i I1 1981iNo. 15 1 Africa ZIMBABWE: A POLITICAL BALANCE SHEET Part II: Party Politics and Foreign Affairs by J. Gus Liebenow The Mugabe government's ability to carry out innovative domestic and foreign policies depends in great measure upon the Prime Minister's creativity in retaining the support of those who gave ZANU-PF its victory in the February 1980 elections. The American Universities Field INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS American Staff, Inc.,founded in 1951, is a non- University of Alabama profit, membership corporation of Brown University American educational institutions. It Universities employs a full-time staff of foreign California State area specialists who write from UniversityIFullerton abroad and make periodic visits to California State member institutions. AUFS serves UniversityINorthridge the public through its seminar pro- Dartmouth College grams, films, and wide-ranging pub- Indiana University lications on significant develop- for Shipboard ments in foreign societies. 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Each Field Staff Associate series are prepared by writers who returns to the United States periodi- are full-time Associates of the cally to lecture on the campuses of American Universities Field Staff the consortium's member institu- and occasionally by persons on leave tions. from the organizations and univer- sities that are the Field Staff's spon- sors. THE AUTHOR Association and a member of the Fellow at Harvard University; and re- Executive Council of the International ceived his Ph.D. in Political Science African Institute in London. from Northwestern University in 1955. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Professor Liebenow began his field work Kappa Phi, he taught at the University of in Africa in 1953, and he has spent 6 of Texas before coming to lndiana Univer- the past 25 years doing research, teach- sity in 1958. He was the first Director of ing, and service in tropical Africa. He is African Studies at lndiana (1960-1972) the author of Liberia: The Evolution of and served as Dean for International Privilege; Colonial Rule and Political Programs (1968-1972) and Vice Presi- Development in Tanzania: The Case of dent for Academic Affairs for the the Makonde; African Attitudes towards lndiana University system (1972-1974). Agriculture, Education, and Rural Trans- formation; and of numerous journal articles and chapters in edited volumes. Dr. Liebenow is a specialist on the prob- lems of local government; urbanization; management of the African environ- ment; politics of migration; and feder- J. GUS LIEBENOW, Professor of Polit- alism. ical Science at lndiana University, is one of the pioneers in the study of politics in Dr. Liebenow received his B.A. (summa cum laude) and M.A. from the Univer- @ 1981, American Universities Field sub-Saharan Africa. He is the immediate Staff, Hanover, NH Past President of the African Studies sity of Illinois; was a Goodwin Memorial 19811No. 15 by J. Gus Liebenow ZIMBABWE: A POLITICAL Africa [J G L-3-'81 I BALANCE SHEET Part II: Party Politics and Foreign Affairs The ability of Robert Mugabe's gov- from ethnic cleavages, conflicts be- Rhodesian Front Party, which won ernment to succeed in carrying out tween traditionalism and modern- the 28 seats reserved for whites, innovative domestic and foreign ism, contrasting ideologies, and - in Muzorewa became Zimbabwe's first policies depends in great measure many instances-simply person- African Prime Minister, a charade upon the Prime Minister's creativity ality.' Where African parties were that was destined to be short-lived. in retaining the support of those permitted to exist, the white settler There was a total absence of inter- who gave the Zimbabwe African group skillfully exploited factional- national diplomatic recognition, National Union-Patriotic Front ism up to the very eve of the pre- despite concerted right-wing pres- (ZANU-PF) its 57-seat majority in independence elections. sure in Britain, the United States the February 1980 elections. At the Senate, and elsewhere. Both Mu- same time Mugabe must success- In a crude way, there were parallels gabe's Zimbabwe African National fully placate the members of Joshua between the ethnic, ideological, and Liberation Army (ZANLA) and Nkomo's Patriotic Front (Zimbabwe personality conflicts within the Nkomo's Zimbabwe African African Peoples Union), PF (ZAPU), liberation struggles in Angola and in People's Revolutionary Army who captured 20 seats; the white Zimbabwe. In both the struggle was (ZIPRA) forces intensified their mili- supporters of the Rhodesian Front fragmented, with each group having tary struggle. Internal dissension Party, which won all 20 of the seats its distinct panoply of heroes, its among the collaborating blacks ulti- reserved for whites; and the rem- separate sources of external sup- mately undermined the myth of nants of Bishop Muzorewa's United port, its own way of relating to majority rule. The Reverend Sithole's African National Congress (UANC) white settlers, and its own military 12-seat party charged electoral who retained 3 seats in the new Par- wing. fraud and largely boycotted the par- liamentary deliberations. Later, liament. It is a difficult tightrope There were, however, important dif- Mugabe must walk. ferences. The first was the ability of James Chikerema, Vice Chairman of Muzorewa's party, broke with his The history of black African party the Smith regime to engage in negotiations with one or more of leader and took seven other mem- activity in preindependent Zim- bers into opposition. Muzorewa's the black leaders in order to weaken babwe is far too complex to recapit- reliance on white support was thus ulate in this brief study. Suffice it to support for the liberation effort. Having failed to make headway with all too transparent and became a say that since the early 1920s, when factor in leading the parties to the the educated African elite organized Nkomo at various times during the Lancaster House conference in the Rhodesian Bantu Voters' Asso- Emergency, Smith turned his atten- September 1979. ciation to secure voting rights for tion to Methodist Bishop Abel themselves, the Zimbabwean party Muzorewa of the UANC, the system has been kaleidoscopic in Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole of the The second major difference be- nature. Almost overnight, a party or old ZANU, and Chief Jeremiah tween the Angolan and Zimbab- movement would come into being, Chirau, who represented tribal tra- wean liberation struggle is that at a then quickly coalesce with other ditionalists. The white leadership critical juncture the two major Zim- similar groups, splinter into factions, succeeded in securing African par- babwean factions in the indepen- or disappear entirely. Given the hos- ticipation in drafting a new constitu- dence movement were brought into tility of the settlers and the colonial tion, which nominally allowed for a a political coalition. Under the regime to black political participa- black majority government but with prodding of the presidents of the tion, it is small wonder that African many significant areas of privilege frontline states, ZANU and ZAPU in political movements were highly reserved for Europeans. In the elec- 1976 agreed to participate in a unstable in organization, finances, tion of April 1979, which both ZANU Patriotic Front coalition, which and platforms. In addition to legal and ZAPU boycotted, the Muzorewa endured through the Lancaster restrictions, black political fragmen- party gained 51 of the 72 African House settlement of December tation reflected differences within seats in the 100-member assembly. 1980. Although their respective the African leadership group itself With the tacit support of Smith's armies continued to fight without coordination, the political coopera- press their decision to join ZANU-PF. Tekere (at least until his own polit- tion of Mugabe and Nkorno consid- In some cases the decision was akin ical and legal difficulties began)--in erably strengthened the hand of the to a religious conversion; in others, response seemed to have free rein liberation group in the negotiations the lure of Mugabe's patronage was to chide Nkorno. They attacked the in London. all too apparent. PF (ZAPU) leader for all allegations of police misbehavior since the The 17-year relationship of the two Despite the magnitude of Mugabe's police came under his Home Min- major Patriotic Front leaders was a electoral victory and his gestures of istry. The PF (ZAPU) leadership was microcosm of the broader history of reconciliation, party politics plagues accused of harboring sinister mo- black Zimbabwean politics. In the postwar reconstruction. Not only is tives because of the slow integration early 1960s Mugabe was Nkomo's Mugabe faced with factionalism of ZlPRA forces into the unified subordinate and ally within ZAPU. within ZANU-PF, but the marriage army. At various times Nkorno was For many reasons they parted com- of convenience with Nkorno also also attacked for currying favor with pany, and each assumed the leader- proved difficult-even before the the traditionalists by supporting the ship of a distinct political move- honeymoon had started! Despite his idea of chieftainship. Indeed, Sena- ment: ZAPU operating out of poor electoral showing Nkomo tor Nkala (who is Ndebele) actually Zambia and ZANU from Mozam- expected almost as a matter of right went to Nkomo's stronghold in bique.