Oberholzer murder
The Oberholzer murder occurred in Rhodesia on 4 July 1964, when members of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) attacked and killed Pieter Johan Andries (Andrew) Oberholzer, who worked as a foreman of the Silverstreams Wattle Company.
| Oberholzer assassination | |
|---|---|
| Part of Rhodesian Bush War History of Zimbabwe | |
| Type | Political Assassination |
| Planned | William Ndangana |
| Planned by | unknown |
| Target | Andrew Oberholzer |
| Date | 4 July 1964 |
| Executed by | ZANLA |
| Casualties | 1 killed |
On 4 July 1964, ZANLA insurgents carried out an ambush that resulted in the killing of a white foreman from Silverstreams Wattle Company, Andrew Oberholzer, while he was travelling with his wife and family on a main road. After Mr Oberholzer's death, the attackers attempted to set his body and car alight. However, they were driven off by the arrival of another car on the scene.
The killing of Andrew Oberholzer had a lasting effect on Rhodesia's small, close-knit white community.[1][2][3] The Smith Administration subsequently moved to detain the ZANU and ZAPU political leadership in August 1964. The major political leaders imprisoned were Ndabaningi Sithole, Leopold Takawira, Edgar Tekere, Enos Nkala and Maurice Nyagumbo. The remaining military leaders of the ZANLA Dare ReChimurenga were Josiah Tongogara and the highly-regarded barrister Herbert Chitepo. Operating from bases in Zambia and later from Mozambique, insurgents subsequently began launching attacks against Rhodesia.[4]
References
- Binda 2008, p. 38
- Cilliers 1984, p. 4
- Rogers 1998, p. 39
- St. John 2007, p. 1
Bibliography
- Binda, Alexandre (May 2008). The Saints: The Rhodesian Light Infantry. Johannesburg: 30° South Publishers. ISBN 978-1-920143-07-7.
- Cilliers, Jakkie (December 1984). Counter-Insurgency in Rhodesia. London, Sydney & Dover, New Hampshire: Croom Helm. ISBN 978-0-7099-3412-7.
- Rogers, Anthony (1998). Someone Else's War: Mercenaries from 1960 to the Present. Hammersmith: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-472077-7.
- St. John, Lauren (April 2007). Rainbow's End: A Memoir of Childhood, War, and an African Farm (First ed.). New York: Scribner. ISBN 978-0-7432-8679-4.
Further reading
- Ranger, Terence. "Violence Variously Remembered: The Killing of Pieter Oberholzer in July 1964." History in Africa 24. 1997.