CURRICULUM VITAE FOR

EMMERSON DAMBUDZO

MNANGAGWA

PERSONAL DETAILS

He was born on 15 September 1942 in Chief Mapanzure's area, Zvishavane

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

He did his early education up to Standard 4 at Lundi Primary School in Mnangagwa Village, Zvishavane. The repressive political situation family to relocate to Northern Rhodesia in 1955 where he completed Standard 4.

He successfully completed his standard 5 and 6 at Mumbwa Boarding School from 1956 -1957 and enrolled at Kafue Trade School for a Building course. Although it was a three year course, he was selected to enter Hodgson Technical College. Since the college only accepted applicants with "O" Levels, he sat for an entry examination and came out with a first class. This enabled him to enroll for a four year City and Guilds Industrial Building Course. He and other members were subsequently expelled from college in 1960 for political activism which led to the burning of some property. He had joined the UNIP student movement at the college and had already been elected into the executive.

He completed his 'O' and 'A' levels while in prison through correspondence following which he enrolled for a law degree. He wanted to register for a BSc Economics degree but was instead, allowed to do the Law degree.He successfully completed Part One of the Intermediate Exams at Khami prison and passed at his first seating. He sat for the final exams and passed again. In 1972 he sat for his final LLB examinations with the University of London.

After his release from prison and subsequent deportation to Zambia, the Party resolved that he should complete his Law Degree first and so he enrolled at the University of Zambia where he remained from 1973 to 1974. In 1975, he did his post-graduate LLB degree and another post programme in Advocacy. After successfully completing his law studies, he was admitted to the Bar of the High Court of Zambia in 1976.

POLITICAL CAREER

In 1960, he was expelled from Hodgson Technical College for political activism which had resulted in the burning of some property. Following this incident, he joined hands with three others and started a construction company at Nampala which lasted for 3 months. He was asked by UNIP to help organize the party at Chililabombwe (Bancroft) until the end of 1961. Following this, he returned to Lusaka where he became Secretary for the UNIP Youth League while working for a private company.

In 1962 he was recruited into ZAPU by Willie Musarurwa. After joining ZAPU, he left for Tanzania and stayed in Mbeya for quite some time with the likes of James Chikerema, Clement Muchachi and Danha. They then opened a camp for ZAPU up to March 1963.

He then left for Dar es Salaam in April 1963 and, together with 12 other cadres, proceeded to Egypt for military training at the Heliopolis Training School.

In August 1963 he and 10 of the 13 cadres decided to join ZANU which had just been formed at home. This led to their detention by Egyptian authorities who recognized ZAPU.

During the detention period, he communicated wi£h Cde Mugabe who was in Tanzania at the time and told him that 11 students had broken away from ZAPU, stopped training and were now detained. Cde Mugabe sent Trynos Makombe who was traveling from China to come to Egypt to secure their release. After getting released, they were given tickets to fly to Tanganyika.

On arrival in Tanganyika, six of the eleven came back to Rhodesia while the remaining 5 including Cde Mnangagwa joined the first Frelimo Camp at Bagamoyo in late August 1963. He then proceeded to China leading a group of five ZANLA cadres where they spent the first two months at the School of Ideology in Peking, now Beijing. They then underwent infantry training for 3 months in Nanking and then attended another school for military engineering for the next 2 months. After completing military training in May 1964, they went back to Tanganyika, where they found that John Mataure and Noel Mukono who were responsible for defence at the time, had not organized any weapons for them to operate in the then Southern Rhodesia.

The group was rushing to attend the ZANU Congress in Mkoba, Gweru, sometime in May 1964 and so they traveled via Northern Rhodesia to Southern Rhodesia. They arrived a day before the Congress. The results of the election were as follows:

Rev Ndabaningi Sithole - President

Cde Leopold Takawira -Vice President

Cde Herbert Chitepo- National Chairman

Cde Robert Mugabe- Secretary General

Following the ZANU Congress, three of his colleagues, i.e. Shoniwa, Jameson Mudavanhu and Edison Shirihuru were captured and arrested. He sent Lawrence Svosve to go back to Lusaka with some messages but never saw him again.

In spite of this setback, he remained in operation and joined up with Matthew Malowa who had trained in Egypt and had joined ZANU. They carried out daring operations in the country. Their major task was to recruit people from Harare, Masvingo (then Fort Victoria), Mberengwa and Macheke and walk them through to the Mutoko border so that they could go to Tanzania through Malawi.

It was during these operations that he and Malowa blew up a locomotive train in Fort Victoria. The leadership at Sikombela had sent the duo a message exhorting them to take some action so that the papers would report that it was the ZANU Military High Command which had done it. The cuttings would then be shown to the OAU Liberation Committee which was meeting in Dar es Salaam so that it would know that ZANU was actually active in the country. The blowing up of the locomotive enabled Cde Chitepo and those outside to show that it was not only ZAPU which was active but ZANU as well.

The operations also involved traversing the country on foot from Mberengwa to Mutoko. It was at this stage that Cde William Ndangana came from Lusaka for a meeting at Rev Ndabaningi Sithole's house in Highfield. It organized a group which included himself, William Ndangana, Victor Mlambo, James Dhlamini and Master Tresha to mount some roadblocks. The group, which is often referred to as the 'Crocodile Gang', killed a white farmer known as Peter Obeholzar at Nyanyadzi in Chimanimani. The incident resulted in the capture and subsequent hanging of James Dhlamini and Victor Mlambo. Cde Ndangana was able to escape to Zambia while the young man was captured but was sentenced to life imprisonment because he was under age.

In January 1965, Cde Mnangagwa was captured by Police Inspector Beans, Bradshaw and Smith while at Michael Mawema's house in Highfield after being sent on a mission by the leaders. It later turned out that Micheal Mawema himself had sold him out. He was then brought to Harare Central Police Station where he was tortured severely resulting in him losing his sense of hearing in one ear. Part of the torture techniques involved being hanged with his feet on the ceiling and the head down. The severity of the torture made him unconscious for days.

He was forced to confess that he had blown up the locomotive in Masvingo and was convicted under the Law and Order Maintenance Act. He was defended by J. J. Horn of Scanlen and Holderness who pleaded that he was under age and could not be executed. Following this, he was taken to hospital where doctors confirmed that he was under 21 and as a result, he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. He served the first year at Harare Prison and then went to Grey Prison following which he was sent to Khami Prison where he spent 6 years and 8 months.

After serving his 10 year sentence, he was further detained at Khami and then at Harare Prison together with other comrades like Robert Mugabe, Enos Nkala, Morris Nyagumbo, Edgar Tekere and Didymus Mutasa. He was then deported to Zambia where his parents were.

Cde Mnangagwa was received by the Party at the Livingstone Border post and handed over to the Zambian police. A ZANLA representative, Cde Baya, came to receive him at the Victoria Falls Bridge and proceeded with him to Lusaka. Cde Tongogara was Commander of ZANLA.

After completing his studies at the University of Zambia, he practiced law with Enoch Dumbutshena and doubled up as Secretary for-ZANU for the Zambia Division in Lusaka. He was also in the student board for politics at the University of Zambia.

At the Chimoio Congress in 1977, he was elected Special Assistant to the President and member of the National Executive for ZANU. He then left practice and joined the President around October 1977 in Chimoio. The post of Special Assistant meant that he was head of both the civil and military divisions of the Party. His number 2 was Cde Gava (now Retired General Zvinavashe) who was Head of Security in the Military High Command but was his deputy in the Central Committee in the Department of Security.

He participated in the Lancaster House Conference and in January 1980, led the first group of civilian leaders which included Cdes Didymus Mutasa and Eddison Zvobgo from Maputo to Zimbabwe. Cde Rex Nhongo (now Retired General Mujuru) also led the first group of commanders numbering 28 from Maputo to the ceasefire.

PARLIAMENTARY CAREER

He became the first Minister of National Security from 1980 - 1988 and after General Peter Walls left the country under dubious circumstances related to making plans for a coup, he took over as Chairman of the Joint High Command. The task involved responsibility for the integration of ZANLA, ZIPRA and Rhodesian army. From 1988 - 2000, he became Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Leader of the House. This was the period following the Unity Accord. He was appointed Acting Minister of Finance for 15 months from 1995-1996 and was also Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs for a short period. His tenure as Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs saw him setting up the Judicial College and the Small Claims Court to address the critical shortage of magistrates, prosecutors and other judicial officers in the country. He also introduced several amendments to various Acts and the Constitution.

In 2000, he was elected Speaker of Parliament and used the opportunity to democratize the legislative institution by making progressive reforms intended to meet the needs of an independent Zimbabwe. The reforms established a more open Parliament which is responsive to the country's domestic needs.