Today in African History

In August 1963, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was established as a breakaway movement from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). 
Dissatisfied with Joshua Nkomo's leadership, ZANU emerged as a more militant alternative under Ndabaningi Sithole and Robert Mugabe. Despite being banned by the Rhodesian Front in 1964 and facing detainment, ZANU persisted, launching guerrilla operations in 1969 and finding refuge in Mozambique from 1974.
Robert Mugabe took full control of ZANU on March 18, 1975. That year, tribal divisions caused a split within ZANU, with the Ndebele aligning with Sithole's moderate ZANU (Ndonga) faction, renouncing violence, while the Shona rallied behind Mugabe's more militant agenda. 
In 1980, ZANU, under Mugabe's leadership, emerged victorious in the elections, and eventually, in 1987, it merged with Joshua Nkomo's ZAPU to form the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).