Ndabaningi Sithole - Exile and Return

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.

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). In December 1997 a court tried and convicted him of conspiring to assassinate Mugabe and the government disqualified him from attending parliament. 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) 25 km along Bulawayo Road in 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.