Nkala was detained by the Rhodesian government at Gonakudzingwa for 12 years with the rest of the ZANU-PF (formed in Nkala's house in Highfields) leadership, consisting of Ndabaningi Sithole, Leopold Takawira, Robert Mugabe, Edgar Tekere and Morris Nyagumbo. When Edgar Tekere was in prison, he tabled the motion of having Sithole removed as the supreme leader and replaced by Mugabe.
Nkala was detained by the Rhodesian government at Gonakudzingwa for 12 years alongside other ZANU-PF leaders, including Ndabaningi Sithole, Leopold Takawira, Robert Mugabe, Edgar Tekere, and Morris Nyagumbo. While Tekere was incarcerated, he proposed replacing Sithole as leader with Mugabe.