The Truth About the First Chimurenga (and the Second and Third)

 

Vumba massacre

In official Zimbabwean historiography and political rhetoric, the three Chimurengas are presented as a glorious, continuous revolutionary struggle by heroic African freedom fighters against oppressive white rule. The First Chimurenga (1896–97) is especially lionised as a valiant national uprising, with spirit mediums like Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi elevated to near-saintly status. This narrative has been heavily politicised for decades to legitimise ZANU-PF’s rule and to frame all resistance to colonialism as inherently noble.
The uncomfortable truth is very different. All three Chimurengas were overwhelmingly characterised by surprise attacks on isolated, often unarmed civilians — farmers, miners, traders, missionaries, women, and children — rather than honourable combat between opposing armies. They were campaigns of terror, not conventional warfare.The First Chimurenga (1896–97): Not a War, But a Massacre of the IsolatedThe 1896–97 risings began in Matabeleland and quickly spread to Mashonaland. After the initial surprise, the violence consisted largely of small bands attacking scattered farms, mines, trading posts, and isolated administrators where white settlers lived with minimal protection. Hundreds of white men, women, and children were slaughtered in the outlying districts within days. Families were hacked to death with axes and spears, their homes burned, and livestock driven off. These were not battles against colonial troops — they were targeted murders of civilians going about their daily lives.
On 15 June 1896, Native Commissioner David Enraght Moony (Hartley Hills district) was shot in the back while collecting hut tax near Chief Mashayamombe’s kraal. Gravely wounded, he dragged himself to the Nyamachecha River to drink. His attackers pursued him to the water’s edge and killed him there. They also killed his loyal dog that had remained by his master’s side. The man who actually fired the fatal shots was Rusere, who had just come from the medium Kaguvi’s kraal. He was told that Moony was being pursued and borrowed a gun from his uncle to finish the job. This cold-blooded act exemplifies the merciless terror tactics used during the rising.The Siege and Relief of Hartley HillFollowing Moony’s murder and other killings in the area, Chief Mashayamombe’s forces moved quickly against the small mining settlement and administrative post at Hartley Hill (modern Chegutu). By 18 June 1896, the settlement was placed under heavy siege. Around 40–50 white miners, traders, officials, women, and children barricaded themselves inside a rough laager/fort and endured 37 days of intense attacks. Food and water supplies ran dangerously low, and the defenders came under almost constant fire.
Several small groups attempted desperate escapes toward Salisbury. These flights often turned into running battles, with the fugitives being chased for miles by Mashayamombe’s warriors. Some escapees were caught and killed; others barely reached safety while under pursuit.
The siege was finally lifted on 22 July 1896 when a relief column of approximately 250 men under Captain White arrived and broke the rebel encirclement.The Alice Mine Siege and Mazoe PatrolIn the Mazoe Valley, on 18 June 1896, telegraph mechanic John Leonard Blakiston and telegraphist Thomas George Routledge made a heroic but fatal attempt to maintain communications. Under heavy attack at the Alice Mine laager, they went to the nearby telegraph office to send an urgent plea for help to Salisbury. Blakiston was shot and killed while trying to send the final desperate telegram. Routledge was chased into the bush and also killed.
When relief arrived, the combined group of settlers and rescuers had to fight their way out of the Mazoe Valley to Salisbury in a series of running battles. The column, which included women sheltered in an armoured wagonette, came under sustained attack for many miles. They suffered several men killed and many wounded, and lost numerous horses while fighting a difficult rearguard action against large numbers of Shona fighters. The famous Mazoe Patrol, led by Captain Randolph Nesbitt (who was awarded the Victoria Cross), successfully brought the survivors to safety despite the heavy odds.Other documented cases include:

• Around 18 June 1896: Native Commissioner Henry Hawken Pollard (Mazoe district) was killed at Tamaringa’s Kraal by his own African policemen who turned on him.
• Muchemwa (son of Chief Mangwende) in the Marandellas (Marondera) district actively encouraged and took part in attacks on isolated white settlers and miners.
• In one notorious atrocity near the Mazoe valley, Mrs Caroline Norton, her baby daughter Dorothy, and others were dragged from their homestead and hacked to pieces.

Survivors from outlying districts fled to the safety of Salisbury, bringing horrific stories. The rebels deliberately avoided direct confrontation with organised colonial forces and instead struck at the vulnerable and isolated.Not All Shonas Supported the UprisingIt is important to note that the First Chimurenga was not a universal Shona uprising. Many Shona chiefs, communities, and individuals remained neutral, refused to join the rebellion, or actively collaborated with the British South Africa Company forces.
Prominent examples of collaboration include the south-eastern paramount chiefs — Chivi, Gutu, Chirimuhanzu, Matibi, and Zimuto — who blocked the spread of the rising in their areas and actively sided with the Company. In other districts, chiefs such as Chikwakwa, Zvimba, Kunzwi-Nyandoro, and Garamombe provided warriors or logistical support to the colonial side. Many Shona policemen, messengers, scouts, and auxiliaries remained loyal to the administration and played vital roles in intelligence gathering and fighting alongside the relief columns.
This internal division among the Shona further undermines the romanticised image of a united, heroic national struggle.The Second Chimurenga (1966–1980): Farm Attacks, Plane Shoot-downs, and Terror Against Black CiviliansThe so-called liberation war is mythologised as a noble guerrilla struggle. While there were some engagements with Rhodesian security forces, the vast majority of the violence deliberately targeted soft civilian targets. Both ZANLA and ZIPRA routinely terrorised fellow black civilians in rural areas. During compulsory night-time pungwes (forced political meetings), “freedom fighters” would round up villagers at gunpoint, make them sing revolutionary songs for hours, extort food, money, and clothing, and rape young girls — some as young as 12 or 13 — in front of their families. Anyone suspected of being a “sell-out” was brutally beaten or executed on the spot, often with logs, pangas, or by burning alive.
The most infamous examples of this cowardice include:

• 3 September 1978: ZIPRA shot down Air Rhodesia Flight 825 (Hunyani) with a SAM-7 missile. After the crash, 10 of the 18 survivors were rounded up and massacred in cold blood.
• 12 February 1979: ZIPRA shot down Air Rhodesia Flight 827 (Umniati), killing all 59 people on board.

On 23 June 1978, ZANLA guerrillas carried out the Vumba Massacre (Elim Pentecostal Mission) in the Bvumba Mountains near Mutare. They bayoneted, axed, and clubbed to death eight British missionaries and four children in a night of savagery. Many of the women were sexually assaulted before being murdered. The children were dragged from their beds and killed.
Just days later, on 27 June 1978, ZIPRA terrorists shot dead Father Gregor Richert (48) and Brother Bernhard Lisson (68) at St Rupert’s Mission.On 7 June 1978, ZIPRA guerrillas attacked the Salvation Army Usher Institute near Figtree and shot dead two British missionary teachers: Charon Faith Swindells (25) and Diane Barbara Thompson (28).
These attacks on isolated farms, missions, and black villages followed the same pattern: strike the defenceless, avoid real combat, and terrorise the civilian population.The Third Chimurenga (2000 onwards): Violent Farm InvasionsThe so-called Third Chimurenga followed exactly the same pattern. ZANU-PF-aligned “war veterans” and militants invaded white-owned commercial farms, targeting isolated farming families. Farmers were beaten, tortured, and murdered in front of their wives and children. Livestock was slaughtered, crops destroyed, and equipment looted.Notable murders include:

• David Stevens, 15 April 2000 – shot dead at point-blank range on his farm in Macheke/Murehwa.
• Martin Olds, 18 April 2000 – killed during a large-scale invasion of his farm in Nyamandlovu.
• Gloria Olds, 4 March 2001 – murdered on the same farm.
• Terrence Ford, 18 March 2002 – killed on his farm; his body was found with his little dog curled up against him.

Dozens more were killed in a sustained campaign of terror and intimidation.Conclusion: Three Chimurengas, One Pattern of CowardiceWhen examined honestly, the three Chimurengas reveal a consistent strategy: avoid fair fights against armed opponents and instead strike at the weakest and most isolated.
These were not glorious revolutionary wars. They were campaigns of murder, rape, extortion, and terror against easy targets. The constant lionisation of the Chimurengas as valiant struggles serves a political purpose, but it does violence to historical truth.
Real courage involves facing an armed enemy who can fight back. Shooting men in the back, butchering children, raping girls during pungwes, and massacring civilians does not. All three Chimurengas were largely the work of cowards, not heroes. Zimbabwe deserves an honest reckoning with its history, not a sanitised myth.