The Sunday News
Continued from last week
TM: You indicated he just picked you and a few guys to go to Freedom Camp. How would he allocate you roles?
Cde Nguluvhe: We would go together visiting camps and in cases where they were problems at these camps, he would just pick anyone and delegate tasks. Working with him exposed me to the entire leadership of Zapu and Zipra. I was one of the friendliest people among his aides and if you mention the name Miles to all those who were in Zapu they are quick to remember me.
TM: On 14 April 1979, the Rhodesians made another attempt on Cde Nkomo at his Lusaka residence. How did he escape?
Cde Nguluvhe: I was one of the people who survived that attack. Recently I met one old man in Tshikwalakwala area of Beitbridge of Mozambican origin called Chikokwana, the man who saved my life on that early morning attack. He is a traditional healer now.
He informed me about the imminent attack at around 2am. Around 3am the Rhodesians launched the attack and we lost four aides and other comrades, but we killed many of theirs too. The assailants had studied our motorcade routine. Fortunately when the house was attacked, Cde Nkomo had left for another safe house with a Cuban aide. Had he been there they were definitely going to kill him.
I know a lot has been said about his great escape, but to be honest he couldn’t have survived that attack. The Rhodesians were heavily armed. They first hit one Magwaza who was manning the gate before gaining entrance. We returned fire but we were overwhelmed as they were coming from all directions. We managed to survive after jumping into the next yard.
TM: What happened after the attack?
Cde Nguluvhe: Cde Nkomo had left with one Cuban named Manyani who had been seconded to our team by the late Fidel Castro. I met the guy six years ago when I went to Cuba. He was a very helpful man in terms of security issues. After the attack on Zimbabwe House we became more security cautious. I learnt a lot from him (Cde Nkomo) who was very alive to issues of security. His movements and drivers changed from time to time and were not predictable.
TM: As the country drifted towards independence, Cde Nkomo was one of the leaders at the Lancaster House Conference, did you travel with him?
Cde Nguluvhe: Cde Nkomo managed to get us British passports and I went there as part of the advance team to make his security arrangements. I went to Europe posing as a student. When we were about to finish the Lancaster House Conference I was sent with five others to Zimbabwe to make security arrangements for him.
TM: What became of your relationship with the VP post-independence?
Cde Nguluvhe: For one to join the President’s Department you needed to first train as a police officer. I left the police force as an auxiliary section officer. I was chosen because of my training and experience to train comrades from Zanla and Zipra during the integration period.
That’s when I left him but we kept contact when he was the Minister of Home Affairs. I know his entire family and we are still in touch. I met my wife while staying at Cde Nkomo’s house in Phelandaba. I used to see her coming to the house next door to visit. I am still in contact with Dr Nkomo’s relatives. I recall sometime around 1980 he would attach us to the security of his wife the late, uMama uMaFuyana.
TM: How did Umdala Wethu’s death affect you as a person?
Cde Nguluvhe: His death affected me because I treated him like my father, I had started working with him at a tender age. He was a very tolerant man who was against gossip. He didn’t take things at face value. He listened to everyone and was a principled man who was very interested in service delivery. He was not tribalistic, Zapu had people from all over Zimbabwe. In short he was a nationalist.
TM: You have now joined mainstream politics full time, how will the old man feel about your success if he was around?
Cde Nguluvhe: I wish he was there to see that he groomed me as a youngster and a security man and now as a politician I would follow his principles. I know I am going to win the Beitbridge East constituency and this victory will be dedicated to the old man.
