Zimbabwe: Self-government and Federation (1923 - 1963) (continued)

Updated January 2008

Resistance to Federation was widespread amongst Africans in the territories involved and opposition helped crystalise the nascent African nationalist movements in the region as leaders rallied population in opposition to the entrenchment of White settler power that it represented (see Zambia: Rise of African Nationalism (1945-1964)). In Southern Rhodesia in September 1957, Joshua Nkomo, a trade unionist emerged as leader of the new formed African National Congress (ANC) through the merger of the Bulawayo based Southern Rhodesian African National Congress and the Salisbury based Youth League, which spearheaded widespread resistance that reflected growing unemployment and a general deterioration of living conditions amongst Africans in 1957/8 (Gwisai 2002; Machigaidze 1991; Esterhuysen 2004). A state of emergency was declared and the ANC was outlawed in February 1959, while ANC activists were arrested and detained without trial (Esterhuysen 2004; Wikipedia 2007). Some 1610 Africans were prosecuted and 1002 convicted between 1960 and 1965 under the 1959 Unlawful Organizations Act (Wikipedia 2007). The crackdown on African resistance reflected growing White insecurity in the face of the rising tide of African nationalism and a steady drift of the White electorate to the right as fear of African majority rule in Southern Rhodesia grew (Wikipedia 2007; Esterhuysen 2004).

The effect of all this was to stiffen and consolidate resistance; in January 1960 the National Democratic Party (NDP) was created and in time Nkomo became its President (Machigaidze 1991). It set itself to fight for bread-and-butter issues such as higher wages better education and housing and education, for legal reforms such as the abolition of the Land Apportionment Act of 1930 and the Land Husbandry Act of 1951 and for a one-person-one vote franchise system (Machigaidze 1991). Despite state repression the and lack of resources the organisation grew rapidly, attracted thousands of people to its rallies, and had 250 000 members in mid-1961 (Machigaidze 1991).

The extent of unrest in the Federation prompted a review of policy in British central Africa and a commission appointed, headed by Lord Monckton, reported in 1960 that the Federation was not viable (Esterhuysen 2004). The Report was accepted by the British government so that the dissolution of the Federation and independence for Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland under African majority rule became only a matter of time (Esterhuysen 2004). In Southern Rhodesia, in preparation for a White led independence, a constitutional conference held in 1961 added a bill of rights to the constitution and expanded the seats in parliament to 65, with 50 member elected on an A Roll with high educational, income and property qualifications and 15 elected on a separate B Roll with lower qualifications; these measures were endorsed in a referendum in July 1961 by the overwhelmingly White electorate (Esterhuysen 2004; Wikipedia 2007).

Nkomo and the NDP leadership, who had participated in the conference, were criticised for accepting these measures; Nkomo was forced to withdraw his support for the new constitution and a boycott of registration on the African roll was initiated (Esterhuysen 2004). The opposition to the constitution was led by SRTUC, which organised massive strikes that were suppressed by force and the leadership of the NDP was arrested (Gwisai 2002). The government was alarmed by the extent of the unrest and the NDP was banned in December 1961 (Esterhuysen 2004). The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) was formed to replace the NDP, but it too was banned in September 1962 (Esterhuysen 2004). Matters deteriorated further when the hard-line Rhodesian Front (RF) won the 1962 elections and the battle lines between the Nationalists and the settlers became more acutely drawn (Wikipedia 2007; Hanyama Undated). Selby (2006, 64) observes that the RF victory "was close, but it was a watershed, and from then on the Rhodesian Front rode a wave of white nationalism… [it] ensured that the race question would be decided through confrontation rather than compromise". ZAPU reorganised itself in exile in Dar es Salaam in early 1963, but was riven by factional conflict which culminated in the formation of Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in August 1963 under the leadership of Rev Ndabaningi Sithole and Robert Mugabe and the formation of the People's Caretaker Council (PCC) by Nkomo (Esterhuysen 2004; Wikipedia 2007).

Nyasaland and Zambia withdrew from the Federation in 1962, in 1963 the Federation was officially dissolved and Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia became independent states as Malawi and Zambia respectively in 1964 (Encyclopedia of the Nations 2007; Esterhuysen 2004). Southern Rhodesia remained a Crown Colony and the White aspirations for an independent settler dominated state were not met (Esterhuysen 2004; Wikipedia 2007).

References

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NATIONS 2007 "Zimbabwe: History", [www] http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Zimbabwe-HISTORY.html [opens new window] (accessed 6 Dec 2007).

ESTERHUYSEN, P 2004 "Zimbabwe: an historical overview", Institute of Strategic Studies, [www] http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9396258_ITM [opens new window] (accessed 6 Dec 2007).

GWISAI, M 2002 "Revolutionaries, resistance and crisis in Zimbabwe" FROM Zeilig, L (ed), Class Struggle and Resistance in Africa, New Clarion Press, Cheltenham, UK, [www] http://www.dsp.org.au/links/node/77 [opens new window] (accessed 12 Dec 2007).

HANYAMA, M UNDATED "Background to Land Reform in Zimbabwe", Embassy of Zimbabwe in Stockholm, [www] http://www.zimembassy.se/land_reform_document.htm [opens new window] (accessed 6 Dec 2007).

MACHIGAIDZE, VEM 1991 "Land Reform in Colonial Zimbabwe: The Southern Rhodesia Land Husbandry Act and African Response", IN Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, January, [www] http://www.ossrea.net/eassrr/jan91/machigai.htm [opens new window] (accessed 2 Jan 2008).

SELBY, A 2006 COMMERCIAL FARMERS AND THE STATE: INTEREST GROUP POLITICS AND LAND REFORM IN ZIMBABWE, Doctoral Thesis, Oxford University, [www] http://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/1842/493/1/thesis+final.pdf [PDF documnet, opens new window] (accessed 11 Dec 2007).

WIKIPEDIA 2007 "Elections in Southern Rhodesia", [www] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Southern_Rhodesia [opens new window] (accessed 6 Dec 2007).