In November 1975 ZAPU and the Zimbabwe African National Union formed the Zimbabwe People's Army in Mozambique. While the joint military force soon fell apart, when it successfully functioned Mangena served as the second-in-command.
Mangena led a ZIPRA uprising against ZAPU moderates in 1977 with hundreds of followers in camps in Zambia attacking ZAPU's headquarters in Lusaka. While Mangena did not intend to lead a coup against Joshua Nkomo, he wished to reassert his power over the organization's militant activities. Soon after the uprising he was assassinated.
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