Supplement: How Dr Nkomo calmed down tempers among Zipra forces

28 Jun, 2015 - 06:06 0 Views
Supplement: How Dr Nkomo calmed down  tempers among Zipra forces Father Zimbabwe

The Sunday News

CDE Fredrick Mutandah was the head of the late Vice-President Dr Joshua Nkomo’s close security unit that provided security to the veteran nationalist around the clock during the armed struggle and continued working with him after Independence. As part of a series to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the death of the late VP and former PF-Zapu President and Commander-in-Chief of the Zipra forces our Assistant Editor, Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) spoke to Cde Mutandah who gave us an account of how Dr Nkomo calmed down tempers among his fighters after the announcement of the country’s election results on 4 March 1980 which saw Zanu-PF clinching 57 seats, PF-Zapu 20, UANC three and the Rhodesian Front 20 that were reserved for whites. Mutandah whose pseudonym was Chillis also gives an account of how a unit under him saved Dr Nkomo’s life when a special unit of Selous Scouts attacked the nationalist residence in Lusaka, Zambia in an operation code-named Bastille on Good Friday in 1979.

MS: Cde Mutandah you worked closely with VP Nkomo and can you tell us who was VP Nkomo and what memories come to your mind when the nation celebrates his life 16 years after his death?
Cde Mutandah: Basically Umdala was a selfless leader. What really surprised a lot of us was his reaction on 4 March 1980 when the election results were announced. Basically when PF-Zapu lost the elections, he told us that we had not lost and we could not understand what he meant by that because there was a lot of agitation among the Zipra guerillas. Dr Nkomo said Zimbabwe had won and that Cde Robert Mugabe who was the Prime Minister designate then was part of us as we were together in the Patriotic Front (PF). Dr Nkomo said if Zanu-PF has won then it meant we had won as well. As his close security unit he said all these years “you have been working with me lalingalweli uNkomo ukuthi abuse, you were fighting to free Zimbabwe and today Zimbabwe is free and you should be happy. If you are asked to serve Government, you should serve it loyally, you do not belong to me as an individual.”

MS: What did he say about himself and how were the Zipra forces taking it?
Cde Mutandah: He said as for himself he would serve the Government of Zimbabwe under the Prime Minister, that is President Mugabe, in whatever capacity he was assigned to, but the old man was categorically clear that he would not take up the post of President, which was eventually given to the late Reverend Canaan Banana, saying it was too ceremonial. As for our comrades there was a lot of agitation because there was a belief that the electoral process had not been carried out in the right way.

MS: So what did Dr Nkomo do to pacify his Zipra forces?
Cde Mutandah: I believe as his close security unit we were the first to know his position with regards to the election results and after that we accompanied him to all the Zipra Assembly Points where he preached that gospel of accepting the results to ensure all the guerillas integrated into the country’s security forces. The guys were disgruntled, but his message was “don’t look at me. Look, you have your country back.” As for us his bodyguards he said he was going to make sure that we were integrated into the main security service of the country.

MS: As an individual how did you take what the old man was saying?
Cde Mutandah: I actually told him that I believed there was nothing for me. But he said: “you spent all your youth life working with me to free your country”. He then said Chillis, this is not about you, but people of Zimbabwe. He said being one of his senior guys he expected me to take seriously his advice and I did together with my colleagues. As of now some of my colleagues who provided security to Dr Nkomo during the armed struggle are still working in Government and they have worked so loyally which is good. Some are with President Mugabe while others are with Vice-President Mphoko and all these people were my juniors, I am glad that they have done so well as some of them have been promoted to high ranks.

MS: So by accepting the 1980 election results do you believe Dr Nkomo prevented a major catastrophe?
Cde Mutandah: All I can say is that by accepting the results Dr Nkomo refused to turn Zimbabwe into another Angola and Mozambique. Dr Nkomo was for the unity of Zimbabweans regardless of tribe that is why among the ranks even of his security we had guys coming from all over the country. To him there was no discrimination on tribal basis.

MS: Then when he was appointed Minister of Home Affairs where did you go?
Cde Mutandah: I continued working for him as his personal aide, I worked with him throughout. I was with him until his dismissal from Government in the 80s.

MS: What can you say about the 1980s disturbances?
Cde Mutandah: That was an unfortunate episode in the history of our country. That situation was caused by the Rhodesian intelligence, which dramatised the arms caches and there were no arms caches.

MS: But weapons were found on the Zapu farms?
Cde Mutandah: There was never any issues about arms caches. I have to repeat this; there was never any issues about arms caches, basically the Rhodesians wanted to appear more loyal to the new Government. They dramatised things that were not there. To answer your question that there were arms at the farms, those arms had been declared. The three armies that were being integrated had to declare their arms and as Zipra we met the side of our bargain and declared the arms, so there was no issue about those arms. Cdes Dumiso Dabengwa and Lookout Masuku had declared those arms. However, let me emphasise this we had some of our commanders who felt there was no need to hand over all the arms to the Government as they felt there was a need to give some to Umkhonto Wesizwe, the ANC military wing that we had been operating with, but that never carried the day as Dr Nkomo made it clear that he was not for secret deals. Dr Nkomo didn’t want us to appear as if we were arming MK. I want to repeat there was never any hiding of arms, that issue was just dramatised by the Rhodesians to drive a wedge within the nationalist movement of this country. Moreover it was not possible for the Zipra forces to hide weapons because it was not an ordinary military outfit, we are talking about an army that was armed to the teeth as it has in its possession armoured vehicles, tanks and had an air force unit.

MS: Then coming to the attack on Dr Nkomo’s residence in Zambia in 1979, how did you manage to rescue him as it seems the Rhodesian Selous Scouts were determined to either capture him or kill him. Take us through that incident.
Cde Mutandah: Dr Nkomo gave an account of what happened. I don’t want to give another account of what he said. All I can say is that I was the commander of that unit that was guarding him. He survived, he lived and told the tale. In short those Rhodesian forces attacked his residence at around 3am and they had five Land Rovers, but their mission was foiled. What is surprising is that Dr Nkomo’s residence was attacked despite the fact that it was close to the Zambian State House. There was fighting and we lost three men, one of them came from Inyanga in Manicaland Province, his pseudonym was Nathaniel Midzi while the other guy had worked as Nikita Mangena’s driver. He was now one of us and that puts paid to claims that there had been a rift between Dr Nkomo and Cde Mangena. If there had been a rift between the two it was not possible that Cde Mangena’s driver was going to work with us.

MS: Any other incident that you went through while on duty with Dr Nkomo?
Cde Mutandah: I don’t want to talk about incidents but about the man himself. This interview is not about me but Dr Nkomo. However, what I can say is that after the attack on his residence I made sure that all the houses he was to use had bunkers. The other issue is that those three comrades who were killed in that attack their parents or relatives were not located. I would have loved to deliver the sad news to them about their sons, but it was difficult to do that because we were using pseudonyms.

MS: Ok. Dr Nkomo left us the Unity Accord, any comments about that.
Cde Mutandah: I am glad you asked that question. The Unity Accord should be protected. It is a legacy that Dr Nkomo left us. He and President Mugabe displayed visionary leadership when they brought the people of Zimbabwe together in 1987 through the Unity Accord. By signing the Unity Accord Dr Nkomo did not sell out, he gave the people of Zimbabwe peace, which they should protect.

MS: Your former boss in the Zipra intelligence Dumiso Dabengwa seems not to agree with what you are saying as he is saying he has revived Zapu. What are your comments on that?
Cde Mutandah: I wouldn’t say Dabengwa has broken from the ranks of other nationalist forces. By leaving Zanu-PF I would not say he is no longer part of other nationalists. I would say his issue is a sign of failing to talk to each other. I still believe if a door can be opened, there is a need to talk to Dabengwa so that he can be with his colleagues. I think as Zimbabweans we should learn to let bygones be bygones. However, I would not fault Dabengwa much, maybe he looks at the welfare of fellow ex-Zipra combatants and feels much has not been done for them. I wouldn’t say Dabengwa broke away, maybe he did not get an ear for some of his grievances. However, I have serious problems with people like Morgan Tsvangirai who want to use the Gukurahundi issue for political gains. President Mugabe and Dr Nkomo sorted out the issue, so who is Tsvangirai to talk about that issue. If Tsvangirai is serious about that issue he should have raised it while serving in the Inclusive Government.

MS: In conclusion can you give us your brief background. Where we you were born, which school did you go to and where did you do your military training.
Cde Mutandah: I am a Zimbabwean period. I think as Zimbabweans we should stop identifying ourselves through the provinces where we come from as that is responsible for the polarisation that we are in. As for my education I did it in Harare, then crossed into Botswana en-route to Zambia where I did my military training before I was sent to do intelligence training in Cuba and the then Soviet Union.

MS: So when were you deployed to Dr Nkomo’s security team?
Cde Mutandah: I was seconded to his security in 1976.

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