Ndabaningi Sithole

Ndabaningi Sithole (31 July 1920 – 12 December 2000) founded the Zimbabwe African National Union, a militant organization that opposed the government of Rhodesia, in July 1963.^[1] A member of the Ndau ethnic group, he also worked as a Methodist 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.

Early life

Sithole was born in Nyamandhlovu, Southern Rhodesia. 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 of Ian Smith, motivated his entry into politics. During his studies in the USA he studied at the Andover Newton Theological School and attended the First Church in Newton, founded in 1665, both located in Newton, Massachusetts.

ZANU

He founded and was chief architect of Zimbabwe African National Union party in August 1963 in conjunction with Herbert Chitepo, Robert Mugabe, Edgar Tekere in the Highfields House of Enos Nkala. In 1964 there was a party Congress at Gwelo, where Sithole was elected president and appointed Robert Mugabe to be his secretary general. ZANU was banned in 1964 by Ian Smith's government. He spent 10 years in prison after being arrested on 22 June 1964^[2] 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. The two were released from prison in 1974.

On March 18, 1975 Chitepo was assassinated in Lusaka, Zambia with a car bomb. Mugabe, in Mozambique at the time, unilaterally assumed control of ZANU. Later that year there was a factional split, with many Ndebele following Joshua Nkomo into the equally militant ZAPU. Sithole eventually founded the moderate ZANU-Ndonga party, which renounced violent struggle, while the Shona-dominated ZANU (now called ZANU PF) followed Mugabe with a more militant agenda.^[3]

Sithole joined a transitional government of whites and blacks on 31 July 1979.^[4] Later in September 1979 he attended the Lancaster House Agreement chaired by Lord Carrington which paved the way for fresh elections, but his small ZANU Party failed to win any seats in independent elections that swept Mugabe to power in 1980.

Exile and return

Declaring that his life was in danger from political enemies, Sithole went into self-imposed exile in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1983, returning to Zimbabwe in January 1992.^[5]

He was elected to parliament for his tribal stronghold of Chipinge 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).^[6] In December 1997 a court tried and convicted him of conspiring to assassinate Mugabe and the government disqualified him from attending parliament.^[7] 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, Pa., USA. The author of three books on African politics, he is survived by his wife, Vesta, and five adult children.

His farm (Porta Farm) in Epworth near Harare, that he legally purchased under willing buyer - willing seller arrangements in 1992 was later confiscated by Robert Mugabe's Government, on the grounds of the 'undesirables' of Harare who were being left homeless after unceremoniously being evicted during the clearing Harare project of 'undesirables' before the Commonwealth Heads of State meeting in 1992. Sithole had felt compassion for them, and the breach of human rights which had been done against them, and he therefore had invited them to stay on his Porta Farm. This clearly incensed the government, which then carried out an eviction operation on Porta Farm. This was co-ordinated by the Ministry of Local Government and National Housing as well as the City of Harare. Pre-dawn raids were carried out and in the aftermath people lost property worth millions, and Porta Farm was confiscated. ^[8][9]

References

1. ^ Veenhoven, Willem Adriaan, Ewing, and Winifred Crum. Case Studies on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: A World Survey, 1975. Page 326.
2. ^ RHODESIA SEIZES A FOE OF REGIME; Sithole, Rival of Nkomo, to Face Charges Soon, June 23, 1964. The New York Times.
3. ^ How Mugabe came to power
4. ^ Black Opposition Leader in Rhodesia Ends Boycott, August 1, 1979. The New York Times
5. ^ Michael Cowen and Liisa Laakso. Multi-party Elections in Africa, 2002. Page 339.
6. ^ Zimbabwe President's Last Rival Withdraws From Election New York Times, 16 March 1996
7. ^ Ndabaningi Sithole remanded in prison Hartford Web Publishing
8. ^ http://www.sdinet.org/reports/r2.htm
9. ^ http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGAFR460042006&lang=e

Persondata
Name	Sithole, Ndabaningi
Alternative names
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Date of birth	31 July 1920
Place of birth
Date of death	12 December 2000
Place of death