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Veteran opposition leader dies

    JOHANNESBURG

    Zimbabwe state television has reported that Ndabaningi Sithole, a veteran of the struggle for independence, has died in the United States, where he was receiving medical treatment. Sithole was one of Zimbabwe’s early nationalist leaders, first in the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu) and then as founder-leader from 1963 of the breakaway Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu). He was imprisoned on several occasions by the white-minority government and was released into exile in 1974. Sithole was discredited when he agreed in the late 1970s to join Bishop Abel Muzorewa in an administration led by the Rhodesian leader, Ian Smith. He was ousted as Zanu leader by President Robert Mugabe. In 1997, he was sentenced to two years in prison for plotting to kill Mugabe. But he was released on bail pending appeal and never served his sentence.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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