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Last week's crackdown was not the first time that Nkomo had felt compelled to leave Bulawayo. Two years ago, during a similar government sweep of the region, a fearful Nkomo fled to Britain and stayed there for five months. He returned to Zimbabwe after the government made it clear that he would not come to any harm, but the violence continued, leading to many deaths among supporters of both Mugabe and Nkomo. The latest government operation came in response to fighting last month between ZANU and ZAPU supporters that resulted in the deaths of three people in townships outside of Bulawayo. In nearby Hwange, five members of a second opposition party, Bishop Abel Muzorewa's United National African Union, were dragged from a train and gunned down on the platform by young ZANU militants. ZANU members later announced that the action was to avenge the murder of several party supporters.
Bishop Muzorewa joined Nkomo in accusing Mugabe of harassment and brutality against his political opponents. Indeed, according to a U.S. embassy report on human rights in Zimbabwe, an estimated 5,000 civilians were arrested or detained by security forces in 1984. The Bulawayo raid, said Muzorewa, was a blatant attempt by Mugabe to intimidate the opposition before Zimbabwe's first national elections since independence. The balloting was originally to be held this month, but delays in registering voters and drawing new boundaries for constituencies to allow for population shifts forced Mugabe to postpone the elections until June.
Despite the political strife, Zimbabwe has emerged as a surprising African success story. One blessing: after three devastating years of drought, the rains came last October and turned around the country's predominantly agricultural economy. As the economy has improved, Mugabe may have had some second thoughts about trying to turn Zimbabwe into a one-party state. Said one government official, "When will people realize that the Prime Minister has no intention of forcing a one-party state on the people? Everyone knows that would be disastrous. If it cannot be done by the ballot box, it will have to be done by persuasion."