Retracing the life and death of Dr Sithole

THIS is the third and final contribution on the life, abduction, disappearance and subsequent death of Dr Edson Sithole — a veteran nationalist, barrister and national hero whose heroic life remains shrouded in mystery ,43 years after his death. This week we look at the intricate events leading up to his death within the context of the contradictions and disunity within Zimbabwe’s liberation movements around 1974-75, what has often been referred toast he“A NC unity in disunity”.

We will also look a this death and the various theories that have been advanced to explain it.

The statement, which was signed on December 7,1974, and came to be known as the“ZimbabweDeclaration of Unity” bore the signatures of A NC President Bishop A bel Muzo rewa,Za nu President Ndabaningi Sithole, Zapu President Joshua Nkomo and FROLIZI President James Chikerema.

These parties agreed to unite in the ANC under immense pressure from the Frontline States and the OAU.

Yet, it must be stated at this stage that the said declaration of unity brought together sheep, foxes, hyenas and leopards.

The misguided and obvious assumption was that the four would realise they had many things in common: they were all animals and their common enemy in the bush was the lion.

Yet we know all too well that the interests of leopards, hyenas, foxes and sheep do not necessarily coincide, despite their common fear of the lion.

The artificial unity “achieved” in Lusaka in December, 1974, was a unity of contradictions. It was not a naturally occurring unity and as such, it could be maintained only by external and artificial means.

This was vividly evident immediately after the Declaration of Unity. Back in Zimbabwe after their release, Zanu and Zapu leaders and supporters worked at cross purposes in pursuit of their organisational goals.

Zanu leaders and supporters advocated for continued armed struggle and its President Ndabaningi Sithole refused to call a ceasefire as demanded by the Smith regime.

Following the advice of the Frontline States not to make statements that would harden Smith`s attitude, the Zapu leader, Joshua Nkomo, remained surprisingly quiet on the ceasefire and other issues.

However, he and his supporters were quietlyconsolidating their own A NC organisation al structures, particularly at district and provincial levels.

Since branch formation and registration went through district and provincial structures, only the local branches dominated by Zapu were duly registered.

Dr Gordon Chavunduka, then A NC secretary-general,was quoted by Professor Ma sip ula Sit hole in his book` Zimbabwe struggles-within-the-struggle’ :“Nko mo has captured the middle leadership of the A NC. We dominate in the top leadership and among the masses. However, while the masses are forming branches, they have to be registered through the district and province before the Party Secretariat finally registers them. Under the circumstances, Zap u-oriented branches get registered. Moreover, there is a tendency for numerous branches to be formed and registered in Zapu strongholds than elsewhere.We now have a situation whereabout 60 percent of registered A NC branches are in Mate be le land, which constitutes only one-fourth of the country. Surely, it can not be assumed Mate be le land is more politic is ed than there st of the country.”

Thus, Nkomo and his supporters favoured a quick A NC Congress because only established and registered branches would be invited.

However, Zanu encouraged formation of branches that would seek registration directly with the Secretariat. It is generally believed that the A NC leadership was biased tow a rd sNko mo and Zapu immediately following the release of the Zanu and Zapu nationalists, including Dr Edson Sithole, in December 1974.

This was to be expected because after the Pearce Commission, Zanu looked unfriendly at ANC talks with the Smith regime, especially towards the end of 1973 and during 1974. On the other hand, Zapu in exile deliberately maintained a low key or even a friendly attitude towards the ANC.

As the former detainees travelled throughout the country, however, it became evident that mass sentiment was pro-Zanu. It was also clear that the masses in the cities and countrysidelooked to C him ur en ga( armed struggle) for salvation and they correctly equate dZ a nu with Chimurenga. In exile, Zanu, Zapu and Frolizi continued to work separately, although theoretically they were all under the umbrella of the A NC.

Zanu,i np articular, began to critic is et he unity accord and seemed to be looking for a way of extricating itself from the said unity.

However, theNh ari rebellion, the assassination of Chitepo and the subsequent incarceration of the leaders of Dare re C him ur en gaby the Zambian authorities on charges of having killed Chitepo, hampered Zanu`s capacity to wiggle out of the unity accord.

Zanu offices at the Liberation Centre in Lusaka were seized and given to the A NC, while the Zan u publicity offices in downtown Lusaka were closed down. All Zanu funds were frozen. Zapu in exile, for one reason or another, favour ed unity but kept their Lusaka Headquartersintact as long as Zambia n authorities didn’ t order them closed, and they didn’t.

The Zapu paper continued production, but now purported to be an ANC paper, while the A NC operated from the Liberation Centre under different personnel.

Frolizi was extremely enthusiastic about unity.

The Fro liz ilea der ship quickly provided personnel for the ANC at the Centre. This enthusiasm was shared by those in Zanu who had survived reprisals after the Nhari Rebellion. Eventually, Simon Muzenda (Zanu) and John Nkomo (Zapu) were appointed by the ANC Executive in Rhodes ia to administer the Lusaka ANC offices.

During the period between December 1972 and December 1974, Zanu gained acceptance by the masses of Zimbabwe as the vanguard party in the revolutionary process in Zimbabwe.

Then it was revealed during January, February and March 1975 that while the Zimbabwe Declaration of Unity was being signed in Lusaka, Zanu had been experiencing one of its worst rebellions, the “Nhari Rebellion”. And that the ruthless and at times callous reprisals on the said rebellion had culminated in the death of Herbert Chitepo, the Zanu National Chairman who had built and led the party in exile for a decade.

Simultaneously and contemporaneously, in February 1975, Reverend Nd a baning iS it hole was redetained after only three months of freedom on account of the fact that the Smith government believed it had evidence to the effect that he was plotting the assassination of three nationalist leaders, namely Bishop A bel Muzo rewa, Joshua Nkomo and Dr Elliot Gabellah.

This charge was later “caused to fade” into the dark whence it came, but Sithole was then kept in detention for refusing to call a ceasefire on the guerrilla campaign.

He was, however, released and banished into exile under pretext to attend an O AU Ministerial Conference in Dar es Salaam. Simultaneously, following aZ a nu Central Committee meeting at Mus hand ira pam we hotel in High field, which Dr Edson Sithole also attended, Robert Mugabe and Edgar Tekere went to Mozambique to ensure the continuation of the war, where they remained in mystery until the middle of 1976.

After the O AU Conference, Bishop Muzo rewa returned to Rhodesia where the ANC faced a serious crisis.

Joshua Nkomo and his Zapu supporters in the ANC were demanding an immediate ANC Congress knowing very well that Zanu and Frolizi leaders would not be in a position to attend.

Muzorewa then asked for a meeting with the Frontline States leaders to which all senior leaders of the “enlarged” ANC were invited to discuss holding a Congress.

The meeting was held in Dar es Salaam in July 1975 and concluded among other things:

◆ That because circumstances in Rhodesia would not permit the presence of several leading personalities interested in the stakes at the said Congress, holding of Congress should be deferred until conditions permitted all to attend.

◆ That a Zimbabwe Liberation Council be formed for the purpose of intensifying the armed struggle.

All the leaders seemed united on this resolve but soon after the Dar es Salaam summit with the Frontline States, Nkomo returned to Rhodesia where he continued to press for an ANC Congress.

However, suddenly there was an announcementthat talks between the A NC and the Smith regime would be held in a train on the Victoria Falls Bridge on August 25, 1975.

Bishop Muzo re waled a united A NC delegation with Reverend Sit hole,Nko mo an dC hike remain it. Dr Ed son Sit hole was part the delegation’ s negotiating team.

The talks were aborted. Nkomo then returned to Rhodesia and again in no time, plans were underway for an “ANC Congress”.

Bishop Muzorewa, who now remained in exile with Reverend Sithole and Chikerema, reacted by suspending Nkomo from the ANC and warned ANC members against attending the said Congress.

The ANC Vice President, Dr Elliot Gabellah, also reiterated Muzo rewa`s warning and called on members to boycott “Nkomo`s Congress”.

In June ,1975, Dr Ed son Sit hole had circulated a report that Jo sh uaNkomo“h add one a secret deal” with Ian Smith.

Later, the report was proved to be true and Dr Edson Sithole publicly supported Bishop Abel Muzo rewa`s expulsion of Jo sh uaNko mo from the A NC, setting the stage for combat ive confrontation between Dr Sit hole and Jo sh uaNko mo.

At the time, Machiavellian behaviour and factionalism were rife among African nationalistsand there was growing disunity within the ANC, a trend which Dr Sithole actively encouraged.

We have already stated that Zanuw as becomingimpatient with the creature called A NC and was also trying to find away of extricating itself from the unity accord.

Jo sh uaNkomoandh is supporters, however, went on with their plans and on September 27-28, 1975, under the chairmanship of Samuel Mu nod aw a fa, the Zap ufa ct ion of the A NC, held its Congress in Highfield, and Joshua Nkomo was unanimously elected President.

The Rhodesian Press then began talking of Nko mo as the leader of the“internal wing of the A NC ”, while Bishop Muzo rewa, who remained in exile with Reverend Sit hole and Chi ker ema, became leader of the“external wing of the A NC ”.

Immediately a ft erNko mo wa selected leader of the so-called “internal wing”, Dr Edson Sithole, who was the ANC Publicity Secretary and a member of Za nu, announced that the A NC loyal to Bishop Muzo rewa, Reverend Nd a baning iS it hole and C hike re ma would hold a“consultative congress” on October 25,1975, to repudiatetheNko mo Congress. After his Congress, Nkomoandh is supporters embarked on bilateraltalks with the Smith regime. The talks were held amidst optimism on both sides until they broke down on March 19, 1976.

Surprisingly, the breakdown of the talks was announced in a “joint statement” by Nkomo and Smith. They both appealed to Britain to “clear the impasse”.

In terms of ANC contradictions, the month of October 1975 was eventful and so it was for Dr Edson Sithole. Dr Sithole was always in the Press critic is in gt he authorities and, more so, for giving preferential treatment tot heNko mo faction of the AN Cast hey were able to hold rallies with minimum restrictions as opposed to the Muzorewa faction of the ANC.

He continuously challenged the authorities to ensure that their “consultative congress” scheduled for October 25 would be held under the same conditions as those that applied to the Nkomo Congress.

However, before the said “consultative congress” to repudiate the Nkomo Congress was held, fate was to dictate otherwise on Dr Ed son Sit hole. On 150 ct ob er 1975, around 7 pm followingan interview, Dr Ed son Sit hole was bundled into a police van outside Salisbury`s Ambassador Hotel, together with his secretary Miriam Mhl an ga, in front of several witnesses, including Brother Arthur of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. They were leaving the Quill Club at the Ambassador Hotel.

They were never seen again. Both their remains have not been found to date.

He was not found in prison when the cells were opened during an amnesty just prior to independence in 1980 and he is presumed dead. He was declared dead after independence.

In 1994, he was declared a national hero, while in 1999 a cenotaph monument was installed in his memory at the national shrine.

It was allegedly claimed that he was kidnapped by the Selous Scouts who later killed him and deposited his body in a disused mine shaft. It was also rumoured that these Scouts were working in cohort s with Muzo rewa, while speculation also implicated Nkomo.

Mike Rook, former Quill cIubV ice-Chairman,writes as follows :“I recall as if it was yesterday entering the Ambassador Hotel in downtown Ha rare on a balmy Wednesday evening 15 October 1975. I was heading for the Quill Club situated on the hotel’ s first floor. On the landing halfway up the staircase, I bumped into advocate Edson Sithole, who was accompanied by his secretary Mir ia mMh lang a.Weexc hanged greetings.”

Only a few months earlier, he had attended the Victoria Falls talks as a member of Bishop Muzo rewa’ s African National Council’ s negotiatingteam. The talks were part of the“détente” policy instigated by South Africa’ s Prime Mini ste rB J Vorster, aimed at forcing Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith to talk with the Frontline States and all of the warring nationalist parties.

Rook adds ,“I remember questioning Sit hole as to who was in the club. He replied that there was only a` spook .’ The word` spook’ was used to describe a Central Intelligence Operative. That was my last conversation with him. Minutes later, he was abducted with his secretary as he exited the hotel. He was never seen again.

“As I entered the Quill, there was just one person facing the bar and whispering down the telephone. As he heard me enter, he abruptly finished the conversation and turned around. The face and benign smile were very familiar, it was Special Branch officer Pat Keyser.”

On the day that he disappeared, Dr Sithole missed two court cases where he was supposed to represent clients at two different courts.

Despite his nationalist activities, Dr Sithole would always find time for his legal practice and he was in demand to represent Africans charged with all sorts of crimes on account of their political activity.

Phyllis Johnson, in her book ,` The Struggle for Zimbabwe’, states that: “Evidence still secret, to be produced at such time as a public hearing is held, suggests that his( Dr Ed son Sit hole’ s) body and that of a white priest may be found at the bottom of a disused mineshaft”.

After independence, reports suggested that his body was to be found at what used to be the Warren Park dumping area near the Heroes Acre. Other reports suggest that Dr Sithole’s body was put in acid, while yet other reports suggest that his remains maybe found at Robin Island in South Africa.

Dr Sithole’s files were also reported to have been taken to South Africa so as to hide evidence.

The question that is at the uppermost of everyone’s mind is, did Smith and Nkomo or Smith and Muzo re wac uta deal to get rid of this “troublesome nationalist”?

The truth is nobody knows; those who know have not come forward for various reasons and also because the previous administrations of Muzo rewa and former President Robert Mugabe did not put in place a public hearing framework where evidence and testimonies about the disappearance of the veteran nationalist and barristercould be heard. The obvious challenge now is that many who knew may have passed on.

That notwithstanding, it is be fitting of the sacrifice that Dr Ed son Sit hole made to the liberation of this country, that the new administration of the Second Republic generate enough political will to put in place a public hearing framework so that there main soft his self less son of the soil, among others, are found and given a decent burial at the national shrine, with full military hon ours as be fitting a departed national hero, which has not been done for him to date, 43 years on.

◆ IsayaMuriwoSitholeisalegalpractitioner practising in Harare and is a co-founder and executive director of the Dr Edson F.C Sithole Foundation.Feedback:isayamsithole@gmail. com