The ManicaPost
Freedom Mutanda and Sifelani Tonje Post correspondents
Comments continue to pour in from various readers during the week and it is our pleasure to give you a few of the comments they passed. Bernard Katizagombwe from Mazvikadei in Chinhoyi said: “ I don’t miss a copy of The Manica Post. The stories are emphatic…one feels the heat of the moment. I fell in love with the column when I read ‘the Border church massacre.’ Here in Chinhoyi, we read The Manica Post.’’
We are humbled by the comment and we aim to continue showcasing the unsung heroes and heroines of our time.
My brother Sydney Togara posted a comment on the use of ‘kraal.’ ‘‘Why did you refer to Maxwell Jenya as a kraal head? That’s a colonial word meant to humiliate the African. It must read ‘Village Head.’’
We accept your point brother. Our unfortunate handshake with Europe has left us with bleeding fingers. Let’s chase away the colonial hang over.
Davis Mtetwa says, “It’s exciting to note that the column ‘unsung hero’ touches on many aspects of the liberation struggle. Charity Mutando’s story gives those who crossed the border to train as guerrillas an insight into what visited our parents as a result of our departure.’’
Gorden Jambaya says, “the reasons why we decided kusiya baba namai, hama neshamwari, was because the ignominious treatment that visited our parents, teachers every time there was a contact.’’
Vukile Magwaba Ndamuka from Chikore says, ‘‘these stories bring back a flood of memories but at the same time, dzinoita kuti mweya yevakaenda dzizorore murugare.’’
Thanks for the compliments and we certainly hope you will continue to enjoy reading each peculiar account of a hero or heroines that we write every week.
A touching Whatsapp comment came from one of our regular readers, Earnest T. Nyabereka, the catechist who says,‘‘hi cdes! When I was at Doroi Camp, I was taught by a Cde Siwela. He was a family man from Base 7. He was from Chipinge. He taught us during the war and Samuel is now teaching after watching the horrendous massacre of his relatives. If we can all join hands positively and pick up from where others ended, we can stay strong as a nation.’’ We thank you comrade for the words of wisdom.
The following is a first hand account by Cde Lazarus Ngadziore who revisits some contacts his platoon had with Rhodesian orces. Read on:
A helicopter’s sound is unmistakable. On that day in 1979 my boys and I heard the whirring of helicopter blades; there were six helicopters and a Dakota to augment the fire power with ground forces that came out of the Dakota. This time, the Rhodesian forces had changed tactics by sending more than one helicopter to attack us.
Normally, a single helicopter is easy to deal with. If you fire at a helicopter it rises and by so doing it ceases to be a problem to us. On that day, the helicopters moved in pairs. We had to fight back as they had broken formation. From 0800 hrs, our forces small in number as they were, did not give up the ghost because they knew the very essence of the liberation war lay in these small victories which enhanced African self belief.
As there were many helicopters, I gave the order to fire but at the same time get out of the circle. Some of my colleagues had minor shrapnel injuries and we met after a day at a gathering point. Whenever we had a heavy contact, we would meet at a specific place even if the enemy had made us scatter in different directions. At Mateko base, we found ourselves under heavy attack from the air and the ground forces; therefore, we had to make a strategic retreat and met after a day where we found that no one among us had died. We had survived what could have been a war defining battle.
Where it all started
I was born Lazarus Ngadziore on 20 January 1955 at Tuzuka village. I didn’t get much education; in fact, I went as far as Grade 5 as I had to look after our family’s livestock. I can’t place the exact push factor as to why I went to join the war; it appeared to be a wave that I got entangled in as three Gurudza guys and I decided to go to Mozambique on 26 July 1975 in pursuit of independence.
Word had reached us that the war clouds were gathering in different parts of the country and the tension in the Tuzuka was palpable. We had heard about ZANU and ZAPU and that spurred us on as we trudged towards Espungabera en-route to Chibawawa. Let me stress the refugee camp was called Toronga in the district of Chibawawa.
A year previously (1974) I had seen the regime forces demonstrate the handling of guns at Rimbi when they were recruiting African personnel to boost their numbers in the army. I realised that if I didn’t join the comrades, then I would be forced to be a Rhodesian soldier.
We had ideological training at Toronga where Mao and Lenin’s ideas were drilled into us and to understand why we were fighting against the rogue regime. Of course, the leaders organised us in military fashion; for six to seven months, we learnt ideology, ideology and more ideology.
I assumed Gwinyai Mapanzure as my nom de guerre as a way of travelling incognito when I returned to Zimbabwe to take my position as a cadre fighting for freedom. Our parents would be in soup if ever the authorities know that a Ngadziore boy had crossed the border and he is back as a fighter in Zimbabwe. That would be tantamount to signing a death warrant for my parents or other guerrillas’ parents and relatives.
In August 1976, I was part of the 5 000 strong contingent of men and women who went to Nachingweya in Tanzania to be trained in the Songamberi group. I was in Regiment 5 with Cde Aggrey Chaminuka and Edzai Mabhunu as our instructors. Captain Magore was the regiment commander. For six months, we were trained in the finer art of war tactics.
For the first three months, our instructors trained in regular or conventional warfare. The last three months was devoted to specialisation as Smith forces had a heavier array of fire power than us.
Deployment after training
We returned to Mozambique at Quelimane and the base was Mkoba where I was initially placed in the Gaza province before security saw that the enemy was monitoring our every move. Accordingly, the leadership changed me to the Manica province where Cde Tonderai Nyika was the Provincial Commander; I joined the Masvingo sector which encompassed Nyajena, Zaka and surrounding areas. Our detachment commander was Ridzai Dendera.
The Ndanga, Murinye, parts of Bikita and Kyle Dam are the areas that I worked during the war and I saw action in countless contacts with the enemy. Our sectoral commander was Cde Henry Muchena.
The above contact is one of the several brushes with Rhodesian forces; at times, we ambushed the enemy but at other times, Rhodesian forces made surprise attacks on us.
Gumbo township attack
As the war intensified, the Rhodesians introduced the convoy system where trucks had to get military escort from Chiredzi to Masvingo. We adjusted our ambushes accordingly. By this time in 1979, I was a platoon commander; we decided to lay an ambush at Gumbo Township. That was in March. Two Land Rovers came from Zaka on their way to Fort Victoria. I deployed the bazooka man with clear instructions. He hit the Land Rover screen. We were 15 metres away from the road. As the driver lost control, we hurled grenades at the military vehicles whose passengers became easy prey.
Although the soldiers returned fire, it was largely to no avail. Many of them perished. We confiscated arms, radios. We left the dead and returned to our base.
Veza Township attack
We continued to cause mayhem in the area as we moved towards making it a liberated zone. The enemy was camped at Veza Township.
We attacked the Rhodesians but we failed to match their fire power. As a result, we had to make a tactical retreat but not before we lost one cadre whom we buried the following day.
Challenges
The generality of the people gave us moral and material help. They attended our pungwe meetings that we normally held from 7pm to 9pm.
However, if there was a sell-out as we held our meetings, we could be attacked. In 1979, we lost a number of cadres due to attacks from Dzakutsaku fighters and Chimwenje fighters. We had to instil discipline into our cadres for them to walk in the way the Red Army of China walked.
To that end, as the platoon commander, I instructed my boys to shy away from illicit love affairs with girls. If one was caught doing that, the recommended punishment was 45 strokes of the can and to be disarmed for five days. The offending comrade will use stones to fight the enemy if there was a contact.
I must applaud God and my ancestors for surviving the war without a scratch. As for co-habiting with women, I never did that and had to wait for the dawn of independence to marry.
I dislocated my angle one day after a contact. I never suffered the injury when I engaged the enemy.
I am of the opinion that the welfare of war veterans must continue to be looked into with a view of improving it once the economy allows it.
For your views and comments please do that via the WhatsApp and sms platform on 0777582734 or email us at [email protected]
