 Over Christmas 1979, many former Patriotic Front soldiers returned to their former homes to prepare for the election.For ZANU-PF, its military leader Josiah Tongogara was killed in a car crash in Mozambique.Tongogara was known to be a supporter of the two Patriotic Front parties, ZANU-PF and ZAPU, fighting the election with a joint list, and it was immediately speculated that his death was arranged by opponents of this policy.