While part of the MK Hani received military training through the Soviet Union and gained a reputation as a soldier of the black army through serving in the Zimbabwean War of Liberation (aka. Rhodesian Bush War) in 1967, acting as the Political Commissioner in the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA). In 1974 Hani travelled to the German Democratic Republic (GDR) where he engaged in guerrilla command training for a period of three months before marrying Limpho Sekamane (now Limpho Hani) in Lusaka. Due to his integral role in MK organised guerrilla operations, Hani became the target of assassination attempts from 1981, including a failed car bomb assassination attempt by Ernest Ramatolo on 2 August.