Zimbabwe African National Union – Ndonga

Zimbabwe African National Union – Ndonga (ZANU–Ndonga) is a small political party in Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe African National Union was a political party during the Rhodesian Bush War, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union. Its founders were the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole and Herbert Chitepo, who were dissatisfied with the militant tactics of Nkomo in ZAPU.

After Chitepo's assassination on 18 March 1975, Robert Mugabe, in Mozambique at the time, unilaterally assumed control of ZANU. Later that year there was a factional split along tribal lines caused the Ndebele to follow Sithole into the moderate ZANU–Ndonga party, who renounced violent struggle, while the Shona followed Mugabe with a more militant agenda.

Sithole joined a transitional government of whites and blacks in 1979, led by Bishop Abel Muzorewa. When sanctions remained in place, he joined Muzorewa for the Lancaster House Agreement in London, where a new constitution and elections were prepared. ZANU–Ndonga failed to win any seats in independent elections that swept Mugabe under the ZANU flag to power in 1980.

Zimbabwe African National Union

The Zimbabwe African National Union was a militant organisation that fought against the white minority government in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU won the 1980 elections under the leadership of Robert Mugabe, and seven years later merged with Joshua Nkomo's ZAPU to form ZANU-PF.

Formation

ZANU was formed 8 August 1963 when Ndabaningi Sithole, Henry Hamadziripi, Mukudzei Midzi, Herbert Chitepo, Edgar Tekere and Leopold Takawira decided to split from ZAPU at the house of Enos Nkala in Highfield. The founders were dissatisfied with the militant tactics of Nkomo. In contrast to future developments, both parties drew from both the Shona and the Ndebele, the two major tribes of the country. Both ZANU and ZAPU formed political wings within the country (under those names) and military wings: the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) respectively to fight the struggle from neighbouring countries – ZANLA from Mozambique and Zambia, and ZIPRA from Zambia and Botswana.

ZANU–PF

The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) has been the ruling party in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party has been led by Robert Mugabe, first as Prime Minister with the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and then as President from 1988 after merger with the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and retaining the name ZANU–PF. In the 2008 parliamentary election, the ZANU–PF lost sole control of parliament for the first time in party history and brokered a difficult power-sharing deal with the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC), but subsequently won the 2013 election and gained a two-thirds majority.

Zimbabwe African National Union

ZANU was founded by Ndabaningi Sithole, Henry Hamadziripi, Mukudzei Midzi, Herbert Chitepo, Edgar Tekere, and Leopold Takawira at the house of former Defence Minister Enos Nkala in Highfield in August 1963.

Patriotic Front

The Patriotic Front (PF) was formed in 1976 as a political and military alliance between ZAPU and ZANU during the war against white minority rule in Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe). The PF included the Soviet Union-backed ZAPU, which was led by Joshua Nkomo and operating mainly from Zambia, and the Chinese-backed ZANU led by Robert Mugabe, which operated mainly from neighbouring Mozambique. Both movements contributed their respective military forces. ZAPU's military wing was known as the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) and ZANU's guerrillas were known as the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army. The objective of the PF was to overthrow the predominantly white minority government, headed by the Prime Minister Ian Smith, through political pressure and military force.