In January 1983 the 5th Brigade was deployed into Matabeleland North with the objective of eliminating the local dissidents. Its anti-dissident campaign was known simply as "Gukurahundi", a Shona language term defined as "the rain which blows away the chaff before spring". The word had been also been applied to ZANLA mobilization tactics during the Rhodesian Bush War in 1979. Prime Minister Mugabe had bestowed the nickname "Gukurahundi" to the brigade in December 1982 and it figured prominently in the 5th Brigade's emblems and standards.