The Death Of Rex Nhongo

Harare, Zimbabwe, 2011 This is a story of five marriages and one gun. A British couple wonder at the unknowable city beyond their guarded compound while they build walls between themselves. An American begins to suspect his new home is having an insidious effect on his 'African queen' and their young daughter. An enthusiastic young intellectual follows his wife and his dreams to the city and finds only disillusion. An Intelligence Officer loses a crucial piece of evidence. It will cost him his marriage and his girlfriend; maybe even his life. A taxi driver and his wife, living on the knife-edge of poverty, find a gun in the cab. From this point on, all their lives are tied to the trigger. C. B. George's Zimbabwe is a personal portrait, both tender and brutal. The betrayals and conspiracies of the corrupt world are nothing compared to those of marriage; in which husband and wife love and leave, fight and flee, recant and reconcile, with outcomes that are by turns shocking, heartbreaking and, ultimately, full of hope.

An essential biographical record of General Solomon Mujuru, one of the most controversial figures within the history of African liberation politics.

Any system of government is comprised of several dimensions of functionality, which must all work in congruence. When any part of the system is dysfunctional, the government’s stability becomes fractured and societal problems can arise. Political Discourse in Emergent, Fragile, and Failed Democracies examines the effects of unstable democratic systems of government in modern society, providing an imperative analysis on political communications from such nations. Highlighting real-world examples on the constraints seen in malfunctioning or emerging governments, this book is a pivotal reference source for policy makers, researchers, academicians, and upper-level students interested in politics and governance.

On 21st November 2017 Robert Mugabe resigned as President of Zimbabwe after 37 years in power. A week earlier the military had seized control of the country and forced him to step down as leader of the ruling Zanu-PF party. In this revised and updated edition of his classic biography, Stephen Chan seeks to explain and interpret Mugabe in his role as a key player in the politics of Southern Africa. In this masterly portrait of one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, Mugabe's character unfolds with the ebb and flow of triumph and crisis. Mugabe's story is Zimbabwe's - from the post-independence hopes of idealism and reconciliation to electoral victory, the successful intervention in the international politics of Southern Africa and the resistance to South Africa's policy of apartheid. But a darker picture emerged early with the savage crushing of the Matabeleland rising, the elimination of political opponents, growing corruption and disastrous intervention in the Congo war, all worsened by drought and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Stephen Chan's highly revealing biography, based on close personal knowledge of Zimbabwe, depicts the emergence and eventual downfall of a ruthless and single-minded despot amassing and tightly clinging to political power. We follow the triumphant nationalist leader who reconciled all in the new multiracial Zimbabwe, degenerate into a petty tyrant consumed by hubris and self-righteousness and ultimately face an ignominious endgame at the hands of his own army.

What is distinctive about this book is its interdisciplinary approach towards deciphering the complex meanings of President Gabriel Mugabe of Zimbabwe making it possible to evaluate Mugabe from a historical, political, philosophical, gender, literal and decolonial perspectives. It is concerned with capturing various meanings of Mugabeism.

Fifty years on, this superb and exciting book depicts the military history of Southern Rhodesia from the first resistance to colonial rule, through the period of UDI by the Smith government to the Lancaster House agreement that transferred power. There are vivid accounts of the operations against the black nationalist 'guerillas' by the security forces and the intensity of the fighting and courage of the participants will surprise and enthrall readers. Atrocities were undoubtedly committed by both sides but equally the protagonists were playing for very high stakes. But this is more than just a book on military operations. The Authors are able to provide expert analysis of the historical situation and examines events up to the present day, including Mugabe's operations against rival tribes and white farmers. For a thorough work on its subject this book cannot be bettered. Essential reading for those wishing to learn more about a counterinsurgency campaign. The ingenuity of the Rhodesian military fighting against overwhelming odds and restricted by sanctions is impressive but the outcome culminating in the Lancaster House Agreement was inevitable.

Examines Zimbabwe's pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial social, economic and political history and relates historical factors and trends to more recent developments in the country.

This book offers an insightful analysis of presidential policy towards Rhodesia during the UDI era of 1965-1979. Michel provides an informative account of the stance adopted by the differing presidential administrations towards Salisbury and highlights the shifting alignment of the global and domestic dynamics that shaped decision-making. The book also explores the complex relationship between pragmatism and morality in formulating policy, and Michel considers intriguing questions over the competing visions within Washington of what constituted pragmatism or morality during the era of decolonization.

Mugabe's War Machine is the first full account of one man's military ambitions. It contains shocking stories of massacre and murder at home and powerful accounts of neighbouring wars and international intelligence intrigues. This revealing book tracks the rise of Robert Mugabe and decodes his psychology in the context of Zimbabwe's military history. His leadership of a guerrilla army against white rule explains how Mugabe continued to rule Zimbabwe as though he were still running an insurgency. Mugabe used military power - the armed forces, militias, police and the dreaded Central Intelligence Organization - to enforce his will against a series of perceived enemies. Along with inflicting massacres in Matabeleland in the early 1980s, Mugabe's forces also fought a covert war against apartheid South Africa. A large army was sent to intervene in the civil war in Mozambique. After 1998 Zimbabwean troops engaged in the massive conflict in the Congo, dubbed Africa's First World War. Domestically, Mugabe crushed all his alleged opponents from the Ndebele to white farmers, and then the media, judiciary, civic groups, churches, unions and homosexuals. The book recounts South African attempts to keep the current government of national unity alive, despite the growing oppression. It also considers how Zimbabwe can be saved from its own self-destruction. Professor Paul Moorcraft is a prolific author and war correspondent who has served in the Rhodesian/Zimbabwean Police and worked closely with the British Armed Forces. His book, The Rhodesian War (Pen and Sword 2008) has been a huge success.

First published in 1998, Peacekeeping in Africa was written to help make up the shortfall in the number of books that concentrated specifically on peacekeeping in Africa. The book covers the main peacekeeping operations of Africa, and provides a wealth of background material. In doing so, it explores the policies and actions of the international organisations concerned and the participating African states. It also considers the impact of sub-regional powers and the role of the USA, Britain, and France. Comprising three parts, Peacekeeping in Africa examines world perspectives, case studies, and wider issues surrounding Africa’s peacekeeping operations.

Published between 1985 and 1998, the five volumes in this set explore a wide range of themes and topics relating to postcolonial security studies. Offering both broader overviews of political and military regimes across the world, and more focused examinations of specific areas and conflicts, such as Africa, Cuba, and the Falklands War, they provide a wealth of information that will appeal to those with an interest in military and strategic studies, political and military history, political and military theory, and international relations.

This book uses critical textual analysis and postcolonial theory to analyse cultural texts of resistance in contemporary Zimbabwe.

This book is an exploration of the political history of insurgency in SOuthern Rhodesia. During the early years of its struggle, ZAPU employed non-violent means to try and achieve its goal for majority rule and a non-racial society. Because of the belligerancy of the White settler regime, ZAPU added the armed resistance to its strategy and went on to build a formidable army. Problems escalated and alliances were built and dissolved until, tired of being hunted down and butchered, the ZAPU leadership decided to merge its party with the ruling party in December 1987.

The ousting of Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe’s president took the world by surprise. In this book, award-winning Zimbabwean journalist Geoffrey Nyarota explains how and why the events of November 2017 happened as they did. Nyarota evaluates the political and economic impact of Mugabe’s presidency, showing how he managed to reduce a prosperous nation to a state of destitution through extreme misgovernance. The book describes the rifts within ZANU-PF as Mugabe sidelined anyone who might challenge his power, and the creation of opposing factions that supported Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and First Lady Grace Mugabe respectively. It traces the growing ambition and power of Grace Mugabe, culminating in the sacking of Mnangagwa as vice president in November 2017, and explains how this finally spurred ZANU-PF to rid itself of the president who had done so much damage to the country over the decades. Written with the insight of a veteran Zimbabwean journalist, this is a fascinating account of the rise and fall of one of Africa’s longest-ruling dictators.

With China’s rise to the status of world power, trade and political links between Africa and China have been escalating at an astonishing rate. Sino-African relations are set to become an increasingly significant feature of world politics as China’s hunger for energy resources grows and many African countries seek a partner that, unlike the West, does not worry about democracy and transparency, or impose political conditions on economic relations. Ian Taylor, one of the foremost authorities on the international relations and political economy of Africa, provides a comprehensive assessment of relations between China and Africa. He discusses the historical evolution of Sino-African relations in the period since the 1949 revolution, with particular emphasis on the period since the end of the Cultural Revolution. Considering in detail China’s relations with Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Malawi, Taylor demonstrates how China has used the rhetoric of anti-hegemonies to secure and promote its position in the Third World. Taylor gives an engaging account of the hitherto under-researched topic of relations between China and Africa, a phenomenon of growing importance in contemporary international politics.

Zimbabwe's severe crisis - and a possible way out of it with a transitional government, and the new era for which it prepares the ground - demands a coherent scholarly response. 'Progress' can be employed as an organising theme across many disciplinary approaches to Zimbabwe's societal devastation. At wider levels too, the concept of progress is fitting. It underpins 'modern', 'liberal' and 'radical' perspectives of development pervading the social sciences and humanities. Yet perceptions of 'progress' are subject increasingly to intensive critical inquiry. Their gruesome end is signified in the political projects of Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF. John Gray's Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia indicates this. It is expected that participants will engage directly in debates about how the idea of 'progress' has informed their disciplines - from political science and history to labour and agrarian studies, and then relate these arguments to the Zimbabwean case in general and their research in particular. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Contemporary African Studies.

The sixteen-year-long war in Mozambique between the Frelimo government and Renamo rebels remains one of the most overlooked and misunderstood of the conflicts that raged across Africa during the height of the Cold War. While usually viewed as mere sideshow to more high-profile wars in Angola, Rhodesia and within apartheid South Africa itself, it nonetheless is noteworthy in its complexity, duration and destructiveness. Before it was all over in 1992 at least one million Mozambicans would be dead, millions more homeless and the country lying in ruins. Ultimately Frelimo would get its victory not on the battlefield but rather at the polling booth in 1994. Based on more than a decade of meticulous research, a review of thousands of pages of military records and documents, and dozens of in-depth interviews with political leaders, diplomats, generals, and soldiers and sailors, this book tells the story of the war from the perspective of those who fought it and lived it. It follows Renamo's growth from its Rhodesian roots in 1977 as a weapon against Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwean nationalist guerrillas operating from Mozambique through South African patronage in the early 1980s to Renamo's evolution as a self-sufficient nationalist insurgency. In tracing the ebb and flow of the conflict from the rugged mountains and Savannah forests of central Mozambique across the hot, humid Zambezi River valley and down to the very outskirts of the Mozambican capital in the far south, it examines the operational strategy of Frelimo and Renamo commanders in the field, the battles they fought and the lives of their troops. In doing so it highlights personal struggles, each side's successes and failures, and the missed opportunities to decisively turn the tide of war. Accordingly, this book provides the first real comprehensive military history of a war too long neglected and under appreciated in the chronicles of modern African history.