26 min
Gukurahundi: The Entumbane fighting, 1980-81 Continuing History
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- History
This series, ‘Smooth Lies & Sharp Knives: the Road to Gukurahundi’, investigates the events and ideas that led to mass killings in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe, during 1983 and 1984. Episode 2 looks at the Entumbane fighting of 1980-81 between the forces of Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo. Zanu-PF propaganda represented this (and other incidents) as one of a series of subversive acts which eventually necessitated the deployment of 5 Brigade in 1983. But a close examination of the Entumbane ‘disturbances’, based on historical documents, demonstrates that it was Mugabe and Zanu, not Nkomo and Zapu, who provoked this showdown. The aim was destroy Zapu’s militarily shield so that the party would be incapable of resisting an open assault.
For those unfamiliar with 1980s Zimbabwe, see ICH’s basic introduction to the topic: https://www.continuinghistory.org/zim-background
This series, ‘Smooth Lies & Sharp Knives: the Road to Gukurahundi’, investigates the events and ideas that led to mass killings in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe, during 1983 and 1984. Episode 2 looks at the Entumbane fighting of 1980-81 between the forces of Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo. Zanu-PF propaganda represented this (and other incidents) as one of a series of subversive acts which eventually necessitated the deployment of 5 Brigade in 1983. But a close examination of the Entumbane ‘disturbances’, based on historical documents, demonstrates that it was Mugabe and Zanu, not Nkomo and Zapu, who provoked this showdown. The aim was destroy Zapu’s militarily shield so that the party would be incapable of resisting an open assault.
For those unfamiliar with 1980s Zimbabwe, see ICH’s basic introduction to the topic: https://www.continuinghistory.org/zim-background
26 min