1/ Zimbabwe National Liberation Army ZANLA

THREAD 2

Today we will be touching on one of the major armies that liberated Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army ZANLA the military wing of ZANU.

2/
8 member ZANLA High Command 1973

Chief of Defence Josiah Tongogara
Chief of Operations William Ndangana (Crocodile Gang)
Robson Manyika (crossed from ZPRA)
Head of Intelligence Cletus Chigowe
Logistics Justin Chauke
Field Commanders
Rex Nhongo
Sheba Gava
Joseph Chimurenga

3/ ZANLA intensified the war in 1974 but that came with more challenges as the High Command then was faced with more recruits requiring training and trained combatants without adequate ammunition to go to the front.

4/ At this point most High Command members spent most of the time either in Lusaka and on foreign trips to source for more supplies.

Many young commanders on the front grouped under Thomas Nhari with grievances against their leaders who they accused of the following:....

5/...
1. Neglect of the combatants at the front as ammunition and weapons were not enough.
2. Most of the junior commanders had crossed from ZPRA and had graduated from good military colleges whilst their ZANLA leader had little education.

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3. Members of the High Command weren't very fond of Marxism and most Junior Commanders were Marxists and believed that if ZANLA had been getting weapons and help from Russia the war could soon be over.

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4. Dakarai Badza joined others as his girlfriend was taken from him by a senior commander and he had been sent to the front to die.

Dare reChimurenga then held a hearing into the Rebellion and found the leaders of the junior commanders guilty & made arrangements for them...

8/.. to be handed over to FRELIMO for punishment.
Nhari and the junior commanders then executed around 70 Junior who had started developing cold feet. They took Tongogara and the other captured leader to Chifombo.

9/ Rex Nhongo who had escaped capture brought a group of around 300 combatants from Tanzania who recaptured Chifombo and freed Tongogara.
The Junior Commanders came to Lusaka and captured members of the High Command and Dare.

10/ Dare members led by Chairman Chitepo agreed to listen to the junior commanders but High Command led by Tongogara refused.

The High Command felt the Dare had been lenient with the leaders of the Rebellion and executed Thomas Nhari, Dakarai Badza and even John Mataure the.....

11/...Dare Political Commissar as they felt he was sympathetic to the Nhari Rebellion.
Nhari Rebellion happened at the start of the detente period and all fighting was stopped as Nationalist had started negotiations with Ian Smith. Few months later Chair Chitepo was assassinated

12/ Most members of Dare and High Command weren't arrested in Lusaka by the Zambian Authorities omni charges of killing Chairman Chitepo.
Tongogara escaped and crossed to Mozambique, Rex Nhongo escaped and went to Tanzania.

13/ ZANLA combatants in Zambia were put under arrests and we're disarmed in their camps by Zambia Defence Forces. A lot of ZANLA Combatants were killed by Zambian Authorities at these camps unarmed.

14/ Tongogara was handed over to the Zambian Authorities by Samora Machel after talks with Kaunda that he would go through a fair trial.
Nhari Rebellion happened at the start of the detente period & all fighting was stopped as Nationalist had started negotiations with Ian Smith.

15/ Few months later Chair Chitepo was assassinated in a car bomb in Lusaka.

Most members of Dare & High Command were arrested in Lusaka by the Zambian Authorities on charges of killing Chairman Chitepo.
ZANU & ZANLA members who were arrested in Zambia were released end on 1976.

16/ Robbing the Party 2 yrs of its military leadership.
With these arrests&detente in play, the gun silenced in Rhodesia.
Nyerere & Machel then urged Combatants to form a joint force with ZPRA & fight as a single force. This resulted in the formation of Zim People's Army.

17/ In late 1975 Junior officers in Tanzania in contacts with others in Mozambique convinced Julius Nyerere and Samora Machel that the talks with Ian Smith by Nationalists were not achieving anything and that the war had to be resurrected.

18/The Officers at Mgagao then penned the famous Mgagao Declaration showing their willingness to continue with the fight vowing that noone would stop them frm fighting 4 independence

ZIPA was to be headquartered in Moza & both armies had agreed to bring equal number of fighters.

19/ ZIPA achieved it's main aim of restarting the war efforts but was riddled with challenges from the onset.

The combined Army would be led by Rex Nhongo with equal number of members in its Military Committee.

20/ The Committee was as follows

Rex Nhongo Commander
Nikita Mangena PC (ZPRA)
Dzinashe Machingura Deputy PC (ZANLA)
Intelligence Gordon Munyanyi (ZPRA)
Dep Nyikadzaishe (ZANLA)
Army Operations Elias Hondo (ZANLA)
Dep Enoch Tshangane (ZPRA)
Logistics Report Mphoko (ZPRA)

21/ Dep Edmund Kaguru (ZANLA)
Political Affairs Webster Gwauya (ZANLA)
Dep David Moyana (ZANLA)
Training Ambrose Mutinhiri (ZPRA)
Dep Parker Chipoyera (ZANLA)
Medical Services Mudzingwa (ZANLA)
Dep Tendai Pferepfere (ZANLA)
Finance Saul Sadza (ZANLA)
Dep Dingani Mlilo (ZPRA)

22/ Amongst the challenges faced by ZIPA were
1. Lack of cohesion in training as ZPRA was trained regular army style and ZANLA was trained in guerilla style.

2. ZPRA never brought equal number of recruits to ZIPA.

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3. ZPRA cadres had military uniforms and ZANLA cadres were dressed as poor peasants.

4. Deployments were done earlier without drilling tolerance amongst the joint forces that resulted in fighting amongst the forces at the front.

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5. ZANLA cadres had experience at the front whilst most ZPRA cadres had no experience.