The Sunday News
IN this week’s edition we round up our interview with Cde Joko Thodlana, pseudonym Cde Hughes Mhondoro or Sitshiye on his war exploits after playing football for Highlanders juniors, his training in Tanzania at Morogoro, deployment to the front in Gwanda in Matabeleland South Province, which fell under the Southern Front 3 (SF3).
Last week Cde Thodlana spoke about his first assignment on the battle field and today he continues his narration to our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) about what he went through during his stint in the armed struggle until the ceasefire in December 1979. Below are excerpts of the interview:
MS: You were still talking about finding your way from Beitbridge on your own after the other two comrades decided to remain behind.
Cde Thodlana: On my way I had this feeling of raiding a Chibuku delivery truck to get some money and also a store belonging to a white commercial farmer, but I later decided against it. When I got to Nhwali in Gwanda I met some guerillas coming from Namande in Mberengwa escorting recruits on their way to Botswana. Some were at the front and others at the back, I approached them and spoke to a comrade whom I knew whose hair was always plaited, while we were still talking, helicopters descended on us and we had to skirmish like what we did on our way from Zambia at the Hwange National Park. We were returning fire aiming at the gunners, some were injured, it was a survival battle.
We lost four comrades in that contact. I moved in another direction towards Gobatema, eMkomana and all in all since I left Beitbridge I had travelled five days. Then early in the morning Cde Dube who had left his kit bag at the scene of the contact returned to recover it, but the Rhodesians had deployed there. Fighting ensued and he held his own. We were later told by villagers that eight Rhodesian soldiers were killed there. Wabatshaya bonke eyedwa. At Mkomana I found members of my unit, Cdes Chirisa, Bheli and Maphindela in the company of two other comrades from Mberengwa, Nkomo and Ndlela. I reported to the comrades what transpired while in Beitbridge. In the evening the six of us dispersed and agreed to meet the following day at 5am. At night we used to sleep at different places in case we were attacked. We would either be one or in twos. The following day we arrived at the gathering point (GP) but Maphindela came late. When he arrived he told us that he had come across a section of guerillas in the bush.
He said he took cover and asked whether they were new arrivals from Zambia and they told him that they had just arrived. We were expecting some reinforcements who we had been told would come escorting the overall commander for Gwanda.
Maphindela left those people and said he was going to inform other guerillas about their presence. We were excited that another unit was now on the ground. It was at that time that Cde Nkomo, a veteran guerilla who had trained around 1968 called for caution and asked how that group was armed. Maphindela said they had five Light Machine Guns and Cde Nkomo quickly said they were not a Zipra unit. He reminded us that a Zipra section, which normally was between seven and nine comrades was supposed to have one machine gun, RPG (bazooka) while the rest would be AKs. He said there was definitely something wrong with those people.
MS: So what did you do in those circumstances?
Cde Thodlana: We sent a villager to go and check whether they were still there and he found them gone. It became clear that there were Selous Scouts. Then there were 30 recruits who were also ready to be escorted to Botswana. While we were moving them we saw someone wearing a white shirt climbing a hill, it was from a distance and we wondered what that person could be doing there. We were also still trying to find out what could have happened to those people who said they were from Zambia, then the answer came when villagers told us that there were some guerillas who came, but they had something that looked like a radio and also spent the night out in the open despite the heavy rains that fell on that night. Then less than a kilometre from the village, helicopters were on us and we later realised that the man in a white shirt was a spy who had been monitoring our movements.
The choppers just fired randomly and left. After crossing Tuli River we met another unit eyaboLovemore and Makwesha. It was then decided that four comrades led by Makwesha should go where we were coming from and assess the situation. When they got there they were told that one of the helicopters had landed and it took with it one of our key contacts — uDube. Cde Makwesha and his unit were also told that in the helicopter there was someone who was covered with a blanket so that people could not tell who he was. After that we started asking ourselves questions on whether Kaizer whom we had trained together in the group of 800 and Madabudabu who trained at Mwembeshi were Selous Scouts all along or were captured after I left them in Beitbridge? However, we managed to take the recruits across the border.
MS: Then tell us about the development of the war.
Cde Thodlana: Then came a time when more units started coming in and there was the deployment of Cde Base Ncube, who also trained around 1968 and he was made the overall commander for Gwanda deputised by Ellington. Base did not last long as he was killed when a homestead they were in was raided by the Rhodesian forces. The enemy forces came from Anderson Farm where they had a base, those comrades were caught by surprise after the enemy forces crawled towards the homestead.
Besides the commander, an MK combatant also died in that contact. What happened was that the comrades were found relaxing and were having fun, begida isikiza. However, when we heard the sound of gunfire we made a follow-up and found the Rhodesians treating their wounded colleagues and they were not expecting an attack. So we stalked and the bazooka man opened fire but the weapon failed to fire, I think it had to do with the storage of the shells. However, we did not even take cover as we shot at them at hip level, labana manje sabatshaya. We then immediately withdrew. After the death of Base, Ellington took over the command of Gwanda deputised by Mdubane. Then our unit was beefed up when we were given Dry Gin and Forget. However, Dry Gin died together with Bheli in combat when the Rhodesians ambushed them at a homestead at Bhengu. They were sold out by a nurse who had seen them.
To be continued next week
