Ndabaningi Sithole (21 July 1920 – 12 December 2000) founded 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 Muga ...

(ZANU), a militant organisation that opposed the government of

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

, in July 1963.Veenhoven, Willem Adriaan, Ewing, and Winifred Crum. ''Case Studies on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: A World Survey'', 1975. Page 326. Sithole was a progeny of a Ndau father and a Ndebele mother. He also worked as a United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (UCCZ) minister. He spent 10 years in prison after the government banned ZANU. A rift along tribal lines split ZANU in 1975, and he lost the 1980 elections to

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 ...

Early life

Sithole was born in

Nyamandhlovu Nyamandlovu is a rural district located roughly 40 km northwest of Bulawayo and in Matabeleland North Province. iNyamayendlovu loosely translated means "elephant meat" in the local language, isiNdebele. The community is predominantly Ndeb ...

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 ...

, on 21 July 1920. He studied teaching in the United States from 1955 to 1958, and was ordained a Methodist minister in 1958. The publication of his book ''African Nationalism'' and its immediate prohibition by the minority government motivated his entry into politics. During his studies in the United States he studied at the

Andover Newton Theological School Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) was a graduate school and seminary in Newton, Massachusetts. Affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ. It was the product of a merger between Andover Theological ...

and attended the First Church in Newton, founded in 1665, both located in Newton, Massachusetts.

ZANU

He was one of the founders and chief architect of

party in August 1963 in conjunction with

Herbert Chitepo Herbert Wiltshire Pfumaindini Chitepo (15 June 1923 – 18 March 1975) led the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) until he was assassinated in March 1975. Although his murderer remains unidentified, the Rhodesian author Peter Stiff says tha ...

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 ...

in the Highfields House of

Enos Nkala Enos Mzombi Nkala (23 August 1932 – 21 August 2013) was one of the founders of the Zimbabwe African National Union. Political career Role in ZANU-PF During the Rhodesian Bush War, he served on the ZANU high command, or Dare reChimurenga as Tr ...

. After a split from ZAPU. In 1964 there was a party Congress at Gwelo, where Sithole was elected president and appointed

to be his secretary general. ZANU was banned in 1964 by

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 ...

's government. He spent 10 years in prison after being arrested on 22 June 1964 alongside Mugabe, Tekere, Nyagumbo and Takawira for his political activities. While in prison he specifically authorised Chitepo to continue the struggle from abroad as a representative of ZANU. Sithole was convicted on a charge of plotting to assassinate Ian Smith and released from prison in 1974. On 18 March 1975 Chitepo was assassinated in

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

, with a car bomb. Mugabe, in Mozambique at the time, was unanimously chosen to be the first secretary of ZANU. Later that year there was a factional split, with many

Ndebele Ndebele may refer to: *Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa *Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe and Botswana Languages * Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele *Northern Ndebele language Northern ...

following

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 ...

into the equally militant ZAPU. Sithole eventually founded the moderate ZANU-Ndonga party, which renounced violent struggle, while the

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people * Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today Shona may also refer to: * ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing * Shona (given name) * S ...

-dominated ZANU (now called ZANU PF) followed Mugabe with a more militant agenda. Sithole joined

Abel Muzorewa Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa (14 April 1925 – 8 April 2010), also commonly referred to as Bishop Muzorewa, was a Zimbabwean bishop and politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia from the Internal Settlement to ...

's transitional government under the

Internal Settlement The Internal Settlement was an agreement which was signed on 3 March 1978 between Prime Minister of Rhodesia Ian Smith and the moderate African nationalist leaders comprising Bishop Abel Muzorewa, Ndabaningi Sithole and Senator Chief Jeremiah Chi ...

on 31 July 1979. Later in September 1979 he attended the

Lancaster House Agreement The Lancaster House Agreement, signed on 21 December 1979, declared a ceasefire, ending the Rhodesian Bush War; and directly led to Rhodesia achieving internationally recognised independence as Zimbabwe. It required the full resumption of d ...

, chaired by

Lord Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton, (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secret ...

, which paved the way for fresh elections, but his ZANU-Ndonga Party's supporters and their villages were targeted by Mugabe's

ZANLA Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant African nationalist organisation that participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhode ...

troops and it failed to win any seats in the 1980 elections. His exit from ZANU was claimed by Mugabe to have been caused by his neglecting the fighters in Zambia (where their camp was bombed resulting in many fatalities and casualties).

Exile and return

Declaring that his life was in danger from political enemies, Sithole went into self-imposed exile first in the United Kingdom in the early-1980s and then in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, around 1984, returning to Zimbabwe in January 1992.Michael Cowen and Liisa Laakso. ''Multi-party Elections in Africa'', 2002. Page 339. He was elected to parliament for his tribal stronghold of

Chipinge Chipinge is a town in Zimbabwe, located in Chipinge District, in Manicaland Province, in southeastern Zimbabwe, close to the border with Mozambique. Location The town lies approximately , by road, south of Mutare, the nearest large city. This ...

in southeastern Zimbabwe in 1995, and was a candidate in the 1996 presidential election (though he withdrew shortly before the election after claiming that Mugabe's ZANU-PF was undermining his campaign). In December 1997, a court tried and convicted him of conspiring with

Chimwenje Chimwenje was a Zimbabwean militant organisation based in Manica Province, Mozambique. Its leader was Armando Mabache. The movement allegedly enjoyed a close association with RENAMO, a right-wing Mozambican political party and former insurgent force ...

to assassinate Mugabe and the government disqualified him from attending parliament. Sithole's small opposition group again won the Chipinge seat in the June 2000 elections. He was granted the right to appeal, appeal was filed, but the case was never heard by the Supreme Court. He was allowed bail because of his deteriorating health. He died on 12 December 2000, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States. The author of three books on African politics, he is survived by his wife, Vesta, and five adult children. His farm, "Porta Farm" situated from

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

on Bulawayo Road, was legally purchased in 1992 under "willing buyer – willing seller" arrangements. It was later confiscated by

's ZANU-PF government, on the grounds that it harboured the "undesirables" of Harare. These were people who had been left homeless after being summarily evicted from shanties in Harare before the

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1991 The 1991 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 12th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Harare, Zimbabwe, between 16 October 1991 and 21 October 1991, and was hosted by that country's Presi ...

. Sithole had felt compassion for them, and what he felt was the breach of their

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

; he therefore had invited some of them to stay on the farm. This incensed the government, which then carried out an eviction operation. This was co-ordinated by the

Ministry of Local Government and National Housing Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

as well as the City of Harare. Pre-dawn raids were carried out and, in the aftermath, Porta Farm was confiscated.

Books

Sithole was the most prolific Black author in Rhodesia. He published 12 books including ''The Polygamist'', a novel published in 1972 by The Third Press/Joseph Okpaku Publishing Co., Inc., New York ().

References

External links

Interview with Ndabaningi Sithole by Tor Sellström within the project Nordic Documentation on the Liberation Struggle in Southern Africa
– dated 25 July 1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sithole, Ndabaningi 1920 births 2000 deaths People from Matabeleland North Province Alumni of Achimota School Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army personnel Zimbabwean revolutionaries People convicted of treason Prisoners and detainees of Rhodesia Prisoners and detainees of Zimbabwe Zimbabwean Methodist ministers 20th-century Methodist ministers 21st-century Methodist ministers Andover Newton Theological School alumni Zimbabwe African National Union – Ndonga politicians Zimbabwean expatriates in the United States Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe Rhodesian Methodist clergy