Following majority rule elections , the rivalry that had been fermenting between ZAPU and ZANU erupted , with guerrilla activity starting again in the Matabeleland provinces ( south-western Zimbabwe ) . Armed resistance in Matabeleland was met with bloody government repression . At least 20,000 Matabele died in the ensuing near-genocidal massacres , perpetrated by an elite , communist-trained brigade , known in Zimbabwe as the Gukurahundi . A peace accord was negotiated and on 30 December 1987 Mugabe became head of state after changing the constitution to usher in his vision of a presidential regime . On 19 December 1989 ZAPU merged with ZANU under the name ZANU-Patriotic Front ( ZANU-PF )
Gukurahundi
Gukurahundi
Military history of Zimbabwe