Legitimacy, Violence and Authenticity Entrapments: Reviewing ZANU-ZAPU approaches to African Nationalism between 1963 and 1975.

This article critically examines the approaches of the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU) and the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) to African nationalism between 1963 and 1975, focusing on themes of legitimacy, authenticity, and political violence. It highlights how ideological contestations and internal factionalism within both movements, including ZAPU’s 1971 March 11 mutiny and ZANU’s 1974 crisis, contributed to internecine violence and political instability in Rhodesian townships, undermining grassroots support and the broader nationalist cause. The study also explores Robert Mugabe’s rise within ZANU, emphasizing how his leadership consolidated power through alliances between military and political wings and the use of discipline and exclusionary nationalist narratives. Overall, the article situates these dynamics as central to understanding the complexities and contradictions in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle and the construction of nationalism during this period.