The ZIPA experiment, a disaster for ZPRA fighters

By Bhekizulu B. Tshuma

The Zimbabwe People’s Army (ZIPA), established in 1975, was a bold experiment attempting to unite the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army ZANLA and Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZPRA), two military wings of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), respectively.

Created under the supervision of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) after the Geneva Conference, ZIPA was intended to be a military alliance that would temporarily suspend political divisions and jointly confront the resist Rhodesian regime.

However, for many ZPRA fighters, ZIPA became a source of betrayal, marginalisation, and political abuse, a development that still stirs resentment many decades after independence.

In this instalment, Retired Colonel Watson Tshipa, a ZPRA veteran, offers a vivid and personal account of these challenges, revealing the internal dysfunction that turned ZIPA into a nightmare for many ZPRA cadres.

Retired Col Tshipa recalls following a year of rigorous training in Morogoro, Tanzania, he was selected as part of a 30 member ZPRA unit to integrate with ZANLA fighters in Mozambique.

However, ZIPA’s fragile framework quickly showed up due to ZANLA’s political and structural dominance.

“When we got to Tembwe we found that Tembwe was made of about three camps and they had a lot of people estimated at about 2 000  to 3 000 and there was only 30 of us,” said Rt Col Tshipa

“This created an environment where our voices were easily overpowered, and soon, ZANLA commanders began enforcing their own doctrines and command systems.”

Another glaring abuse of ZPRA, according to Rt Col Tshipa was ZANLA’s imposition of Shona language and cultural practices created further alienation.

He said when ZPRA fighters resisted this assimilation, tensions boiled over.

“One of the guys said, you are supposed to learn speaking in Shona, we are going to the operations so you are supposed to learn speaking in Shona. We said get away with that we are not going to follow that one.”

Further creating the rift between the two wings was the sexual exploitation of female recruits. Tshipa recalls an incident of a female trainee who approached him concerned about being forced into sexual relations with commanders.

“She asked me ‘Chef, we are not going to the chefs’ quarters, what do we do?’ I had an idea in my mind that I was going to speak to Camp Commander Ndaruka Makasha that they should excuse the girls that were training”

But the straw that broke the camel’s back leading to the ultimate collapse of ZIPA, according to Rt Col Tshipa, was ZANLA commanders’ operational mismanagement and deadly betrayals, where they routinely dismissed sound security advice, resulting in catastrophic outcomes.

Rt Col Tshipa, appointed as security officer in Gaza Province, warned against enemy deception.

“When have you seen a white person driving a tractor in Rhodesia? They were deploying their people. For raising this concern, I was demoted twice in a single day, first to section commander, then to scout.”

Before his demotion, he had been appointed to train a group of about 200 recruits but had no training materials and was instructed to improvise using sticks instead of rifles.

“I was told ‘just give them short marches and manoeuvres. After only two weeks of such rudimentary drills, the entire group was declared trained and ready for deployment,” said Rt Col Tshipa.

“Camp Commander Ndakura Makasha came and said, ‘I have good news for you all you are trained personnel.’ I was like what!”

This disregard for ZPRA’s professional standards was seen as reckless and dangerous, as these recruits had “never seen an AK” and had no weapons training whatsoever.

The lack of professional standards left Rt Col Tshipa deeply disillusioned. He eventually fled, narrowly escaping death, only to be branded a traitor by ZANLA.