The Sunday News
Recently we published a series of interviews where we spoke to a former Zipra guerilla Cde Tapson Ncube pseudonym Cde Makhula Thebe. During the interviews Cde Ncube castigated the Zipra High Command on a number of issues. His attack on his former commanders did not escape the surviving members of the Zipra High Command. Below is a response to Cde Ncube’s utterances from a former member of the High Command, Retired Brigadier-General Abel Mazinyane.
Cde Tapson Ncube is a bona fide former Zipra fighter. From his interview one can see that Cde Ncube was a political activist long before he joined the armed struggle in Zambia. He was very eager to get into the thick of things in our armed struggle.
Our enthusiastic comrade claims to have been stopped to attend the ZPRA Conference of Militants’ held at Freedom Camp (FC) in 1977. Our armed communist as Cde Ncube called himself after attending a course in the Soviet Union, claims to have been seconded by 300 guerrillas at CGT2 Camp.
Unfortunately, despite his overzealousness comrade to understand that unlike Zapu, ZPRA worked on orders, not elections. ZPRA was the only department of Zapu in which issues were dictated from the top downwards. The issue of him being seconded by 300 guerillas was a non-starter. Selection of delegates to the Conference of Militants was done through the command structure of the camp.
The ZPRA High Command did not play not any role in the selection of the delegates in the camps. The delegates list was sent to ZPRA headquarters for verification and accreditation.
Names of delegates were sent to the ZPRA head office by radio communication. How was his going to be relayed?
Cde Ncube says he was visited by Lookout Masuku at JZ Camp several times according to his narration and during their discussion Masuku wanted to know Cde Ncube’s impression of the ZPRA High command and his opinion of how the armed struggle was being executed.
Cde Ncube was hardly two years in ZPRA including his years as a recruit when he had this wished conversation with Masuku. By the way one became ZPRA after taking an oath of allegiance, which was taken after completion of military training. Using that bench mark, Cde Ncube was still very green in the armed struggle yet a member of the ZPRA High Command sought his impression and opinion of the armed struggle. Lucky fellow!
There is no way Masuku, a member of the ZPRA High Command, would make three visits to an individual who was not a member of his department or a commander at any level. That is not how ZPRA was administered and commanded. That was ZPRA not the Salvation Army.
The comrade says at the conference he was going to suggest to Zapu leader and ZPRA Commander-In-Chief Dr Joshua Nkomo that the High Command be reshuffled. May I be forgiven for after reading the above utterance, I started doubting the sincerity of our comrade then.
How can a man who has just joined ZPRA ranks, has only fired at an imaginary enemy at the shooting range ask the President of the party and Commander-In-Chief of ZPRA to dissolve his command? Did he know what those individuals had achieved to be appointed to the High Command?
The comrade accuses the High Command of keeping some guerillas in camps in Zambia instead of deploying them in Rhodesia like what Zanla was doing.
Personally, I understand Cde Ncube for thinking guerillas were deployed into operational areas to make numbers. ZPRA guerillas were deployed into Rhodesia to conduct operations.
To conduct operations, they had to be adequately armed. To be properly armed, guerillas being deployed into operations, the ZPRA High Command had to go cap in hand to beg for arms.
The ZPRA High Command didn’t manufacture arms they were given by well-wishers. Other than arming the guerrillas the ZPRA High Command had a responsibility to provide logistical support through out the whole of Rhodesia. The guys operating in Beitbridge were supplied ammunition from Zambia. ZPRA had logistic teams to ferry ammunitions from the Zambezi River to Lupane in three round trips per fortnight. Fair enough the local population supplied food, clothing and other non-lethal logistics. But remember ZPRA did not deploy to feed and clothe but to fight.
Guerillas without ammunition would come into conflict with locals. Maybe our dear Cde Ncube wanted to be armed like Rambo.
Cde Ncube complains of heavy weapons that says he only saw deployed against fellow guerillas that were reluctant to go into Assembly Points. This should be true because according to him he mostly operated under a platoon strength. These were battalion and high unit weapons although they were also issued and deployed to regions. Maybe because Cde Ncube did not come across these weapons. Cde Ncube complains of being issued only 300 loose rounds of ammunition while others were issued one box full (kashar) each. The ZPRA standard logistic issue for every soldier who had completed training was
a) Uniforms = two (02)
b) Weapons= one (01)
c) Magazines = three (AK-47)
d) Boots = two (02)
e) Ammunition = 90 loaded (3 AK-47 magazines) plus 90 loose
f) Other = grenades, pistols, bazookas and other types other than AK
As it were Cde Ncube was therefore properly and accordingly armed.
The three loaded magazines and 90 loose for the AK-47 was standard issue. This was a standard issue for a soldier going to battle. Issuing a box to each guerilla for his/her personal use was wasteful. Besides no soldier can go through a fire fight against the enemy while carrying that ammunition box. The standard issue was called the “battle pack”. Boriban Compact.
Armed with this a soldier is able to go through a fire fight. Cde Ncube confirms the inconveniences of carrying heavy loads during battle as he narrates how his unit lost its two support weapons to the enemy.
One thing should be clearly clarified in Cde Ncube’s story. That is Cde Ncube was not counted in official strength of NF2 ZPRA region. He was not under the NF2 command structure. As for Cde Ncube’s claims of his political prowess in Rhodesia we cannot confirm nor deny. However, what should be taken note is that nationalist parties bans were lifted in 1974 after the release of their leaders.
According to his interview Cde Ncube says they spoke to Dr Joshua Nkomo by phone when he visited Gaborone end of November 1975. He Joshua Nkomo immediately arranged for planes to fly them to Lusaka. Interestingly Joshua Nkomo located to Lusaka after JZ died. JZ died on 22 February 1977.
Cde Ncube says when they arrived at Nampundwe Camp in Zambia its occupants were Zambian soldiers and guys from FNLA of Angola. It is a known fact that FNLA never operated from Zambia. It was based in Zaire, now DRC.
Our comrade claims that a few days after their arrival at Nampundwe they were visited by Rex Nhongo. The facts are that after Chitepo died on 18 March 1975 some Zanla commanders including Rex were hunted down and some arrested. Zanla relocated to Mozambique including Rex. This might have been another Rex.
Besides in December 1975 Rex was in the joint command of Zipa in Mozambique further more guerilla commanders had authority to command Zambian soldiers. Yet he claims Rex ordered Zambian soldiers to punish them.
What worries me about Cde Ncube’s interview is that he tries very hard to belittle the achievements of those who joined the armed struggle before him. While still in Botswana he saw those already involved in the struggle as moving very slowly.
He accuses Dabengwa who got involved in the early 60s of being a sell-out. He and his friends also stopped a commander in Botswana from answering Dr Nkomo’s call. From there their representatives spoke directly to Dr Nkomo.
This was a recruit who did not have much for ZPRA but maybe to convert ZPRA rations into something else. For challenging Nkomo they forced him to send two planes to ferry them to Zambia.
What is interesting is that at the time Cde Ncube claims they spoke to Nkomo, Dr Nkomo was involved in negotiations with Ian Smith in Rhodesia.
Cde Ncube seems to be very economic with the truth. The interview which might have been aimed at preserving the ZPRA legacy ended up doing the opposite.
– Rtd Brig-Gen Mazinyane is the former ZPRA Chief of Military Intelligence.
