The resounding victory of Robert Mugabe 's ZANU-PF in March 1980 led to Southern Rhodesia 's independence as the Republic of Zimbabwe later that year . Upon independence , Zimbabwe joined the Commonwealth : five decades after Southern Rhodesia 's government had mistakenly believed that it had in the wake of its invitation to the 1932 British Empire Economic Conference . The end of the Rhodesian crisis was a victory for Commonwealth principles , and their application to the policies of a member : in this case , the United Kingdom itself . Shridath Ramphal played a vital role in the affair , whilst it was the 1979 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that played host to the deliberations and resolutions of the crisis , and a Commonwealth military force that kept the peace
1932 British Empire Economic Conference
British Empire Economic Conference
Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth of Nations