Joshua Nkomo - Politics

Politics

Nkomo founded the National Democratic Party (NDP) and in 1960, the year British prime minister Harold Macmillan spoke of the "Wind of Change" blowing through Africa, Robert Mugabe joined him. The NDP was banned by Smith's white minority government and it was subsequently replaced by the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU), also founded by Nkomo, in 1962, itself immediately banned. ZAPU split in 1963 and while some have claimed this split was due to ethnic tensions, more accurately the split was motivated by the failure of Sithole, Mugabe, Takawira and Malianga to wrest control of ZAPU from Nkomo. ZAPU would remain a multi-ethnic party right up until independence.

Following the first majority-rule election in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia in which around 60% of the population voted, a government led by Abel Muzorewa, was formed in 1979 between Ian Smith and Ndabaningi Sithole's ZANU, which by now had also split from Mugabe's more militant ZANU faction. The civil war waged by Nkomo and Mugabe continued unabated and Britain and the USA did not lift sanctions on the country. Britain persuaded all parties to come to Lancaster House in September 1979 to work out a constitution and the basis for fresh elections. Mugabe and Nkomo shared a delegation, called the Patriotic Front (PF), at the negotiations chaired by Lord Carrington. Elections were held in 1980 and to the surprise of Nkomo but few others, the Common Roll vote split on predictable tribal lines, with the 20 seats in Matabeleland going to ZAPU and all but three of the sixty in predominantly Shona areas falling to Mugabe's ZANU. Nkomo was offered the ceremonial post of President, but declined.