Zimbabwe
Upon coming to office Prime Minister Mugabe kept Walls as the head of the army and put him in charge of integrating ZIPRA, ZANLA, and the Rhodesian Army. While Western media outlets praised Mugabe's early efforts at reconciliation with the white minority, tension soon developed.
On 17 March 1980, after several unsuccessful assassination attempts Mugabe asked Walls, "Why are your men trying to kill me?" Walls replied, "If they were my men you would be dead."
BBC news interviewed Walls on 11 August 1980. He said that he had asked British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to annul the 1980 general election prior to the official announcement of the result on the grounds that Robert Mugabe, the ZANU candidate, used intimidation to win the election. Walls said Thatcher had not replied to his request. On 12 August British government officials denied that they had not responded, saying Antony Duff, Deputy Governor of Salisbury, told Walls on 3 March that Thatcher would not annul the election.
Minister of Information Nathan Shamuyarira said the government would not be "held ransom by racial misfits" and told "all those Europeans who do not accept the new order to pack their bags." He also said that the government was considering "legal or administrative action" against Walls. Mugabe, returning from a visit with United States President Jimmy Carter in New York City, said, "One thing is quite clear—we are not going to have disloyal characters in our society." Walls returned to Zimbabwe after the interview, telling Peter Hawthorne of TIME magazine, "To stay away at this time would have appeared like an admission of guilt." Mugabe drafted legislation that would exile Walls from Zimbabwe for his life and Walls moved to South Africa.
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