Today I will touch on a dark period in Zimbabwe’s history. There are many versions as to what happened, why it happened & who was responsible, therefore my thread may not be as exhaustive in adequately addressing this issue.

Thread

10 years of war had not only liberated Zimbabwe, but divisions had been created within. There was animosity between different groups which fueled tensions & mistrust. South Africa as a neighbor was hostile & wanted to weaken Zimbabwe as part of its policy.

There were problems between ZIPRA & ZANLA Which saw outbreaks of violence in areas surrounding the guérilla holding camps all over the country. At times this spilled over into serious violence, such as the Zentrum bane uprisings in 1981.

By early 1982 there were groups of bandits in Matabeleland, armed men were killing, robbing & damaging property. It was obvious that it was not going to be easy to intergrate a community that had serious divisions within itself. Mugabe had also long an an assassination target.