Word: nkomo
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...been trying to fuse a national army by integrating the two rival guerrilla forces that fought for independence as the Patriotic Front: the ZANLA forces that were led by Mugabe and are composed mostly of Shona tribesmen; and the ZIPRA guerrillas, mostly Ndebele, who remain loyal to Joshua Nkomo. As last week's clashes intensified, ZIPRA and ZANLA units grabbed weapons from the camp's armory and summoned other former guerrillas to come help them. The fighting quickly spread to other nearby army bases and eventually involved as many as 10,000 troops...
...Nkomo rushed to the city to try to cool tempers among his Ndebele tribe. He denied that the fighting might also have been provoked by his recent demotion by Mugabe. "I don't think anybody knows what started it. When somebody shoots off a gun, it becomes infectious," he said...
Mugabe was no less diplomatic in announcing Joshua Nkomo's shift from the Ministry of Home Affairs to the Ministry of Public Service. This was, in effect, a humiliating demotion, since it stripped Nkomo of his control over the national police. Mugabe said that necessary "transformations" in the Home Affairs department "seemed to lag behind expectations, so most of the criticism of the police became criticism of Comrade Nkomo." This, he said, was "completely unjustified...
...real reason for reducing Nkomo's influence was that his Patriotic Front Party, with its roots in the minority Ndebele tribal region, constituted a permanent menace to the power of Mugabe's Shona-dominated Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU). Armed supporters of the two parties have clashed violently in recent months. Their continuing rivalry threatens the crucial integration of the two guerrilla armies with the former Rhodesian security forces...
...While Nkomo may feel resentful over his demotion, he has no constitutional grounds for complaint: having captured a mere 20% of the parliamentary seats in the independence elections that were held last February, his party had only been included in the government by invitation. Nor was that invitation completely withdrawn last week. Still anxious to mollify the Patriotic Front forces, the Prime Minister appointed a Nkomo stalwart, Josiah Chinamano, to head the Ministry of Transport. The Patriotic Front now holds five portfolios in Mugabe's 26-member Cabinet-not a bad deal for an outvoted minority...