The ManicaPost
Freedom Mutanda and Sifelani Tonje Post Correspondents—
ZIMBABWEANS rose against the settlers in 1893 because of injustices and took up arms again in 1896 owing to workers’ and peasant consciousness. In fact, the same forces reprised their roles almost 60 years later and this time, they successfully prosecuted the war to its logical end albeit stiff resistance from the white regime.
Farm workers bore the brunt of the injustices of the whites as the prevailing working and living conditions lived up to the tag of blacks being ‘‘hewers of wood and drawers of water’’ coined by a Rhodesian Prime Minister after the whites had been given Responsible Government by the Crown in 1923.
Last week we could not publish the unsung hero piece due to matters beyond our control and Cde Nyabereka quickly contacted me and asked what the matter was. In his own words, he said: ‘Cde , today, there was no unsung hero in my favourite paper.’’
Owing to space constraints, we will publish one more feedback. This one comes from Tawanda Mhlanga from Dangamvura.
‘‘Happy New Year Cdes! I was touched by Cde Sekai Chikwama’s story. I want to start by airing my views about Henry Mugadza’s comments. Corruption is serious in Zimbabwe, but this column narrates our past. Corruption or no corruption, we have a rich history which we should know, correct it, document it and learn from it.
Cde Chikwama’s story teaches the value of unity and purpose. Vanachimbwido were the intelligence of vana mukoma. They risked a lot to support the war. As we learn from Cde Chikwama, during the war, there was love. People shared everything, but these days, we have people who claim to love Zimbabwe, but they are busy calling for sanctions. People who claim to love Zimbabwe yet they are thieves who steal from the poor-super rich Zimbos who don’t want to share with others are certainly different from Cde Chikwama.
We should love one another and share everything like what our liberators did.
We are having economic challenges. With love and unity of purpose, we can overcome. The likes of Cde Sekai Chikwama showed us the way.
This week, The Manica Post team comprising Sifelani Tonje and Freedom Mutanda went to Musapingura and talked to Reuben Magaa Simango about his travails during the colonial period as a worker at white farms in Chikore, Middle Sabi and Melsetter regions.
This is his story in his words.
I was born in 1934 in Sashekwa village under Chief Musikavanhu. My mother belonged to the royal Sashekwa Clan.
My father, Tomu Magaa had three wives and my mother was the junior wife.
In line with the missionary policy of dishing plots to those with one wife, our father was obliged to send his two wives to the arid region of Musapingura to escape the wrath of the white man.
Our elder brothers, Neddy, Kipikipi and Wanzamuto stayed behind to till the land on the Bidhleta which is a corruption of ‘Big letter’ referring to the title deeds that accrued by simply having that paper that showed ownership.
Every year, those who had Bidhletas paid an annual rent and I reasoned that it was unfair to pay rent in an area under the traditional jurisdiction of Musikavanhu, the rain maker.
I went to school at Shekwa School up to Standard Four and dropped out due to a combination of factors.
There were financial constraints and that we had to move away to Musapingura. I had to be a farm labourer from then on in order to eke a living. I was about 16 and for the following 30 or so years, I traversed the length and breadth of Gazaland and interacted with the white farmers on a day to day basis.
Here is a diary of a farm labourer who worked closely with the white man, studied his behaviour closely and went on to supply the guerrillas invaluable information on the movements and operations of the white man.
There was Rencory (Kori) who had a farm on the boundary of our village. He was a brother-in-law to Horace (Haraisi) who confiscated any cattle that came into his precincts. He branded those stray cattle with the result that he had a large herd of cattle, the envy of many a white farmer.
I worked at Piyoti where I milked cows. Piyoti was a name given to Odendaal by his workers and he knew about it although he never showed his disdain for the nickname.
Some farmers who formed a rich circle of neighbours were Tess Smith, Jourbet (Mabunyasa) and another one I have forgotten. It is Joubert who was known as very unwilling to pay wages to his workers. The nickname (Mabunyasa) is roughly translated ‘‘I won’t give you money’’ if you have not done this or that.
Joubert sired Andries, Horace, Zaharias and the notorious Isaac who was nicknamed ‘‘Babaarinani.’’ He was a spoilt brat, irresponsible and quick to anger. He was so short that it was decreed that anyone who beat him up would be arrested. He, thus, took advantage of that to beat his black workers with impunity. Because he was short, he jumped at his worker to beat him and at times, he fell. He would call out to the intended victim ‘vhusa mina boy lami’ and the unfortunate black man would oblige before receiving another left hook or upper cut and the same process is repeated until Isaac was satisfied he had unleashed enough damage onto his hapless victim.
Babaarinani was a mediocre farmer who thrived on the Joubert name to get favours in the world of farming and white capital. I actively discouraged my fellow blacks from working for the Jouberts. They would not hesitate to kill a black for merely asking for what rightfully belonged to them-their wages although they were meagre.
Young men from Chikore were used to the relative humane treatment of the missionaries. They were given a rude awakening when they got employed at the Jouberts; I stayed with them until they found alternative employment elsewhere under ‘better’ conditions. I directed them there.
Most of the farmers in the Chikore and Chipinge area were of Boer extraction as Cecil John Rhodes made it a point to recruit a large number of Boers who knew the veldt well; they formed the heart of The Pioneer Column. They were strict adherents of the Calvinist teachings which had a distorted interpretation of Noah’s curse on Ham.
They argued that because of the curse, it was their right as Caucasians to use blacks as labourers and perpetuated the creed that the relationship between a black and a white person is similar to that of a rider and a horse with the white man as the rider and the black man as a horse.
A British farmer, King fraternised with blacks and had a number of children that he made with a black woman, Hohloka.
I had enough with Piyoti and moved to Melsetter in 1956. To my utter dismay, I noted that the company allowed blacks to till the land and expropriated it the following year to plant their trees. That was the modus operandi when Charter Estate came into being. I earned 1 pound ten.
It was during The Federation and I remember us sing ‘‘Welensky, taurira madzimai ako pasi pamera ZAPU’’ and you must remember the party spearheaded opposition to the federation.
Whites would beat you up if they saw you wearing a hat. They will say, ‘hini unakabanga’ as they bashed you.
We could not drink clear beer simply because we were blacks. However, a Chisumbanje businessman, Stephen Mtetwa, was the first African I know, who defied the rule.
Henry Moyana from Muumbe set fire on bridges and he could have been in soup one day but he survived by a whisker. I briefly worked at Gogoyo sawmills but left the place for Chipangayi.
Chipangayi farmers and their nicknames
Doolbroks was called Gunde by his workers. He said to his workers that if they did not work, they would earn maize stalks. Fanilansburg had Chimbambaira as his moniker due to his excessive cruelty that Africans compared with the vicious landmine.
Stratmann always had a cigar on his lips and on the look out for loafers that he accused of kuwayaya and he threatened them with severe beatings and the non-payment of wages. People called him Wayawaya.
J.J Smith was another employer who evinced callousness and workers called him mukono wakanya dzimwe.
We called them names to make it easy for us to discuss them even in their presence.
Burning wheat
The whites were a strange lot; they actually respected the graves of our departed fathers and asked African traditional leaders to help them find a way out of a difficult situation.
However, when the Second Chimurenga came, we sided with the comrades. I was still working for Zaharias Joubert but I wanted a liberated Zimbabwe. I was with Baba Mumango when we decided to burn wheat at Stage 3B that is now called Sana. We relayed information to the comrades that the white farmers would be at the country club. We knew burning wheat was part of sabotaging the economy. That was in 1978.
At nine in the evening, we burned wheat close to the combine harvester.
It burst and a huge explosion disturbed the stillness of the night as cattle bellowed in terror. We knew we could not go to the ‘keep’ because the gate had been closed but we knew we were in deep trouble. We threw ourselves into the sand and waited for morning to arrive. Our chances of survival were slim and the following morning, the white farmers, reserve army, came on horseback and the beating began.
Rupise attack
On the way to Chiredzi along the Tanganda-Beit Bridge road, 20 kilometres from Middle Sabi, there is a hot spring beside the road which elders repute to be where national spirits drink from. Mhondoro dzainwira mvura ipapo makare kare.
It is a sacred place and the fact that attempts to build state of the art buildings have failed gives credence to the notion that the spirit of the area is against any modernization.
It is at this place that soldiers loyal to Muzorewa and Sithole camped in 1979. Radio Maputo warned against that but they did not budge with disastrous consequences.
Comrades had encamped at Jakatira/ Chinyamurebvu. They attacked the ‘militia’ at night. The heavy machine gun outmatched the soldiers and a number of them died with some of them fleeing without due regard to their nakedness. By encamping at Rupise, they had angered the local spirits and apparently the attack went in favour of the comrades.
I am happy we are independent and feel that everyone must pull in the same direction if ever we are to pull out of this economic quagmire.
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