Josiah Magama Tongogara (4 February 1938 – 26 December 1979) was a prominent Zimbabwean guerrilla commander during the Rhodesian Bush War. He was the brother of the later Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa's first wife, Jayne. He attended the Lancaster House conference that led to Zimbabwe's independence and the end of white minority rule.

Early life

Tongogara and his parents lived on the farm owned by the parents of Ian Smith, Rhodesia's last prime minister. It was where Tongogara first met Ian Smith.

In politics

Tongogara was one of several rebel commanders operating from outside of Rhodesia's borders to free the country from white rule. In 1973 he took over command from Herbert Chitepo of the armed forces of the Zimbabwe African National Union. And in 1975, he put down an internal revolt by members of the Manyika tribe and consolidated that control with the assistance of Mujuru, aka Rex Nhongo. Herbert Chitepo, who may have encouraged the Manyika revolt, was killed by a car bomb that year, and a Special International Commission in Zambia found Tongogara, among others, responsible.

At the Lancaster House Agreement in 1979, Tongogara was a crucial "moderating" force, according to Lord Carrington, the then British Foreign Secretary, who chaired the talks.

Theories on death

A CIA intelligence briefing of 28 December 1979 said Tongogara was a potential political rival to Mugabe because of his "ambition, popularity and decisive style". On the same day, the US embassy in Zambia reported, "Almost no one in Lusaka accepts Mugabe's assurance that Tongogara died accidentally. When the ambassador told the Soviet ambassador the news, the surprised Soviet immediately charged 'inside job'".

Ian Smith also said in his memoirs that Tongogara's "own people" killed him and that he had disclosed at Lancaster House that Tongogara was under threat. Smith wrote, "I made a point of discussing his death with our police commissioner and head of special branch, and both assured me that Tongogara had been assassinated".

Legacy

In 1990, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence, streets were renamed in Tongogara's honour, including North Avenue in Harare, which became Josiah Tongogara Avenue, and Wilson Street in Bulawayo, which became Josiah Tongogara Street.

In 2005, Tongogara was honoured on a stamp of Zimbabwe.

In 2012 it was revealed that Tongogara's wife was not receiving war veteran's widow benefits.

On 6 December 2017, the King George VI Barracks, which houses the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) headquarters, was officially renamed Josiah Magama Tongogara Barracks.

References

  • The Josiah Tongogara Legacy Foundation