Two rival movements merge in Zimbabwe

Date: 19 Dec 1989
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Two rival political organisations in Zimbabwe, the Ndebele-dominated Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), led by Joshua Nkomo, and the Shona-dominated Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), led initially by the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole and later by Robert Mugabe, finally merged following consensus reached in 1987 to form a new political party called the Zimbabwean African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).

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01SAHO, Mugabe announces the merging of ZANU and ZAPU, [Online],Available at:www.sahistory.org.za,[Accessed:27 November 2013]
02cws,Timeline: Zimbabwe, [Online],Available at:www.cws.org,[Accessed:27 November 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Two rival movements merge in Zimbabwe. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012847

South African History Online (2011) 'Two rival movements merge in Zimbabwe', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012847 (Accessed: 25 July 2026).

South African History Online, Two rival movements merge in Zimbabwe [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012847, (accessed 25 July 2026).

"Two rival movements merge in Zimbabwe." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012847. Accessed 25 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Two rival movements merge in Zimbabwe." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012847.