General elections were held in March 1990. In July the government lifted the 25-year-old

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

. Zimbabwe became a republic on 17 April 1991. In November 1992 the first cases of a cholera epidemic were reported from within the Tongogara Refugee Camp in Manicaland. In March 1993, the

Zimbabwe national rugby union team The Zimbabwe national rugby union team, nicknamed the Sables, represents the Zimbabwe Rugby Union in international competition. While sides representing the colony of Rhodesia have played as early as 1910, the modern day Zimbabwe rugby team di ...

scored an upset win over the

France national rugby union team The France national rugby union team (, ) represents the French Rugby Federation (FFR; ) in men's international rugby union matches. Colloquially known as ''Le XV de France'' (French for "The XV of France"), the team traditionally wears blue ...

, with Zimbabwe winning 28-3. The event was widely celebrated in Zimbabwe, but was also controversial because all but one member of Zimbabwe's team were

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

.Zimbabwe and the New Elite by Ruth Weiss and Nadine Gordime, 1994 In June 1993 the government announced plans to downsize the 50,000-strong

Zimbabwe National Army The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is the primary branch of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces responsible for land-oriented military operations. It is the largest service branch under the Zimbabwean Joint Operations Command (JOC). The modern army h ...

by 10,000 men over the next five years. The combined Zimbabwe Defense Forces Headquarters was formed in July 1994. In April 1995 parliamentary elections were held. The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) ran unopposed in 54 of the 120 electoral districts and a further 20 parliamentary seats were reserved. Zimbabwe sent delegates to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario, Canada to discuss land mines and launch the

Ottawa Treaty The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction of 1997, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or often simply the Mine ...

in October 1996. The government unilaterally banned anti-personnel mines on 15 May 1997, signing Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December. The government ratified the treaty on 18 June 1998. A court sentenced

Canaan Banana Canaan Sodindo Banana (5 March 193610 November 2003) was a Zimbabwean Methodist minister, theologian, and politician who served as the first President of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987. He was Zimbabwe's first head of state, a ceremonial president ...

, Methodist minister, theologian, and the former President of Zimbabwe to ten years imprisonment, nine years suspended for sodomy, on 18 January 1999. Major mine clearance operations started in three of Zimbabwe's seven, identified, contaminated areas in March. The Movement for Democratic Change was formed in September.

Cricket

The Zimbabwean cricket team beat the Kenyan cricket team by 5 wickets at Taunton during the Cricket World Cup on 15 May, beating India by three runs at Leicester on 19 May, losing to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

by four wickets at Worcester on 22 May, losing to the UK on 25 May by seven wickets at Nottingham, and defeating South Africa on 29 May by 42 runs at Chelmsford. The cricket team had a draw with New Zealand on 6 June at Leeds, losing to Australia on 9 June by 44 runs at Lord's and losing again to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

on 11 June at The Oval.

Gymnastics

At the

1995 All-Africa Games The 6th All-Africa Games, also known as Harare 1995, were played from 13 to 23 September 1995 in Harare, Zimbabwe. 46 countries participated in eighteen sports. South Africa, having previously been banned from competition by the other African ...

, Karen Angus won the gold medal on the women's floor exercise, becoming Zimbabwe's first ever gymnastics champion at the

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

References

{{Africa-year-stub

Cricket

Gymnastics

See also

References