Book launch: The Army and Politics in Zimbabwe

About the Book:

An illustrious African liberation fighter in the 1970s and, until his suspicious death in 2011, an important figure in Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party in Zimbabwe, this first full-length biography of General Solomon Mujuru or Rex Nhongo throws much needed light onto the opaque elite politics of the 1970s liberation struggle, post-independence army and ZANU PF. Based on the unparalleled primary interviews with informants in the army, intelligence services, police and ZANU PF elites, Blessing-Miles Tendi examines Mujuru's moments of triumph and his shortcomings in equal measure. From his undistinguished youth and poor upbringing in colonial Rhodesia's Chikomba region, his rapid rise to power, and role as the first black commander of independent Zimbabwe's national army, this is an essential record of one of the most controversial figures within the history of African liberation politics.

About the Author:

Miles Tendi is an Associate Professor in the Politics of Africa, in the University of Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR) and the African Studies Centre (ASC). Thematically, Tendi is interested in: Intellectuals and Politics; Civil-Military Relations; The Existence and Use of 'Evil' in Politics; Gender and Politics; Intelligence Studies; and Biographical Research

Chair: Dr Nick Westcott (Royal African society)

Discussant: tbc

The event is followed by a drinks reception.