Leopold Takawira (1916–1970) served as the vice-president of the

Zimbabwe African National Union The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was a militant organisation that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Mugab ...

after supporting the National Democratic Party (NDP) and later 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 ...

. Takawira was also known by his totem as 'Shumba yeChirumanzi' Takawira was born at Chirumanzi, Victoria district in 1916. He obtained his education locally and at

Mariannhill Mariannhill is a cluster of suburbs and townships in eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. In 1882, Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Stri ...

in Natal, South Africa. He qualified as a teacher, and after several years as an assistant teacher, was appointed headmaster of Chipembere Government School in Highfield. He gave up teaching to join Colonel David Stirling's

Capricorn Africa Society The Capricorn Africa Society was a multiracial pressure group in British colonies in southern and eastern Africa in the 1950s and 1960s. History The organisation was established in 1949 in Southern Rhodesia by David Stirling and N. H. Wilson, with ...

, of which he became executive officer.

National Democratic Party

In late 1959, upon hearing that a new nationalist party was being planned to replace the banned Rhodesian African National Congress, he applied to join the new party, the National Democratic Party. In 1960 he was elected as chairman of the Salisbury branch and member of the Central Executive. On 19 July 1960, Takawira was amongst a number of leading activists that were arrested on suspicion of belonging to the ANC. These arrests sparked unrest that became known as the March of the 7000. At a meeting on 21 September 1960, he was elected interim president in place of Michael Mawema. At the party congress in November of that year, he stood for the post of president, but lost the contest

Joshua Nkomo Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo (19 June 1917 – 1 July 1999) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and Matabeleland politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1990 until his death in 1999. He founded and led the Zimbabwe African People's ...

. One of Nkomo's first acts was to appoint Takawira as his replacement as director of international relations (based in London). In 1961 Takawira sent a strongly worded cable to Joshua Nkomo condemning the acceptance by the NDP delegation of the proposals for constitutional change. This led to an emergency trip to London and to a reversal of the NDP's stance.

ZAPU and ZANU

Takawira joined the

(ZAPU) on its founding in 1961 was appointed secretary for external affairs. During the following year, however, he became disenchanted with Nkomo's leadership in April 1963. Nkomo suspended him in July 1963. He joined

Ndabaningi Sithole Ndabaningi Sithole (21 July 1920 – 12 December 2000) founded the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant organisation that opposed the government of Rhodesia, in July 1963.Veenhoven, Willem Adriaan, Ewing, and Winifred Crum. ''Cas ...

's breakaway movement, the

(ZANU), in August and was appointed vice-president.

Detention and death

He was detained in late 1964 and confined at first to Sikombele alongside

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 ...

and

Edgar Tekere Edgar Zivanai Tekere (1 April 1937 – 7 June 2011), nicknamed "2 Boy", was a Zimbabwean politician. He was the second and last Secretary General of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) who organised the party during the Lancaster House tal ...

. After Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom, he was moved to Salisbury Prison, where he remained until his death in 1970. His death is believed to have been caused by neglect of his diabetes by the prison authorities. In 1982, Takawira was reburied with full military honours in Harare at the national memorial monument called Heroes Acre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takawira, Leopold 1916 births 1970 deaths Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army personnel Zimbabwean politicians Prisoners who died in Rhodesian detention Zimbabwean people who died in prison custody Deaths from diabetes