Judith Todd (born 18 March 1943) is the second daughter of

Garfield Todd Sir Reginald Stephen Garfield Todd (13 July 1908 – 13 October 2002) was a liberal Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1953 to 1958 and later became an opponent of white minority rule in Rhodesia. Background Todd was born in Invercargil ...

(1908–2002), Rhodesian Prime Minister 1953-58, and a

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

regarding

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. She was married to Richard Acton from 1974 to 1984. Todd was born at Dadaya Mission in Rhodesia. She was educated at Queen Elizabeth Girls School. Her missionary father, Reginald Stephen Garfield Todd, served as Prime Minister of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

between 1953 and 1958. Her mother, Jean Grace Wilson Todd, designed and implemented the Southern Rhodesian African Educational System. Todd was a political activist from the early 1960s when she joined the Black Nationalist movement by becoming a member of the National Democratic Party (NDP) which was formed in 1960. She later joined the Zimbabwe African People's Union after the NDP was banned by the government. She opposed the minority government of

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1 ...

and campaigned internationally against the minority white rule in Rhodesia. In October 1964, she was arrested by Rhodesian authorities and was convicted. In January 1972, she was arrested again and sent to a jail in

Marandellas Marondera (known as Marandellas until 1982) is a city in Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe, located about 72 km east of Harare. History It was first known as Marandella's Kraal, corrupted from Marondera, chief of the ruling VaRozvi people who ...

. Her father was arrested at the same time and went to jail in

Gatooma Kadoma, formerly known as Gatooma, is a town in Zimbabwe. Location The city is located in Kadoma District, Mashonaland West Province, one of the 10 administrative provinces in Zimbabwe. This location lies approximately , by road, southwest of ...

. During her imprisonment, she briefly went on

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

in protest against their detention, but relented after enduring several incidents of

force-feeding Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose ( nasogastric) or mouth (orogastric) into ...

. Several weeks later, both were released and were subsequently expelled from the country, becoming personae non gratae. She relocated to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1978 she was among the founding members of Zimbabwe Project Trust, a humanitarian organization connected to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. It was founded to help Zimbabwean refugees. Her exile lasted until all detentions were lifted in February 1980 under the process leading to the independence of Zimbabwe. The trust relocated from London to Zimbabwe and Todd was appointed director, a position she held until 1987. The trust's focus shifted to humanitarian aid, especially relocation and training of liberation war ex-combatants.Richard Saunders, Judith Garfield Todd Biography
David Krut Publishing, South Africa, 19 August 2009. In 1984 Todd was raped by a senior officer in Mugabe's military on his orders, after she criticised the genocide of Ndebele civilians, the traditional opponents of Mugabe's own tribe. She became a strong critic of the regime of

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

. After an unsuccessful candidature for a seat in parliament for the

Zimbabwe African People's Union The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) is a Zimbabwean political party. It is a militant organization and political party that campaigned for majority rule in Rhodesia, from its founding in 1961 until 1980. In 1987, it merged with the Zim ...

(ZAPU) she worked as a journalist. She was a founding shareholder of the '' Daily News'' newspaper in 1999. The newspaper was banned in 2003 and, in the same year, Todd was stripped of her Zimbabwean citizenship, when she was unable to comply with a court order to renounce her potential

dual nationality Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...

because of her parents' birth in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. As Todd had never had New Zealand nationality, she was unable to renounce it. The temporary passport she had been issued was not renewed and she became stateless for a decade, until the nationality law was changed in 2013 to allow Zimbabweans to be dual nationals.

Publications

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Notes and references

External links

Website of the Zimbabwe Project Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Judith 1943 births Living people People from Zvishavane Spouses of life peers White Zimbabwean politicians Zimbabwean exiles Zimbabwean people of British descent Zimbabwean people of English descent Zimbabwe African People's Union politicians White Rhodesian people Prisoners and detainees of Rhodesia 20th-century Zimbabwean people 20th-century Zimbabwean women politicians 20th-century Zimbabwean politicians 21st-century Zimbabwean people Zimbabwean activists Rhodesian activists Hunger strikers