The publication of his book African Nationalism and its immediate prohibition by the minority government motivated his entry into politics.

He was one of the founders and chief architect of Zimbabwe African National Union party in August 1963 in conjunction with Herbert Chitepo, Robert Mugabe and Edgar Tekere in the Highfields House of Enos Nkala.

In 1964 there was a party Congress at Gwelo, where Sithole was elected president and appointed Robert Mugabe to be his secretary general.

He spent 10 years in prison after being arrested on 22 June 1964[3] alongside Mugabe, Tekere, Nyagumbo and Takawira for his political activities.

His exit from ZANU was claimed by Mugabe to have been caused by his neglecting the fighters in Zambia (where their camp was bombed resulting in many fatalities and casualties).

[7] In December 1997, a court tried and convicted him of conspiring with Chimwenje to assassinate Mugabe and the government disqualified him from attending parliament.

These were people who had been left homeless after being summarily evicted from shanties in Harare before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1991.