Eddison Jonasi Mudadirwa Zvobgo (2 October 1935 – 22 August 2004) was a revolutionary Zimbabwean politician and the founder of

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

's ruling party, ZANU–PF. He was the ZANU-PF's spokesman at the

Lancaster House Lancaster House (originally known as York House and then Stafford House) is a mansion on The Mall, London, The Mall in the St James's district in the West End of London. Adjacent to The Green Park, it is next to Clarence House and St James ...

in late 1979,"It Seems Like a Miracle"
''Time'' magazine and CNN a Harvard-educated lawyer, a poet, a guerrilla war strategist, a freedom fighter, a war veteran, a hotelier, and a national hero. His name is often misspelled by the media, either as "Edson" instead of Eddison or "Zvo''gb''o" instead of Zvo''bg''o. Zvobgo was born in dire poverty in then

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 ...

in 1935, near Fort Victoria (now

Masvingo Masvingo, known as Fort Victoria during the colonial period, is a city in southeastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city lies close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and clos ...

), where his father was a minister in the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

. He comes from the Karanga subgroup of the

Shona people The Shona people () also/formerly known as the Karanga are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, primarily living in Zimbabwe where they form the majority of the population, as well as Mozambique, South Africa, and world ...

. In 1960, Zvobgo won a scholarship to

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

in Boston, Massachusetts aged 25. After taking a bachelor's degree there in 1964, he returned home to be arrested and detained for political activism against white 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 ...

, along with

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

Joshua Nkomo Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo (19 June 1917 – 1 July 1999) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1990 until his death in 1999. He founded and led the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) ...

. He was freed in 1971, and he spent a period in exile in Canada. He then studied law at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and International Relations at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, followed by a position as associate professor of criminal law at Lewis University College of Law in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Zvobgo played a key role in international negotiations at

that ended the bitter

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also known as the Rhodesian Civil War, Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Independence, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country U.D.I. ...

and led to British-sponsored all-race elections ahead of Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. He was the Zanu-PF spokesman, and impressed many in the international press with his quick repartee and astute analysis of the negotiations. In the 1980 elections, he won a seat in Parliament for Masvingo, which he continued to hold until his death. An influential member of Zimbabwe's first fully independent cabinet, Zvobgo was Minister of Local Government and Housing until 1982, and Minister of Justice until 1985. In 1987, he had become Zimbabwe's Minister of Parliamentary and Constitutional Affairs and it was in this capacity that he made several amendments to Zimbabwe's Constitution. Initially a staunch supporter of Zanu-PF policies, Zvobgo later criticized

's autocratic rule. In 1992, Zvobgo was moved to the less influential post of Minister of Mines. In 1996, Zvobgo survived a car accident, in which both his legs were broken. This accident was considered suspicious by many. Shortly after the accident President Mugabe demoted Dr. Zvobgo further to Minister Without Portfolio, and, in 2000, Dr. Zvobgo was dropped from Zimbabwe's cabinet altogether. In the 2002 presidential elections, Zvobgo refused to campaign for Mugabe, but did not endorse the opposition challenger

Morgan Tsvangirai Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (; ; 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was president of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democrati ...

, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). He also voiced his opposition to the sweeping media law, passed the same year, calling it "the most serious assault on our constitutional liberties since independence". Despite his criticism, Zvobgo eventually voted for the legislation, which was used to close off Zimbabwe's only privately owned daily newspaper, '' The Daily News'', and to arrest at least 31 independent journalists. Zvobgo became the subject of an internal party disciplinary inquiry in 2003 for his refusal to campaign for Mugabe and after describing the laws as a weapon to stifle opposition to the government, but allegations of disloyalty were eventually dropped. He was also accused of holding private talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change as the ruling party abandoned formal dialogue between the two parties. Zvobgo died of cancer on 22 August 2004. He was declared a National Hero and buried at Zimbabwe's National Heroes' Acre. He was survived by his seven children, Kerina, Eddison, Tsungirirai, Jonas, Tendai, Esther and Farai Emily.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zvobgo, Edson 1935 births People from Masvingo Province 2004 deaths Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army personnel Harvard Law School alumni Tufts University alumni Prisoners and detainees of Rhodesia Deaths from cancer in Zimbabwe Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe 20th-century Zimbabwean politicians Shona people Zimbabwean Protestants Members of the 5th Parliament of Zimbabwe

See also

References