of its personnel fired on ex-ZIPRA troops serving in the 4th Brigade. This prompted a mass exodus of former ZIPRA personnel from 4th Brigade, which was forced to disband four of its battalions due to the loss of personnel to desertion. In December 1982, the 5th Brigade dismissed all its ex-ZIPRA officers. Ex-ZIPRA personnel accused the 5th Brigade of purposefully instigating tensions between the factional elements in the other four brigades. Anti-dissident operations In January 1983 the 5th Brigade was deployed into Matabeleland North with the objective of eliminating the local dissidents. Its anti-dissident campaign was known simply as Gukurahundi, a Shona language term defined as "the rain which blows away the chaff before spring". The word had been also been applied to ZANLA mobilization tactics during the Rhodesian Bush War in 1979. Prime Minister Mugabe had bestowed the nickname Gukurahundi to the brigade in December 1982 and it figured prominently in the 5th Brigade's emblems and standards. The Zimbabwean government provided the 5th Brigade with meticulous records of ex-ZIPRA deserters and demobilized ZIPRA personnel, who were to be detained for questioning. While the brigade's directives specified a search for ex-ZIPRA guerrillas, it failed to differentiate between those affiliated with ZIPRA and the same movement's political wing, the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). Prior to the deployment, this attitude had been reinforced by the alleged discovery of arms on several ZAPU properties, leading to the mass dismissal of ZAPU officials from the government and the arrest of senior ex-ZIPRA army officers. In March 1983, 5th Brigade troops ransacked the home of ZAPU chairman Joshua Nkomo, shooting three of his domestic staff during the raid. The 5th Brigade's commander, Perrance Shiri, perceived all ex-ZIPRA troops, including those employed in the civil service or the ZNA, as potential dissidents. Detention by the 5th Brigade was arbitrary and extrajudicial killings of ZIPRA veterans became frequent. The 5th Brigade imposed a curfew in Matabeleland North, banned the movement of civilians within the operational area, and closed the majority of local businesses. Its constituent battalions rounded up all the residents of a specific district and marched them to central locations, where they were collectively interrogated on dissident activity. The 5th Brigade also conducted house to house searches in Bulawayo for deserters and arms caches. In an attempt to isolate the civilian population from the dissidents, the brigade relocated a number of rural dwellers to police