The regime announced at the beginning of September that it was not prepared to release certain members of the Patriotic Front from detention in order that they might attend the forthcoming constitutional talks at Lancaster House, London. A statement issued by the Secretary to the Cabinet, Mr. George Smith, revealed that a request for their release had been relayed through the British government. However, the statement continued, the regime's Cabinet had decided that the request "was made merely for the sake of political propaganda and was not bona fide ... the release of such persons would not be in the interests of the security of Zimbabwe Rhodesia"
Leading members of the Patriotic Front who remain in detention include:-
The Revd. Canaan Banana - publicity secretary of the People's Movement (the organisation of supporters of ZANU (Patriotic Front) inside Rhodesia). He has been in detention since January 1977. Revd. Banana is a former deputy president of the African National Council formed in 1971 to oppose the Smith-Home settlement proposals, and he served as the ANC representative in the United States. He spent several months in prison in 1975-6 on conviction of leaving Rhodesia illegally, and was again detained in 1976. He was released on restriction to join Bishop Muzorewa's delegation to the Geneva constitutional talks in October 1976 but shortly after made it clear that his sympathies lay with ZANU (Patriotic Front). He is currently in Wha Wha.
John M.M. Chirisa (50) - he has been actively involved in nationalist politics since the early 1960's and was an early office-bearer in ZAPU. In 1964 he was detained in Wha Wha for three months. In 1965 he was again arrested and sent to Gonakudzingwa detention camp for a year. On his release in August 1966 he was rearrested within two months and spent the next four years in Gonakudzingwa. He joined the ANC on its formation in December 1971 and became its deputy publicity secretary, subsequently treasurer, deputy national organising secretary and finally secretary-general.
In 1973 he was again detained on an indefinite basis, this time at Wha Wha. He was released in January 1976 to enable him to take part in constitutional talks between the regime and a delegation led by Joshua Nkomo, and was later appointed the national organizing secretary of the ANC (Zimbabwe), which had by this time, following the breakup of the old ANC, assumed a clear identity as the organization of ZAPU (Patriotic Front) supporters inside Rhodesia. In May 1977 John Chirisa was charged with recruiting 35 people for guerilla training and appeared before a special court. Despite being found not guilty he was immediately detained, at first for 30 days and later under an indefinite detention order. He is now in Wha Wha.
Enos Nkala (46) - a founder member of ZANU who was serving as its treasurer general when detained in August 1964. He had previously served a two year prison term for making subversive statements. He was released in February 1975 after more than 10 years in detention. In April 1976 when he was serving as acting deputy secretary of Bishop Muzorewa's UANC, he was detained following a police raid on the party's headquarters. He has been detained continuously since that date in Que Que, Gatooma and Wha Wha.
Munetsi Mark Chayambuka Nziramasanga (48) - a long-standing member of ZAPU who served a nine-month prison sentence in 1959 when a branch secretary in Umtali of the Southern Rhodesian African National Congress. He was restricted for three months when ZAPU was banned in September 1962. In August 1964 he was detained at Wha Wha and subsequently restricted. He became secretary for labour of the ANC following its formation in December 1971 and later deputy secretary for publicity of the ANC (Zimbabwe). He was detained again in September 1978 at the time of the introduction of martial law.
