The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) is a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

an political party. It is a militant communist organization and political party that campaigned for majority rule in

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

, from its founding in 1961 until 1980. In 1987, it merged with the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU – PF). The party was formed on 17 December 1961, 10 days after the Rhodesian government banned the National Democratic Party (NDP). It was founded by

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

as president,

Samuel Parirenyatwa Tichafa Samuel Parirenyatwa (17 July 1927 – 14 August 1962) was Zimbabwe's first trained black physician, medical doctor and the first vice-president of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). He rose to prominence during ZAPU's political ...

as vice-president,

Ndabaningi Sithole Ndabaningi Sithole (21 July 1920 – 12 December 2000) was a Zimbabwean politician and statesman who was the founder of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant, nationalist organisation that opposed the government of Rhodesia, in ...

as chairman,

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

as treasurer,

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 th ...

as information and publicity secretary, and

Leopold Takawira Leopold Takawira (1916–1970) served as the vice-president of the Zimbabwe African National Union after supporting the National Democratic Party (NDP) and later the Zimbabwe African People's Union. Takawira was also known by his totem as 'Shum ...

as external secretary. ZAPU was banned in 1962 by the

n white minority government, and later engaged in a

guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...

against it. The armed wing of ZAPU, known as the

Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), a Marxist–Leninist political party in Rhodesia. It participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhode ...

(ZIPRA), was founded by Moyo and commanded by General

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 ...

. ZAPU was separate from ZANU as its armed wing, ZIPRA, was aligned with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, who prioritised mobilizing urban workers, whereas ZANU had a pro-

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

orientation which prioritised mobilizing the rural peasantry. It was relaunched in 2008 by Joshua Nkomo's son, Michael Nkomo.

Unification into ZANU-PF

In 1980, ZAPU contested elections in Zimbabwe as the Patriotic Front, but lost to its rival ZANU. They merged into

ZANU–PF The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years by Robert Mugabe, first as prime minister wi ...

in 1987 following the

Gukurahundi The ''Gukurahundi'' was a series of mass killings and genocide in Zimbabwe which were committed from 1983 until the Unity Accord in 1987. The name derives from a Shona language term which loosely translates to "the early rain which washes a ...

massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...

Unity Accord

The Unity Accord signed at that meeting stated that: *ZANU and ZAPU have irrevocably committed themselves to unite under one political party. *The unity of the two political parties; shall be achieved under the name Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front) in short ZANU – PF. *Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe shall be the First Secretary and President of ZANU PF. *ZANU PF shall have two Second Secretaries and vice-presidents, who shall be appointed by the First Secretary and President of the Party. *ZANU PF shall seek to establish a socialist society in Zimbabwe on the guidance of

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism () is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the History of communism, communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist gov ...

principles. *ZANU PF shall seek to establish a

One Party State A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...

in Zimbabwe. *The leadership of ZANU – PF shall abide by the Leadership Code. *The existing structures of ZANU – PF and PF ZAPU shall be merged in accordance with the letter and spirit of this Agreement. *Both parties shall take immediate vigorous steps to eliminate and end the insecurity and violence prevalent in

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi ...

. *ZANU – PF and PF ZAPU shall convene their respective Congress to give effect to this Agreement within the shortest possible time. *In the interim Mugabe is vested with full powers to prepare for the implementation of this Agreement and to act in the name and authority of ZANU – PF.

2008 withdrawal from Unity Accord

Under the influence of Benny Ncube and Dumiso Dabengwa in mid-October 2008, in the midst of ongoing negotiations with rival parties, a group of former PF ZAPU and Zipra members loudly pushed to dissolve the alliance with ZANU – PF. The members convened a meeting on 8 November, and it was decided that: *The political structure of ZAPU would cease to operate under the title ZANU – PF and to reassume the title ZAPU. *All party structures would operate under the Constitution of ZAPU. *The District Councils to meet to prepare for and convene a Consultative Conference consisting of the ten Provinces by December 2008, for the purpose of electing an Interim Executive charged with the responsibility to mobilise and restructure the party and convene the party Congress by March 2009, in terms of ZAPU constitution Article 6. *A campaign to mobilise resources in the country to be undertaken forthwith, with support from well-wishers, from fraternal political parties and International Organisations. *Engaging as necessary in the negotiations and peace-building initiatives to ameliorate the political and economic hardships afflicting the people of Zimbabwe. *A consultative Conference consisting of all ten political Provinces by December 2008 will elect an Interim Executive, charged to mobilise and restructure the party and convene the Party's Congress by March 2009, in terms of Article 6.

Withdrawal of 16 Znlwva members

Ex-ZIPRA cadres officially withdrew their membership from the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, which was under the administration of ZANU PF. They revived ZIPRA, led by Benny Ncube as chairperson, Tapson Moyo as vice chairperson, Petros Sibanda as secretary, Job Ndlovu as deputy secretary, Belinda Ndebele as treasurer, and committee members are Stanley Ncube and Clement Malaba Ncube. The committee's mandate was to set up the association's structures in provinces and districts in preparation for the inaugural congress where the substantive executive was to be elected. The association would work closely with the mother party ZAPU.

National Consultative Convention

At the party conference, the ZAPU National Consultative Convention, held from 13 to 14 December 2008,

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 ...

, a former Home Affairs minister was elected interim chairperson with the mandate to convene a two-day congress starting 11 April 2009. The congress would formally endorse the pullout from ZANU and elect an executive for the party.

Party Congress of 2009

The party congress of 2009, which was supposed to elect new leadership, took place a month later than scheduled, on 16 May 2009. The congress formally endorsed the party's withdrawal from ZANU PF and withdrew support for its former members who had chosen to remain in ZANU. The congress was attended by delegates from the country's 10 provinces as well as representatives from Canada, South Africa,

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

and

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

. The party's new platform promised to restore "respectable nationhood" where the people were "the pivot around which proper, able and accountable leadership is elected." originally published in

The Standard The Standard may refer to: Entertainment * The Standard (band), an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon * ''The Standard'' (novel), a 1934 novel by the Austrian writer Alexander Lernet-Holenia * ''The Standard'' (Tommy Flanagan album), 1980 * ...

Party Congress of 2010

A full Congress was held in August 2010, at which a full policy was agreed and leadership elected with Dumiso Dabengwa as president and Emilia Mukaratirwa as vice-president.

References

{{Authority control African and Black nationalist organizations in Africa African resistance to colonialism African socialist political parties 1961 establishments in Southern Rhodesia Left-wing parties National liberation movements Political parties in Zimbabwe Political parties disestablished in 1987