Allies of Expedience: The Retention of Black Rhodesian Soldiers in the Zimbabwe National Army

Utilising oral history interviews with black ex-Rhodesian soldiers and archival sources, this article contributes a new understanding as to why, at the moment of independence, the Zimbabwean government opted to retain black troops from the old Rhodesian Army, the wartime foe of its liberation forces. That these soldiers were integrated into the new Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) was striking for, although relatively small in number, they had proven militarily efficacious during the long liberation war. Furthermore, leaders of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), including Robert Mugabe, had previously made numerous threats of post-war retribution against them. This article contends that Mugabe’s government sought to utilise these erstwhile enemies, in particular the battalions of the Rhodesian African Rifles, to ensure that it would not face a military challenge from rival nationalists. It also provides evidence that, despite proclamations to the contrary at the time, former Rhodesian soldiers from even the most notorious, and widely loathed, unit, the Selous Scouts, were quietly retained in the ZNA, and formed the bedrock of one of its elite units, the Paragroup.