Some things that happened in the 1970s made what happened after Independence much more likely. In particular, certain laws were passed by the Rhodesian Front, which made it impossible for Government officials to be punished for what they did, even if they murdered innocent people. The Rhodesian Front and the governments before them, passed many laws which severely limited most people's rights to live where they chose, go to school, work, or express any freedom of thought or movement. People in Rhodesia became used to a situation where the Government showed no respect for their civil rights.

In addition, ZIPRA and ZANLA competed with each other for territory and support, and frequently fought and killed each other before Independence. This meant that they were suspicious of each other after Independence.

Laws from the 1970s
In 1965, the Smith Government declared a state of emergency, in order to allow the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) to take place. Other laws were enacted, such as the Emergency Powers (Maintenance of Law and Order) Regulations, which allowed for detention without trial, the banning of public meetings and curtailment of political activity.

After Independence, these emergency powers remained in force, right up until July 1990. The Zimbabwean Government used them in the same way the Rhodesian Government did, to silence political opponents. So the bad laws put in place by the Rhodesian Front made it easy for Zimbabwe's ruling party, ZANU-PF, to deny ordinary people their basic rights whenever they so chose.

Before the first election in Zimbabwe, there was also a general amnesty granted under the peace agreement drawn up by Lord Soames, the British High Commissioner at this time. This amnesty meant that all those who had committed human rights violations could not face prosecution, whether they were Rhodesians or ex-freedom fighters. This meant people who had done terrible things during the 1970s were not punished.

Some of these Rhodesians who had tortured remained on in the Zimbabwean CIO and other units. A few used their position to act as South African agents to destabilise Zimbabwe. Others were recruited from ZANLA into 5 Brigade.

In 1988, after the Unity Accord had brought an end to violence, a second amnesty was announced in Zimbabwe. This time those who were being saved from prosecution for crimes committed against civilians were 5 Brigade, CIO, other army units and dissidents.

The very men who tortured people in the 1970s used the same methods to torture people again in the 1980s. Both times they got away with it, and were never punished. Some of these men still hold senior positions in the Zimbabwean Government and armed forces.

Conflict between ZANLA and ZIPRA
Until 1963, there was one main liberation movement, known as ZAPU. At this time, the party split for many reasons, some political and some personal. A new party was formed, called ZANU. Neither party was tribalist by nature. Both had people from all tribal groups within their membership. However, over time, the two parties became quite different in certain ways. ZAPU's army was trained in Russia, ZANU's in China. They used different battle techniques and began to recruit from different parts of the country. ZAPU recruited mainly from the Ndebele-speaking western region of Zimbabwe, and ZANU mainly from the Shona-speaking eastern regions.

The two armies ZIPRA and ZANLA came to see each other as rivals for popular support. There were many battles between them when they met, both inside and outside Zimbabwe. At Independence, the two armies did not trust each other. This made it very difficult to try to make them into one Zimbabwean army. This was a very important factor in what happened in the 1980s, for example at Entumbane.

Some would say the problems between Shona-speakers and Ndebele-speakers go back to the 1800s, when Ndebele warriors raided Shona tribes and stole their cattle and women. However, other historians have said these traditional ideas were deliberately exaggerated by colonisers, and then for political reasons after Independence. The main reason people were persecuted in the 1980s was not to do with this history, but was for modern, political purposes. It was not really because they were "Ndebele-speaking" but because they were mainly ZAPU-supporting, that people in Matabeleland and parts of the Midlands were persecuted.

However, one of the saddest outcomes of the violence in the 1980s is that many people have come to see the conflict during this time as ethnic in nature. It has been misinterpreted as a civil war between Shonas and Ndebeles. This is not accurate. Most people in Mashonaland had no idea what was really happening, nor would they have wished ordinary people in Matabeleland to have been persecuted. Similarly, most people in Matabeleland did not become dissidents, nor did they support what the dissidents did.

But the Government increasingly referred to supporters of ZAPU as being supporters of dissidents: ZAPU, dissidents and Ndebele-speakers in Zimbabwe all came to be seen as one and the same thing in the eyes of certain Government officials: this is clear when reading newspaper reports from those years.