Black Rhodesian soldiers’ loyalties – as opposed to motivations for initial enlistment – were premised upon a shared sense of professionalism. Inherent to this ethos was their soldierly prowess, honed through continuous training and operational experience, which was also co-constitutive of a deep, emotive sense of mutual obligation between fellow soldiers. Furthermore, these soldiers were socialised into a distinctive military culture, which created a powerful, emotive regimental loyalty that incorporated traditions to create an accentuated sense of in-group belonging and homogeneity that bound them to their regiment, and thereafter the wider army. professionalism and regimental loyalties of these troops ensured that they remained steadfast during combat and in the face of the surge in popularity of the nationalist challenge to white settler-colonial rule.

This book has contributed to a new understanding of the loyalties of black Rhodesian soldiers during the era spanning the terminal years of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Zimbabwe’s war of liberation, and the tumultuous first two years of independence from 1980. That these black soldiers fought for white-minority rule in Rhodesia appears, superficially, both paradoxical and extraordinary, and it has led to their characterisation as supporters of the RF, mercenaries, or ‘sell-outs’ in neo-Rhodesian and nationalist literatures.

Black Rhodesian soldiers were integrated into the new Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) by Robert Mugabe’s ZANU government, contrary to widespread fears of persecution. This was highly unusual, as in the aftermath of many wars of decolonisation, the fate of those who had fought for the colonial army was dire. Mugabe government’s prime motive was to retain the RAR’s military capabilities, which it relied upon to control conflicts between the liberation armies in the tumultuous post-independence period. This chapter also discusses how black ex-Rhodesian troops played a decisive role in quelling inter-liberation army fighting in the Assembly Points (APs) and the ZNA battalions that were being integrated during 1980 and early 1981. My interviewees felt that, during the conflicts of 1980–1, their military performance demonstrated their loyalty to the ‘government of the day’ and their military skills, and thus cemented their place in the ZNA. Finally, this chapter discusses the nostalgic reminiscences of these veterans and how the hindsight of the post-2000 ‘crisis’ years has impacted their narratives.

loyalties of black soldiers to the Rhodesian Army became highly contentious during the war in the eyes of nationalists, who labelled them sell-outs for what they saw as their collaboration with the Smith regime. Black soldiers rejected this portrayal of their loyalty and positioned themselves both during and after the war as apolitical troops who served their country and the ‘government of the day’, regardless of its political orientation. In this there was a stark contrast to white soldiers, whose loyalties were often premised upon political support for minority rule; their commitment to the war waned as the inevitability of decolonisation became clear. Black soldiers had strong instrumental reasons during the war to portray their loyalty as apolitical and distance themselves from accusations of collaboration. Veterans may have emphasised the apolitical aspect of their service in retrospect, but this chapter shows that there is a great deal of evidence that this stance was both genuine and contemporary. Black RAR soldiers’ positioning of themselves as apolitical and militarily effective also meant that they could become the acceptable face of the Rhodesian Army.