Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was the military wing of 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 Zimba ...

(ZAPU), a

Marxist–Leninist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...

political party in

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 ...

. It participated in the

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also called the Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe-Rhodesia). The conflict pitted three for ...

against white minority rule of Rhodesia (modern

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 ...

). ZIPRA was formed during the 1960s by the nationalist leader

Jason Moyo Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo (1927–1977) was founder of the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA). Jason was born in Plumtree to a Kalanga family. Having trained as a builder Jason, became interested in trade unionism in Bulawayo in the early ...

, the deputy of

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 ...

Operations

Because ZAPU's political strategy relied more heavily on negotiations than armed force, ZIPRA developed as elaborately training both regular soldiers and guerrilla fighters, although by 1979 it had an estimated 20,000 combatants, based in camps around

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 ...

and at the front. ZIPRA's crossing points into Zimbabwe were at Feira in Zambia opposite

Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces, * Mashonaland West * Mashonaland Central * Mashonaland East * Harare The Zimbabwean capital of Harare, a province unto itself, lies entirely ...

East and West. For example, the operational boundary was Sipolilo where ZIPRA,

Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army 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 Rhod ...

(ZANLA) and

Rhodesian Security Forces The Rhodesian Security Forces were the military forces of the Rhodesian government. The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of a ground force (the Rhodesian Army), the Rhodesian Air Force, the British South Africa Police, and various personnel a ...

clashed. ZIPRA operated alone in Mashonaland West. There was no ZANLA combatants in that area until the later stages of the war. Beside the overall political ideologies, the main differences between ZIPRA and ZANLA were that: *ZIPRA did not follow ZANLA's ideology (inspired by

Maoism Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...

) but followed Soviet Marxist Leninist principles. *ZIPRA controlled zones from Sipolilo to Plumtree. ZIPRA was in formal alliance with uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

's militant wing. ZIPRA and MK mounted a celebrated, if strategically unsuccessful, raid into Rhodesia in the mid-1960s. The incursion was stopped by Rhodesian Security Forces, working in concert with the

South African Police The South African Police (SAP) was the national police force and law enforcement agency in South Africa from 1913 to 1994; it was the ''de facto'' police force in the territory of South West Africa (Namibia) from 1939 to 1981. After South Afr ...

Downing of passenger planes

Air Rhodesia Vickers 748D Viscount Wheatley

In 1978 and 1979 ZIPRA downed two civilian passenger planes of

Air Rhodesia Air Rhodesia was the national airline of Rhodesia. Its head office was located on the property of Salisbury Airport in Salisbury. The airline was formed as a subsidiary of Central African Airways (CAA) in June 1964, but became an independent corp ...

, killing a total of 107 passengers and crew.

Air Rhodesia Flight 825 Air Rhodesia Flight 825 was a scheduled passenger flight that was shot down by the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) on 3 September 1978, during the Rhodesian Bush War. The aircraft involved, a Vickers Viscount named the ''Hunyani'', ...

(named the ''Hunyani'') was a scheduled flight from Kariba to

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

that was shot down on 3 September 1978 by ZIPRA guerrillas using an

SA-7 The 9K32 Strela-2 (russian: Cтрела, "arrow"; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile (or MANPADS) system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared homing gui ...

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

(SAM). ZAPU (the political body behind ZIPRA) leader Joshua Nkomo publicly claimed responsibility for shooting down the ''Hunyani'' on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

the same evening, saying the aircraft had been used for military purposes, but denied that his men had killed survivors on the ground. Eighteen of the fifty-six passengers in the Air Rhodesia plane survived the crash, with most of these having been seated in the rear. Three crash survivors who remained at the aircraft managed to avoid being killed by running away and hiding in the bush. A second plane,

Air Rhodesia Flight 827 Air Rhodesia Flight 827, the '' Umniati'', was a scheduled civilian flight between Kariba and Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) that was shot down soon after takeoff on 12 February 1979 by Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerril ...

(named the ''Umniati''), was shot down on 12 February 1979 by ZIPRA guerrillas, again using an SA-7 SAM.

ZIPRA commanders and soldiers

Dumiso Dabengwa Dumiso Dabengwa (6 December 1939 – 23 May 2019) was a Zimbabwean politician. He served as the head of Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) intelligence during the Rhodesian Bush War.Godwin, Peter. ''Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa'', 2005 ...

, head of intelligence and member of the ZIPRA high command *John Dube, commander at the

Wankie Hwange (formerly Wankie) is a town in Zimbabwe, located in Hwange District, in Matabeleland North, Matabeleland North Province, in northwestern Zimbabwe, close to the international borders with Botswana and Zambia. It lies approximately , by r ...

battle *Tshinga Dube, head of signals and member of the ZIPRA high command *

Alfred Nikita Mangena Rodgers Alfred Nikita Mangena (16 March 1943 – 28 June 1978), born Rodgers Alfred Mangena in the Maranda area, commanded the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), the militant branch of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), in ...

, first commander of ZIPRA * Robson Manyika, member of the ZIPRA high command *

Lookout Masuku Lieutenant General Lookout Khalisabantu Vumindaba Masuku (7 April 1940 – 5 April 1986) commanded the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), the militant wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), during the Rhodesian Bush War ...

, commanded ZIPRA after the death of Jason Moyo * Report Mphoko, chief of logistics and member of the ZIPRA high command * Ambrose Mutinhiri, commander at Morogoro * Ackim Ndlovu, member of the ZIPRA high command *Roy Reagen Ndlovu * Joseph Nyandoro, member of the ZIPRA high command *

Philip Valerio Sibanda Philip Valerio Sibanda (born 24 December 1954) is a decorated Zimbabwe general who has served as commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces since December 2017. He was promoted from lieutenant general to full general at that time. As lieutenant gene ...

* Eddie Sigoge *

Cephas Cele Cephas may refer to: Religion *The title of Saint Peter *Diocese of Cephas, an ancient episcopal seat of the Roman province of Mesopotamia, in present-day Tur Abdin, Turkey *Cephas of Iconium, among the Seventy Disciples of Jesus, bishop of Iconi ...

, chief of staff and training and member of the ZIPRA high command

Operations

Downing of passenger planes

ZIPRA commanders and soldiers

References

Further reading