Gukurahundi

Gukurahundi was the armed conflict between the Zimbabwe Government and the ZAPU. The ZAPU armies terrorized civilians, farmers and government officials. During the time of Liberation of Zimbabwe the main liberation group (ZAPU) split into 2 groups, ZAPU and ZANU. There was a rivalry between the 2 groups for the support of the people and they would fight each other. In 1982 things became worse after ZANU found arm caches and they accused ZAPU of plotting another war. The ZAPU leaders were arrested and brought to court but were not imprisoned and all of them were released except Dumiso Dabengwa and Lookout Masuku whose trial was not given for 4 years. During this time the ZAPU lost thousands of followers because they saw this necessary to stay alive, with all their leaders in jail they felt there was no one to protect them. Mugabe made a deal with the Prime Minister of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, to have the North Korean Military train a group of Zimbabwean soldiers. This brigade would be called the Gukurahundi, the leader of the brigade was Perence Shiri and was consisted of all the other Zimbabwean army units. Most of the ZAPU were killed in public executions in front of family and friends after they dug their own grave. Many of them were burned alive and marched to a central place where many people could see them die. An estimated 700 to 800 people were killed until Mugabe and the leader of ZAPU, Joshua Nkomo, signed a Unity Accord in 1987 this ended the fight but there is still many problems that exist today.