Chenjerai "Hitler" Hunzvi (23 October 1949 – 4 June 2001) served as Chairman of the
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association beginning in 1997.
Early life
Hunzvi was born in
Chiminya,
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...
, on 23 October 1949.
He said that he joined the struggle against white minority rule in
Rhodesia
Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
at the age of 16 taking the
nom-de-guerre of "
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
". He was reported to have been interned in
Gonakudzingwa and Wha Wha prisons between 1967 and 1970, and to have been a prominent leader in
Zimbabwe African People's Union
The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) is a Zimbabwean political party. It is a militant communist organization and political party that campaigned for majority rule in Rhodesia, from its founding in 1961 until 1980. In 1987, it merged with ...
(ZAPU) and
Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army
Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), a Marxist–Leninist political party in Rhodesia. It participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhode ...
(ZIPRA), though these claims have been denied by some other elders of the campaigns.
He left the country and having been identified as being bright, was sent to study in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, becoming fluent in
Romanian and French, and subsequently began
medical studies in Poland where he married a Polish woman with whom he had two children.
He represented ZAPU while in Poland, and in 1979, during his medical studies, Hunzvi visited London to attend the ceasefire and constitutional negotiations for the
Lancaster House Agreement
The Lancaster House Agreement is an agreement signed on 21 December 1979 in Lancaster House, following the conclusion of a constitutional conference where different parties discussed the future of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, formerly known as Rhodesia ...
.
Hunzvi returned to Zimbabwe in 1990, working initially at Harare Central Hospital, and later founding a medical practice in
Budiriro, in the township of
Harare
Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
. His wife fled Zimbabwe in 1992 to escape violence from her husband. She described Hunzvi as a "cruel and vile man who took delight in beating me. And as for the war, he never fired a shot. He saw no action at all."
He subsequently remarried and has two other children.
Political career
Hunzvi was subsequently elected chairman of the Zimbabwean Liberation War Veterans' Association in 1997, which was, at the time, a relatively inactive organisation.
A born orator, Hunzvi organised rowdy demonstrations demanding gratuities and pensions from President
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...
, and critiqued the president.
The pressure tactics were successful and the 50,000 war veterans were granted one-off payments of US$2,500, as well as monthly pensions of US$100. A compensation fund was also set up to benefit those who were disabled following war service, with the amount paid determined by the degree of disability. The fund was the subject of enormous fraud, with government officials, party officials and others (including Hunzvi) determined to be 117% disabled. Experts have claimed that the settlements were a major factor in the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
In 1999, Hunzvi was arrested in corruption case regarding the alleged embezzlement of Z$45m of the war veterans' funds. He was denied bail, due to fear that he would intimidate witnesses or abscond.
The actual trial was repeatedly postponed, and the war veterans' leadership voted to remove him from office.
In 2000 Hunzvi led the campaign involving war veterans and other supporters of
ZANU-PF in the seizure of white-owned land. During parliamentary elections in 1999, he incited followers to intimidate and harass members of the opposition group, the
Movement for Democratic Change. Calling himself "the biggest terrorist in Zimbabwe" he was identified by numerous witnesses for participation in beatings and torture, and his medical clinic labelled a "torture chamber" by
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
in 2000.
Hunzvi was elected to parliament in 2000, but died in 2001 in Harare's
Parirenyatwa Hospital
Parirenyatwa General Hospital is a government founded district general hospital in Harare and is the largest public hospital in Zimbabwe. The hospital was formerly known as the Andrew Fleming Hospital and was named after the principal medical offi ...
. His death was variously ascribed to
malaria
Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
, a heart condition, or AIDS.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunzvi, Chenjerai
1949 births
2001 deaths
20th-century Zimbabwean politicians
Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe
People from Mashonaland East Province
University of Warsaw alumni
ZANU–PF politicians
Zimbabwe African People's Union politicians
Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army personnel
Zimbabwean activists
Zimbabwean expatriates in Poland
Zimbabwean expatriates in Romania
20th-century Zimbabwean physicians
Members of the 5th Parliament of Zimbabwe