ZAPU @ 64:
A journey of resilience and quest for true freedom
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Today marks the 64th birthday of our beloved party, Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU). On this day back in 1961, our founding fathers formed this great party, presenting for the first time since colonization, a mainstream political formation using the name Zimbabwe. Upon that revolutionary foundation, ZAPU became the mother of nationalism, patriotism and self-determination. Yet there has never been a local party more persecuted and sabotaged than ZAPU.
On either side of our country’s independence, ZAPU suffered from state-sponsored violence, persecution and lawfare. From getting banned during our nascent years by the colonial settler regime, to having caveats against our assets soon after independence, ZAPU has been through thick and thin. Our leaders have been jailed, assassinated, denied economic opportunities and hounded into exile. Even worse, our members and supporters have also been subjected to state-sponsored violence and persecution. Between 1982 and 1987, a genocide was unleashed against hapless citizens singled out for the “crime” of being members or supporters of ZAPU. To this day, many survivors of Gukurahundi have endured post-traumatic stress disorders and debilitating fear, while those who perished or were forcefully disappeared remain unaccounted for. Current efforts by the ZANU PF regime to abuse traditional Chiefs in spearheading a massive cover-up operation, have been a total flop we saw coming. We sounded an alarm, which tragically fell on deaf ears.
As ZAPU turns 64 today, we reflect on the countless sacrifices made by all the gallant men and women who served as leaders, members and supporters of ZAPU. Many of them bore the brunt of resisting colonialism initially and later, the one-party state ZANU PF tried to establish after independence. At the cost of life and limb, ZAPU has bravely refused to allow a free pass for tyranny. During the liberation struggle, our armed wing, Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZPRA), led from the western front to drive out the Rhodesian settler regime. Many sacrifices were made by our freedom fighters and the people of Zimbabwe who supported them. Freedom came at a high cost for them yet the independence that emerged on 18 April 1980 was soon hijacked by imposters and power-hungry individuals, who made it their life’s mission to annihilate ZAPU. In their multi-pronged strategy, they used violence to exterminate ZAPU leadership while propaganda became their weapon of choice in expunging the contributions of ZPRA towards the liberation of Zimbabwe.
On 1 July 2025, auspiciously the anniversary of our founding President’s passing, ZAPU lodged a spirited High Court challenge to interdict the Chief-led Gukurahundi Outreach Programme which was set to start in a few days. While the High Court dismissed our case on a few technicalities, we remain opposed to the shadowy and futile process led by state actors whom we consider as perpetrators of the Gukurahundi Genocide. With our court challenge out of the way, the Gukurahundi Outreach Programme has still failed to produce any meaningful results. Exactly a year prior to our court action we had tried through petitions, to dissuade President Mnangagwa from launching this exercise in futility. It was and still remains our considered position, that there can be no genuine dialogue aimed at redressing the festering wounds of Gukurahundi without the inclusion of ZAPU as a key and central stakeholder.
Today ZAPU remains rooted in the people’s struggle for genuine freedom. The people’s aspiration for self-rule, denied by the colonial regime and subsequently delayed by the ZANU PF imposter regime, will never be abandoned. Devious attempts to shred the Constitution for power retention will be resisted to the tip of the sword. The ZANU PF-sponsored mantra that opposition is dead in Zimbabwe is a ruse to buttress their nefarious ED2030 agenda. Ever since their noise started, we have taken a principled stance against their wishful attempts to extend their stolen mandate beyond 2028. We are also taking active steps to deploy our seasoned cadres to Parliament, where they will be the voice of reason. As we speak, we have high hopes in our candidate, Vivian Siziba, representing us in the Nkulumane by-election slated for 20 December. Again, efforts to resist the ED2030 agenda through national democratic convergence are also underway. We are actively engaging all progressive Zimbabweans to join forces in order to dislodge ZANU PF and rescue our country from further decline.
However, as ZAPU turns 64, we are dismayed to notice that basic tenets of democracy and the bill of rights in our country’s Constitution continue to be eroded. Our rights to freedom of association and peaceful gathering have been denied through dubious sections of the law weaponized against opposition parties. The ruling party is never inhibited by the same laws. Freedom of expression has also suffered from the partisan stifling of dissenting voices. Just recently, in a deranged show of Taliban-inspired extremism, a ZANU PF affiliate group of vigilantes in Mbare, Harare, openly outlawed criticism of President Mnangagwa. For someone who claims to be legally trained, the failure by Mr Mnangagwa to admonish his misguided minions against such excesses is very telling. Gagged and barred from structured association, Zimbabweans continue to seethe in restless silence. Needless to mention that history has shown countless times how such negative peace is not sustainable.
We call upon Zimbabweans, Africans and our international allies to join us in marking this special day in our calendar. Our party has remained in existence against the odds. To all ZAPU members, this our day to reflect and celebrate our resilience. To the people of Nkulumane, please turn out in record numbers to vote for Cde Siziba, who will boldly march to Parliament as your genuine representative. To our fellow Zimbabweans, do not lose heart. ZAPU remains determined to bring Zimbabwe back to the path of normalcy, the rule of law and national cohesion. Regardless of our tortured history, we remain the best hope for Zimbabwe to reclaim her purloined glory. For the Great Zimbabwe dream to come true, it is ZAPU – the right turn missed at independence – that should steer the freedom train back on track.
