Causes of

Chimurenga/Umvukela
11
By Theresa Shamiso Sibanda
Mount Pleasant School
0774658065
©
Introduction

Chimurenga 2 /Umvukela 2 was caused by political, economic and social reasons.

This war was caused by racial discrimination, white settler’s polices and exploitation
of blacks in farms and mines.
When Africans peaceful methods of expressing consciousness were blocked, they
resorted to use of warfare or liberation struggle.
Smith declared that there was going to be no majority rule in his lifetime even in a
thousand years.
Blacks realized that majority rule can only be achieved through the barrel of the gu
n .( Eduardo Mondhlane Mozambque nationalist leader of Frelimo)
Nationalists organized themselves and formed Zanla and Zipra military wings
outside the country that fought settler government from 1966-79 (though some
content it started with Wankie battle in 1964)
Causes of Chimurenga 2 /Umvukela 2

1. Land issue
2.Need for majority rule
3.Racial discrimination
4.Forced labour
5.Taxation
6.Pass law
7.Suppression of communism /Law and order Maintanance act (why was it
introduced)
8.Strict police system
Land issue

Land issue seem to be most important cause of the Second

Chimurenga/Umvukela.
Land issue can be summarized into three phases :
Land grabbing after two wars (1893 & 1896/7and its impact on black people.
Land apportionment act 1930and its impact on blacks
Land husbandry act 1951.
These laws impoverished and pauperized blacks.
These laws indirectly forced Africans to work for the whites where they were
exploited.
Africans took up arms to recover lost land and demand fair distribution of land.
Seizure of Black land after two wars (Anglo
Matebele war and Ndebele Shona uprising)
After Anglo-Matebele war, Ndebele lost fertile lands and were made to go and
stay in two created reserves of Gwaai and Shangani.
These reserves were infertile rocky dry ,tsetse infested and sandy.
One historian described it as a “cemetery, land fit for the dead and not for the
living.
Blacks in Matebeleland refused to go and continued to stay in now called white
owned lands paying as taxes andrents.
Absentee settler landlords made a lot of fortune from leasing their lands to
blacks.
After 1896 blacks were forcibly evicted from white areas and more reserves
were created for them.
They were sent to arid areas and the reserves were less fertile.
Idea of losing their fertile lands made blacks to take up arms in Chimurenga
2/Umvukela 2
Land Apportionment Act of 1930

This law left Africans pauperized.

Land apportionment Act divided land into white owned land and black owned
land.
Blacks were settled in arid areas ,infertile lands far away from roads, railway
lines.
The Africans were overcrowded and land allocated to them was small
Europeans had larger pieces of land fertile ,sparsely populated and strategically
located. They were closer to roads, rail and market centers.
Africans saw unfairness in this law and took up arms to try and address unfair
land distribution of 1930 which resulted in them being settled in reserves or arid
areas where stones grew more than crops.
Land Husbandry Act 1951

Africans hated this law for various reasons

It reduced individual land possession to 8 acres per family.
To Africans 8 acres was inadequate to take care of their extended families.
Land allocation was now done by District Commissioners not chiefs or herd men.
They detested the idea of remaining with only 5 herd of cattle and were forced
to excess of 5 herd to white settlers at cheaper prices.
To blacks all these tactics were meant to pauperize them and made the source
of cheap labour .
they hated idea of being forced to make storm drains and contours.In as much
as it helped them, the use of force and penalties for failing to make these
contours made blacks angry and took up arms against whites in Chimurenga 2
Pass law

What is a passbook?
Blacks were made to move around carrying passbooks. Every African above the age
of 14 was to carry a passbook.
Failure to produce a passbook was a criminal offense which resulted in
imprisonmnent.
Africans were forced to carry as many as 16 passes .example of passes include
Pass book
Travelling pass
Gate pass
Pass to enter location
Pass to leave a compound
Impact of passbook-

Passbook restricted workers movement. Blacks could not leave the compound
without employer’s permission.
Since contract dates and place of work were shown on the passbook the worker
could not leave place of work at will regardless of poor working conditions.
The pass book also betrayed an African if he had not paid tax.
Passbook and other series of passes were hated by blacks .They saw them as
exploitative restricting their movement worse still the brutality from the police
after breaching pass laws.
Africans took up arms in Chimurenga 2 against use of pass laws
Suppression of communism Act/Law
and Order Maintenance Act
This law forbid Africans from showing any signs of consciousness.
The purpose of this law was to maintain law and order in Southern Rhodesia.
The law forbid blacks from staging demonstrations, riots and strikes.
Africans were not allowed to form trade unions and political parties or display
communism of any kind.
Breaching of this law would result in imprisonment, torture, detention, beating
and sending people to detention camps like Sikombela and Gonakudzingwa.
Settlers were interested in maintaining law and order in the country at the
expense of African consciousness.
This did not go well with Africans.
cont’

Africans wanted the right to form trade unions and political parties ,stage
demonstrations and go on strike when conditions were not favorable.
Africans used this slogan from Eduardo Modhlane of Mozambique”the
Portuguese are an impervious rock it takes the barrel of the gun to penetrate
through them.
Hence they decided to go the batttlefield since all avenues of showing their
consciousness were blocked by whites.
Why did whites introduce this law ?

Settler government introduced this law for the following reasons

1. to maintain law and order.
2.to stop African consciousness.
3. strikes would result in settler farmers and miners incurring loses and this law
was to protect settlers interest and make them wealthy.
4 trade unions would incite people to go on strike and worse of cause people to
have avenues of showing consciousness to exploitation in the farms and mines.
5.political parties opened blacks minds to see injustices and would organize black
protest movements.
Political parties were demanding majority rule which settler government and UDI
were not prepared to surrender even in a thousand years (Ian smith famous saying)
Need for majority rule

Africans needed majority rule.

They felt Africans were the majority and were supposed to rule and not whites.
They wanted property qualifications to vote to be revised to allow more Africans
to vote or introduce universal men suffrage.
They wanted more minsters in government to be blacks.
They wanted more blacks to hold government positions.
The situation in Zimbabwe was that they were few blacks in parliament and
few Africans who could vote.
Forced labour

Blacks were forced to work in farms and mines under poor conditions.
Blacks were recruited by natives commissioner.
Chiefs were made to hand over 50 or so men to provide cheap labour
If herdman fail to provide needed labour he was flogged in public by brutal
police.
Grains or cattle were cattle seized if chiefs failed to provide labourforce
Racial Discrimination /Racial
segregation
Racial discrimination was influenced by Mac Carter commission of 1925 .
it was a racial policy which advocated separate development.
It was against the background that blacks and whites are different and needed
to be treated differently hence pursue separate development.
It was also influenced again by South African apartheid system introduced by
Boers in South Africa who saw Africans as hewers of wood and drawers of
water(biblical concept that refers to children of Ham -blacks)
Racial segregation was seen in the following sectors:
Health and education sector
Agricultural sector
Industrial sector
Residential and use of social amenities.
Treatment of races in shops and other areas threat offers public service.
Discrimination in Education and Health
sectors
Blacks received inferior curriculum as compared to whites that would make
them workers.
Bottle neck system was used to allow few Africans to attend school to proceed
with secondary education.
The majority of black people were made to t do F2 were they were trained to
serve the masters in various sectors of the economy.
They were schools set aside for blacks and were ill sponsored,
Black schools had few textbooks, desks and benches and had untrained
teachers whilst European schools were well sponsored and had well trained
teachers better learning resources. No matter an African had money he could
not attend white schools there were certain schools meant for blacks whites
and coloureds.
This was the same situation in the health sector. Some hospitals like Andrew
Flemming was meant for whites and general hospitals meant for blacks.
Black hospitals had few doctors and few trained personnel.
Segregation in the Agricultural sector

Land apportionment Act divided land into white owned land and black owned
land.
Africans were made to stay in reserves, far away from roads, rail and market
centers.
Whites got fertile lands that were closer to roads ,rail, and market centres.
Maize control act made sure the government bought European maize at a
higher price that Africans to discourage competition between lack and white
farmers.
The Africans were not allowed to get loans from the land bank. Only white
farmers had access to these loans.
Segregation in industrial sector

Industrial conciliation act was a racial law which operated in industries.

There were certain jobs meant for blacks and others meant for whites.
Managerial posts were preserve of whites and manual work meant for blacks.
The nature of black curriculum in schools channeled them to perform such jobs.
In cases were black and whites performed same duties eg teaching or nursing
blacks got lower salaries that those of white counterparts. This scenario was
also seen in packages offered to white employees.
Most of he industries were owned by whites and few blacks were allowed to
own if they do, they were not supposed to compete with white producers.
Segregation in Residential areas and use
of Social Ameneties
There were certain residential areas meant for white, colored and blacks.
Africans who accumulated wealth could not stay or buy accommodation in white
areas.
Black locations were overcrowded and had poor sanitary conditions and there was
high population density and spread of diseases was inevitable.
White residential areas were spacious, there was low population density and they
had good sanitary conditions.
Africans were not allowed in white area unless they had a pass to enter that location.
This group areas act was despised by blacks who clamored for equality.
Again use of social amenities was based on colour or race. There were certain parks,
pavements and toilets meant for whites.
Strict police system

Settler government had strict police system which terrorized black people.
They beat up people ,killed Africans, detained and tortured Africans for minor
offense ,
Failure to pay tax or to produce required pass resulted in heavy penalty and
torture by police.
Blacks were subjected to this brutal police if they went on strike form trade
union form political parties or organize demonstrations.
There are instances were black women were abused by BSAP (British south
Africa police)
Africans naturally detested abuse of power by police and had to take up arms
against white settlers in Chimurenga.
Exploitation in the farms and mines

Blacks were exploited in the farms and mines. They experienced poor working
and living conditions.
They were subjected to harsh and strict police system that denied them right to
show their consciousness.
Blacks were made to live in compounds that were overcrowded, with poor
sanitary conditions .
They were not allowed to leave these compounds without gate pass or
employer signature.
Given poor diet characterized by dried fish, matemba, beans and rotten maize
meal.
Blacks were given low wages and made to work for long hours.
Cont’

The blacks were subjected to credit system which impoverished them.

They did not get compensation if they got hurt at work,
No medical aid facilities or pensions schemes were provided.
There was poor ventilation in the mines.
Both farm and mine workers not allowed to strike, demonstrate or form trade
unions ,they were subjected to strict survillence of farm police and spies planted
in compounds.
Taxation

Africans were forced to pay a series of taxes ranging from:

Cattle tax
Poll tax
Tax for every extra wife
Hut tax
Grazing fee
Dipping fee
Bicycle tax
Dog tax
Reasons for introducing these taxes

1. to indirectly force the Africans to work for them.

2.to sponsor the building of roads, rail, bridges and infrastructure.
3.to fulfill the constitution of 1923 to make settlers wealthy.
4. to impoverish Africans so that they look up to white settlers for help and would
then be easy to manipulate and exploit.
Naturally Africans resisted these many taxes and did the following when they see
tax collectors coming:
Flee to the mountains.
Kill tax collectors.
Falsified number of people in the village.
Kill their dogs and hid their bicycles.
European response to defaulters of tax
evaders
1. The settlers government would beat in public chiefs or herdmen who failed to
remit adequate taxes.
2.The held women and children as hostages of men who fled to the mountains.
3.They burnt homes granaries crops and seized cattle for people who refused to
pay taxeS
4.Blacks were subjected to harsh and strict police for punishment
At times it would result in imprisonment.
All these measures were taken to ensure Africans pay these taxes.
Africans resented tax pay ,to them it was exploitative and it was an indirect way
of forcing them to work in farms and mines and decided to take up against
whites in Chimurenga 11
Conclusion

In conclusion Chimurenga was caused by various policies introduce by white

settlers.
The blacks decided to used barrel of the guns as the settlers were impervious to
peaceful demands.
In response to Ian smith statement, that they wont be majority in his lifetime
triggered black nationalists to form military wings outside the country to fight
settler regime.
To sum up various forms of exploitation caused Chimurenga 2
Practice questions

1.To what extent was the Second Chimurenga /Umvukela as a result of land policies
introduced by white settlers.(25)
2.To what extent was Chimurenga 2/Umvukela 2 as a result of racial segregation in
Southern Rhodesia. (25)
3.To what extent was Chimurenga 2/umvukela 2 caused by the need for majority
rule. (25)
4.How far was exploitation of blacks in the farms and mines responsible for
Chimurenga 2/Umvukela 2 (25)
5.”Suppression of Communism Act was responsible for Chimurenga 2/Umvukela 2” .
Discuss (25)
6.” Chimurenga 2 was caused by the burden of taxation”. How far true is this verdic
t .(25)
The End

Theresa Shamiso Sibanda

Mount Pleasant High School
Contact : 0774658065
Email :shamisoblessing@gmail.com
©