On 4 July 1964, the Crocodile Gang ambushed and murdered Pieter Johan Andries Oberholzer, a white foreman and police reservist, in Chimanimani, near Southern Rhodesia's eastern border. Dhlamini and Mlambo were caught and hanged; the others evaded capture. The event marked the first instance of violence in what became the Rhodesian Bush War, and caused the government to crack down on both ZANU and ZAPU. In August 1964, the administration of Prime Minister Ian Smith imprisoned Sithole, Takawira, Edgar Tekere, Enos Nkala, and Maurice Nyagumbo. ZANLA was left with Josiah Tongogara and Herbert Chitepo as its leaders. Before Oberholzer's murder, the gang had already bombed the Nyanyadzi police station and attempted other ambushes after arriving in Southern Rhodesia via bus from Kitwe, Northern Rhodesia. It continued its campaign of violence after the murder, setting up roadblocks to terrorize whites and attacking white-owned farms in the country's Eastern Highlands. It was known for its use of knives and for leaving green handwritten anti-government pamphlets at the scenes of its crimes.