  rev. ndabaningi sithole {pronunciation: nda-va-nin-gee sitt-o-le} (31 july 1920 â 12 december 2000) founded the zimbabwe african national union, a militant organisation that opposed the government of rhodesia, in july 1963.veenhoven, willem adriaan, ewing, and winifred crum. case studies on human rights and fundamental freedoms: a world survey, 1975. page 326. a member of the ndau ethnic group (more closely tied to the mashona than the ndebele who supported the zapu), he also worked as a methodist minister. he spent 10 years in prison after the government banned zanu. a rift along tribal lines split zanu in 1975, and he lost the 1980 elections to robert mugabe. ==early life== sithole was born in nyamandhlovu, southern rhodesia. he studied teaching in the united states from 1955 to 1958, and was ordained a methodist minister in 1958. the publication of his book "african nationalism" and its immediate prohibition by the minority government motivated his entry into politics. during his studies in the usa he studied at the andover newton theological school and attended the first church in newton, founded in 1665, both located in newton, massachusetts. his exit from zanu was claimed by mugabe to have been caused by his neglecting the fighters in zambia (where their camp was bombed resulting in many fatalities and casualties). ==zanu== he founded and was chief architect of zimbabwe african national union party in august 1963 in conjunction with herbert chitepo, robert mugabe, edgar tekere in the highfields house of enos nkala. in 1964 there was a party congress at gwelo, where sithole was elected president and appointed robert mugabe to be his secretary general. zanu was banned in 1964 by ian smith's government. he spent 10 years in prison after being arrested on 22 june 1964rhodesia seizes a foe of regime; sithole, rival of nkomo, to face charges soon, 23 june 1964. the new york times. alongside mugabe, tekere, nyagumbo and takawira for his political activities. while in prison he specifically authorised chitepo to continue the struggle from abroad as a representative of zanu. sithole was convicted on a charge of plotting to assassinate ian smith and released from prison in 1974. on 18 march 1975 chitepo was assassinated in lusaka, zambia with a car bomb. mugabe, in mozambique at the time, unilaterally assumed control of zanu. later that year there was a factional split, with many ndebele following joshua nkomo into the equally militant zapu. sithole eventually founded the moderate zanu-ndonga party, which renounced violent struggle, while the shona-domin
1920_births 2000_deaths Alumni_of_Achimota_School People_convicted_of_treason People_from_Matabeleland_North_Province Prisoners_and_detainees_of_Zimbabwe Zimbabwe_African_National_Liberation_Army_personnel Zimbabwean_Methodists Zimbabwean_politicians Zimbabwean_revolutionaries