. The congress was attended by delegates from the country's 10 provinces as well as representatives from Canada, South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland. [15] The party's new platform promised to restore "respectable nationhood" where the people were "the pivot around which proper, able and accountable leadership is elected." [16]

Party Congress of 2010

A full Congress was held in August 2010, at which a full policy was agreed and leadership elected with Dumiso Dabengwa as president and Emilia Mukaratirwa as vice-president.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZANU–PF</span> Ruling political party of Zimbabwe

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Nkomo</span> Zimbabwean politician (1917–1999)

Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1990 until his death in 1999. He founded and led the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) from 1961 until it merged in 1987 with Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) to form ZANU–PF after an internal military crackdown called Gukurahundi in western Zimbabwe, mostly on ethnic Ndebele ZAPU supporters.

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The Southern Rhodesia African National Congress (SRANC) was a political party active between 1957–1959 in Southern Rhodesia. Committed to the promotion of indigenous African welfare, it was the first fully fledged black nationalist organisation in the country. While short-lived — it was outlawed by the predominantly white minority government in 1959 — it marked the beginning of political action towards black majority rule in Southern Rhodesia, and was the original incarnation of the National Democratic Party (NDP); the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU); the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU); and the Zimbabwe African National Union — Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), which has governed Zimbabwe continuously since 1980. Many political figures who later became prominent, including Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, were members of the SRANC.

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References

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