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Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army

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Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army
Flag of ZAPU
Active1964–1980
Country Zimbabwe
AllegianceZAPU
BranchIrregular military
TypeGuerrilla army
RoleMilitary wing of ZAPU
Size20,000 personnel in 1979[1]
EngagementsRhodesian Bush War
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Alfred Nikita Mangena
Lookout Masuku
Insignia
AbbreviationZIPRA

Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), a Marxist–Leninist political party in Rhodesia. It participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule in Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe). ZIPRA (or often ZPRA) was formed during the 1960s by the nationalist leader Jason Moyo, the deputy of Joshua Nkomo. Its sponsors included the Organisation of African Unity and Soviet Union and its base of support lay in Ndebele and other non-Shona minorities in southwestern Zimbabwe, the home region of many of its leaders.[2] After the war, it was edged out of power by ZANU-PF.

Operations

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Map showing the sectors of ZIPRA during the Bush War.
ZIPRA T-34-85 tank at the Zimbabwe Military Museum, Gweru.

Because ZAPU's political strategy combined political negotiations and armed force, ZIPRA developed by elaborately training both regular soldiers and guerrilla fighters. However, by 1979, it had an estimated 20,000 combatants,[1] based in camps around Lusaka, Zambia and at the front. ZIPRA's crossing points into Zimbabwe were at Feira in Zambia, opposite Mashonaland East and West. For example, the operational boundary was Sipolilo, where ZIPRA, Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and Rhodesian Security Forces clashed. ZIPRA operated alone in Mashonaland West. No ZANLA combatants were present in that area until the war's later stages.[3]

Besides the overall political ideologies, the main differences between ZIPRA and ZANLA were that:

  • ZIPRA did not follow ZANLA's ideology (inspired by Maoism) but followed Soviet Marxist-Leninist principles.
  • ZIPRA controlled zones from Sipolilo to Plumtree.

ZIPRA formally allied with uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the ANC's militant wing. In the mid-1960s, ZIPRA and MK mounted a celebrated, if strategically unsuccessful, raid into Rhodesia. Rhodesian Security Forces, working in concert with the South African Police, stopped the incursion.

Downing of passenger planes

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A Viscount of Air Rhodesia (pictured in the early 1970s), similar to the Hunyani and the Umniati.

In 1978 and 1979, ZIPRA downed two civilian passenger planes of Air Rhodesia, killing a total of 107 passengers and crew. Air Rhodesia Flight 825 (named the Hunyani) was a scheduled flight from Kariba to Salisbury that was shot down on 3 September 1978 by ZIPRA guerrillas using an SA-7 surface-to-air missile (SAM). ZAPU (the political body behind ZIPRA) leader Joshua Nkomo publicly claimed responsibility for shooting down the Hunyani on BBC Television the same evening, saying the aircraft had been used for military purposes, but denied that his men had killed survivors on the ground. Eighteen of the fifty-six passengers in the Air Rhodesia plane survived the crash, most of whom were seated in the rear. Three crash survivors who remained on the aircraft managed to avoid being killed by running away and hiding in the bush. A second plane, Air Rhodesia Flight 827 (named the Umniati), was shot down on 12 February 1979 by ZIPRA guerrillas, again using an SA-7 SAM.

ZIPRA commanders and soldiers

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ZIPRA personnel being supervised at an assembly point during Operation Midford.

References

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  1. ^ a b Lohman, Major Charles M.; MacPherson, Major Robert I. (7 June 1983). "Rhodesia: Tactical Victory, Strategic Defeat" (PDF). War Since 1945 Seminar and Symposium. Quantico, Virginia: Marine Corps Command and Staff College. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  2. ^ Chatambudza, Takawira (25 August 2025). The Zimbabwe Liberation Struggle: A Military History of the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), 1963-1979. PRISM (PhD thesis). University of Calgary. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  3. ^ Martin, D & Johnson, P. (1981). The Struggle for Zimbabwe. Faber & Faber. p. 400.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Up close with Col. Tshinga Dube". Sunday Mail. 8 September 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  5. ^ Kriger, Norma J (2003). Guerrilla Veterans in Post-war Zimbabwe: Symbolic and Violent Politics, 1980–1987. Cambridge University Press. p. 316.
  6. ^ "Lookout Masuku dies at 46; commanded Nkomo forces". The New York Times. 7 April 1986. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  7. ^ "War vets recommend hero status for late CIO". Nehanda Radio. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  8. ^ "1976: the year Bosso lost its entire junior squad to the armed struggle". Sunday News (Zimbabwe). 14 June 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  9. ^ Sibanda, Mkhululi (9 June 2022). "ZIPA had problems from word go top ZPRA commander reveals". Sunday News (Zimbabwe). Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  10. ^ "The Zimbabwe National Amy". Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  11. ^ "Nkomo's security chief tells police he shot farmer's brother". Zim Eye. 14 May 2009. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.

Further reading

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  • Rasmussen, R. K., & Rubert, S. C., 1990. A Historical Dictionary of Zimbabwe, Scarecrow Press, Inc., Metuchen, N.J., United States of America.
  • Chatambudza, Takawira, 2025. The Zimbabwe Liberation Struggle: A Military History of the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), 1963-1979, PhD Dissertation. University of Calgary.
  • Sunday mail, Sunday, 8 October 2006, Zimbabwe's true armed struggle history must be told
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