Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) was a nationalist political organisation and one of the two main liberation movements in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Founded in 1961 under Joshua Nkomo’s leadership, it campaigned for Black majority rule and independence, and its armed wing, the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), fought a guerrilla war against Rhodesia’s white-minority government in the 1960s–1980.
In 1979, ZAPU articulated a strategic plan called “The Turning Point” for the war’s final phase. The Turning Point document proposed shifting from guerrilla tactics to conventional military operations to seize and hold territory, aligning with ZAPU’s aim for a decisive military outcome. Below we publish the turning point document, which was launched at a press conference in the Zambian capital Lusaka by the ZAPU president Joshua Nkomo in April 1979.
Date: 3 April 1979
THE TURNING POINT
- Revolutionary greetings to the oppressed and suffering masses of Zimbabwe.
- These combat greetings reach you at a critical and decisive hour — an hour we correctly term THE TURNING POINT.
- Since 1890 we have all been, and continue to be, slaves in the land of our birth. We have suffered and continue to suffer. We have been enslaved and the chains remain to this day. We have been humiliated by British settlers. All our efforts over the years to reason and negotiate with our oppressors have been answered by mass murder, torture and imprisonment. None of us has not lost either a relative, friend or neighbour at the hands of the racist enemy. The crime we are supposed to have committed is nothing but our loud cry for freedom, equality, justice, peace and independence.
- Our many years of suffering have not only been aimed at freeing ourselves from minority and oppressive rule, but also at freeing the white minority from the tragedy created by themselves through British colonialism in our country. We now know that our suffering cannot be removed or even eased by verbal argument or analysis, regardless of how intelligent we are. Hence, our correct decision to take up arms and fight to remove these evils — fascism, racism, settlerism and the exploitation of man by man in the land of our birth. The situation cannot, I repeat cannot, be allowed to continue another day. Consequently, the Revolutionary Council of ZAPU in the Patriotic Front declares that on this day, Tuesday, 3 April 1979, it has taken permanent occupation and control of all areas in the country so far freed from enemy occupation.
5. All units of ZPRA forces throughout the country have been ordered to act as follows:
a) Openly engage and drive any remaining enemy forces or their agents out of the controlled areas.
b) Protect all citizens within these liberated areas, irrespective of race, colour or creed.
c) Organise and defend the masses of Zimbabwe.
d) Advance with gallantry on all areas still in enemy hands, including all enemy military, economic and other strategic installations.
e) In other words, paralyse the enemy in all directions.
f) Receive and protect any members of the enemy forces who decide to support or co-operate with the revolution.
g) Co-operate with all patriotic forces that are fighting for the same cause.
h) Place all occupied areas (that is, areas which are occupied but not yet fully controlled) in a programme of immediate and rapid transformation from occupied to free and liberated areas. These areas include all major and minor urban centres.
I therefore call on all the people of Zimbabwe, irrespective of race, colour or creed, workers, peasants, intellectuals, students, everyone, to take full part in the revolution and to co-operate with the people’s forces in dislodging the enemy once and for all. Use any weapon at your disposal: your hands, your brain, the revolutionary forces are all around you. I would like to remind workers in industry, agriculture, the professions and domestic service that you have a special role to play in accelerating the realisation of the revolution’s aims.
I further call on those who have been misled into joining enemy forces to come over and join the people’s revolution.
I also call upon any other forces inside Zimbabwe who are manifestly or latently on the side of the struggling masses of Zimbabwe to co-operate with ZPRA forces and the entire population in this just cause of eliminating the enemy forthwith.
Revolutionary Council
Members of the Revolutionary Council within the liberated and freed areas are charged with the task of assisting the people in those areas to:
a) Organise administrative units;
b) Run agricultural, educational and health projects; and
c) Generally harmonise the consolidation of the liberated and controlled areas.
Countrymen, this is a call to all patriots in Zimbabwe to dislodge the enemy and restore dignity, freedom, peace, order, justice and true independence to all the people of Zimbabwe. Let the darkness which has haunted us for all these years be replaced with the light of freedom and happiness.
ZPRA forces are ordered to raise the people’s flag, the banner of freedom, in all liberated areas.
Power to the People!
Forward with the Revolution!
JOSHUA MOABUKO NKOMO
President, ZAPU — Patriotic Front
Chairman, People’s Revolutionary Council
Commander, ZPRA Forces
Produced and published by the Information and Publicity Department, Zimbabwe African People’s Union, P.O. Box 1657, Lusaka, Zambia (Phone: 81595).
Wow what a statement on the turning point, I think the mistake they made after Lancaster talks and pre independence was to disarm Zipra forces so early, the ones in Gwayi river mine, Silalabuhwa and Entumbane and the death of Mangena was a big blow to us.
Without looking at tribal lines J Nkomo and his team who ever he worked with ,the Turning Point document ,to me was a brilliant idea knowing when the battles had started , lives that were lost it was the time to fight and stand your ground the hit and run was taking for ever . The talks at Lancaster was the British way of a Turning point that our leaders didn’t see