The Sunday News
Feature Rtd Brig Gen Abel Mazinyane
DURING its long and bloody armed liberation struggle, Zimbabwe was offered unconditional support by outstanding progressive forces of the world. Cuba was one of those progressive and revolutionary states that stood with the population of Zimbabwe in their hour of need. Cuba and the Cuban people did not only offer morale and material support to African people fighting for their national independence but even sacrificed their lives for it. When I joined the armed struggle I met comrades who had been militarily trained in Cuba in the early 60s. The group included the likes of Mbhejelwa Moyo and others.
I first had encounter with Cuban comrades when they drove from Angola to Lusaka in Zambia to deliver food and trucks to ZPRA. In 1977 ZPRA hosted them at Freedom Camp for about four days. On their return they transported a group of 300 ZPRA recruits to Boma Luso which was to be the first camp to train ZPRA in Angola. When they were with us they cooked their own food they brought with them. They even convinced or persuaded Comrade Gumede (the cook at HQ) to allow them to take charge of the ZPRA head quarters’ kitchen.
Before their return to Angola a cultural exchange party was organised for them at Freedom Camp one evening. A group of lady comrades were brought form Victory Camp for the party. They sang and danced to some traditional music. The Cuban comrades also sang using utensils like spoons, forks, and other kitchen utensils as musical instruments. They sang “wa ntana mera” beautifully. The party gave us an opportunity to see our lady comrades from VC. This was a rare treat. Unfortunately they (the girls) left as soon as the party was over before we could even say “hallo”.
Victory Camp (a camp for women) was out of bounds for male comrades as set out in the ZAPU/ZPRA policy.
After this initial visit, Cuban comrades became a permanent part of our struggle. We had Cuban doctors whose invaluable support and assistance enabled us to sustain a courageous force, instructors and other experts. The broad assistance of the Cuban friends also covered military capacity building and intelligence. There was a time when Cuban comrades came to Zambia to collect ZPRA recruits for training in Angola. Our personnel training department staff went to Nampundwe Transit Camp to select those who were to go to Angola for training in an orderly process. After the selection the personnel training team returned to ZPRA headquarters later in the evening and supervised the boarding.
At 12 noon a convoy of more than 50 trucks passed through Lusaka en route to Angola. Comrades Kenneth Mwira (Jefrey Ndlovu) and KK (Retired Brigadier-General Muzheri) who had been instructed to strictly release the convoy at last light were shocked. The Cuban contigent, in the absence of the personnel and training representative and without the knowledge of the Nampundwe Camp commanders, added 60 more recruits to the convoy.
As the more than 50 Russian-built KRUZ trucks rolled through Lusaka towards Kabwe, Zambians stood mesmerised by this show of force by ZPRA. Some Zambians were heard saying, “iyi ZPRA ina Mpanvu” (this ZPRA is powerful). Our Cuban comrades were very enthusiastic about the liberation of Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular.
Sometime in mid-1977 ZPRA commanders, Alfred Nikita, chief of logistics Sam Mfakazi and myself as the chief of military intelligence, visited Angola to assess the training of our troops in Luso, now Luena. We were accommodated at Hotel President in Luanda as guests of the Cubans. The Cubans had booked several floors at the hotel to accommodate all Cuban civil and some of their military personnel in Angola. Angola was in crisis, food was scarce, shops were empty and the political atmosphere was gloomy. Cubans brought their own food to sustain themselves while assisting Angola. While in Luanda Cubans took us on a tour of Luanda where fighting by MPLA forces against UNITA, Chipenda and FNLA had taken place. We were told that Holden Roberto (president of FNLA) had sent invitations for independence celebrations for his victory against MPLA. The celebrations were to take place at Hotel Panorama in Luanda.
Unfortunately for Holden Roberto, his forces were stopped at the gate of Luanda by combined Cuban and MPLA forces. The Cuban comrade’s joke was, “Roberto made a mistake of not inviting Cubans so we decided to stop the party”. It was never to be for Holden Roberto. The Cuban comrades told us that the only thing they were going to take back to Cuba from Angola was the friendship of the Angolan people and the bodies of the fallen Cuban comrades.
We were also taken to a transit camp for ZPRA and Umkhonto Wesizwe cadres in Luanda. The ZAPU contingent in the camp had comrades who were enroute to Cuba. Unfortunately, during the intensive Cuban doctors’ medical checkup some of them were found to have traces of tropical diseases such as malaria, and others that were treated. The Cuban comrades felt that if they proceeded to Cuba they would reintroduce the diseases they had eradicated. Among the comrades were Gumede, Getrude, Zakewa. We persuaded the Cubans not to send them back to Zambia but to treat them so that they proceed to Cuba for their training.
On arrival at this camp, Comrade Alfred Nikita (Rogers Mangena) inspected the soldiers on parade. On parade, was one Umkhonto Wesizwe comrade whose boots were not properly laced. Cde Mangena kicked the soldier and ordered him to dress properly. This explains the ZPRA/Umkhonto Wesizwe military working relationship.
In Luanda we met a Cuban officer who had fought side by side with Kabila in Zaire and was now fighting to defend Angola against those who wanted to strangle its independence at infancy. What can be more revolutionary than that? On the outskirts of Luanda we were taken to a holding camp for Angolan children destined for education in Cuba. These were underprivileged children from all provinces being sponsored by the Cuban government to study in Cuba from primary to university level. The camp had 500 children, the Cuban comrades who took us around the camp were interested in including JZ and Victory Camp (in Zambia) children in the programme.
Cuban and Russian instructors were victims of Rhodesian bombing at Boma/Luso, which was a ZPRA training Camp in Luena. They paid the highest price for the liberation of Zimbabwe.
Cuba demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that it stood for the oppressed when it fought shoulder to shoulder with the Angolan army, PLAN (Swapo guerrillas) and Umkhonto Wesizwe (ANC guerrillas) in the battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1988 to defeat the apartheid South Africa army which had invaded Angola in support of Jonas Savimbi (Unita).
The apartheid South African army which had considered itself invincible and had terrorised Frontline States was humiliated in Angola in 1987/8. From this defeat apartheid South Africa was forced to withdraw from then, South West Africa, now Namibia.
Rtd Brig Gen Mazinyane is a former member of the Zipra high command
