the leader arrested but he was released without charge. Following the Southern Rhodesian general election, 1980, after Zimbabwe Rhodesia returned to British control as Southern Rhodesia, Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union party won to become the first government of an independent Zimbabwe. After this, "Ishe Komborera Africa" was selected to replace the official "God Save the Queen" of Southern Rhodesia and the unofficial "Rise, O Voices of Rhodesia" of Rhodesia as the national anthem of an independent Zimbabwe as it was a symbol of black African struggles and solidarity against apartheid systems in South Africa and South West Africa. At the Zimbabwean independence ceremony, the Union Jack was lowered to "God Save the Queen" and the new flag of Zimbabwe was raised to "Ishe Komborera Africa" in Salisbury. Replacement In 1994, it was deemed that Zimbabwe should change its national anthem to avoid similarities with other countries who used the tune of "Ishe Kombererra Africa". Tanzania used "Mungu ibariki Afrika", Zambia used "Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free" (to the same tune), also Ciskei and Transkei who used "Nkosi Sikielel' 'Afrika". It was also because Mugabe wanted to develop a new distinctly Zimbabwean identity with a unique national anthem. A contest was held to determine a new national anthem and "Simudzai Mureza wedu weZimbabwe" by Solomon Mutswairo was chosen. The new anthem was promoted prior to "Ishe Komborera Africa" being replaced as the official national anthem. However, there was scepticism from Christians about the need for replacing "Ishe Komborera Africa" with the belief that it was part of a plan by ZANU-PF to remove references to God from Zimbabwe's official proceedings. The change of anthem from "Ishe Komberera Africa" was later confirmed by the Parliament of Zimbabwe in 1995 by the passage of the National Anthem of Zimbabwe Act. The act also made it a criminal offence to insult the new national anthem and also granted the President of Zimbabwe the right to make regulations controlling its use and how it was to be sung. Legacy Despite being replaced as the Zimbabwe national anthem, "Ishe Komborera Africa" is still popular in Zimbabwe. It is still used as a hymn within Zimbabwean churches. In 1997, following the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) voting in favour of a motion that African elephants were not endangered in some countries and thus their ivory could be exported from