The Sunday News
In the past few weeks we have been interviewing former freedom fighter Cde Tapson Ncube pseudonym Cde Makhula Thebe. Cde Ncube has been talking about the other side of the armed struggle, revealing how dissenting voices among the guerillas were treated.
A maverick as they come Cde Ncube says he found himself in a collision course with some members of the Zipra High Command for questioning some of the strategies especially failure to quickly deploy trained personnel to the front and for his “communist views”. He says he was then arrested, thrown into detention pits at the Freedom Camp (FC), blocked from attending the Conference of Militants addressed by Zapu leader and Commander-In-Chief, Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo. He says he was then marginalised together with 15 other comrades after his release from detention before he was eventually deployed to the Northern Front 2 (NF2) and operated in Lupane and Nkayi districts. In our last edition he spoke of his meetings with then Zipra Political Commissar, the now late Lieutenant-General Lookout “Mafela” Masuku. Today he continues the conversation with our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS). Below are excerpts of the interview.
MS: What became of you after those series of meetings with Masuku?
Cde Ncube: I had spoken about my meetings with Mafela (Lookout Masuku) on three occasions. On the fourth occasion when he came he addressed the whole camp and paraded us. He told the gathering that these people, the 16 of us were not under the command of the Zipra High Command. To our shock he said we were under the command of Joshua Nkomo, just imagine an elderly person and senior commander saying such things in the presence of schoolgoing children who had nothing to do with that. Like I said before the JZ Camp was a facility for those who were too young to undergo military training. To me such talk from Masuku whom I had high regard was the height of irresponsibility. To me that was shocking as there was no way one could separate Dr Nkomo from Zipra. It looks like there were characters within the Zipra High Command who had questionable loyalty towards Zapu as a party and Dr Joshua Nkomo as the president of that political movement.
MS: So in other words you were dumped as the commanders gave up on you.
Cde Ncube: Yes, yes. Basikhalalela uJoshua Nkomo. I had to think fast because my life was under threat, I would stay at the camp and then move out to my hiding place. At times I would sleep at a school where I had a friend as I had a strong feeling that those people wanted me dead. All the clothes that I had been given in the Soviet Union as besides the military attire we were also bought suits, shirts, ties, civilian shoes for use during weekends when getting into town I had to sell them to raise money to buy food. At times I would mingle with Zambians from Filabusi. The Filabusi I am referring to is not Insiza District. Guerillas used to call Zambian villages around camps Filabusi, I think it had to do with missing home. Then Masuku came after some time and it was in December.
MS: What was the message this time?
Cde Ncube: This time he told us that we were being deployed to the front, the 16 of us. It should have been around 17 December 1977. We were then driven to DK, which was a Zipra crossing point along the Zambezi River. There were 72 of us, 60 of us going to the front for the first time while 12 were veteran guerillas who were coming from the front to replenish supplies. Among them was Volunteer Mkhwananzi (Andrew Ndlovu) whom we had trained together at Morogoro and even went together for further training in the then Soviet Union. The 60 of us were part of the reinforcement. From the 60, the comrades had been trained at different camps such as Mwembeshi. We were different groupings. When we got to DK that is where we were armed in the presence of Zipra Chief of Operations, Enoch Tshangane (late Major-General Jevan Maseko). We spent a few days at DK before we crossed. Tshangane had left by that time.
MS: When did you cross?
Cde Ncube: We crossed on the Boxing Day of 1977, we had spent Christmas Day at DK. There was no time to enjoy Christmas, we spent the day deployed while the reconnaissance team was doing its job of making sure it was safe to cross, checking on the movement of the enemy and so on. Our crossing was very smart as it was without incident. But when we were armed while others were given sealed amaKasha, I was only given 300 loose bullets. To me that was a statement, I could tell that comrades at the forward logistics camp where we were had been ordered to do that, someone from the High Command obviously was being funny. I was being under-armed. Volunteer and other comrades then told me to keep quiet. They said the situation will sort itself when we get to the operational area. I was armed with an AK-47 rifle. The heaviest weapon in the unit was the Gun 75, we also had a Mortar 60, three bazookas, one PK, two dectarovs and AKs.
MS: How did you feel when crossing considering the drama you had gone through at the rear?
Cde Ncube: It was a tense moment when crossing the river, the Zambezi River itself was the first enemy that Zipra forces had to contend with. Despite being attacked by the Rhodesian forces, presence of crocodiles and hippos, the terrain itself was tricky. While going down to the river there was a lot of balancing while walking and after crossing, the ground was steep. That steep is not a joke. It took forces hours to move from the water to other side. So when I was crossing there was that strong feeling that maybe something bad might happen, nevertheless we managed. We started crossing just after sun set and by 11pm all of us had managed to be across the river. Then we had to contend with that steep. From the river we moved quite a distance to avoid getting into contact with the enemy forces, which we might encounter while patrolling along the river. When we felt the place was safe we made an all-round defence deployment and spent the night there. As for food we were okay as we had tinned stuff. I was very happy, I thanked God and my ancestors for protecting me from people who wanted to harm me in Zambia.
MS: Then take us through your journey from the Zambezi River.
Cde Ncube: The following day while we were preparing to leave, an eagle emerged and started hovering above where we were. It then flew towards the western direction. Among us there was Cde Situngwizi who was part of those 12 guerillas who had come from the front and he advised us to take the direction the eagle had taken. Situngwizi was a spirit medium and so we gladly submitted to his order. As we walked towards the western direction the eagle then changed its direction and moved towards the south and we followed.
MS: So spiritual things were being observed during the armed struggle?
Cde Ncube: They were very, very important. If you hear someone talking otherwise then that person was never involved in battle and maybe did not get to the front. Guerillas from both Zipra and Zanla consulted spirit mediums although there was no official position. Guerillas interpreted the situation according to the situation on the ground.
MS: So the eagle was now your guide as you moved inland?
Cde Ncube: It was and all the interpretations were being made by Situngwizi. I had trained with Situngwizi in the Soviet Union. Then at around 11am as we headed towards the south, moving towards Tinde that is in Binga, the rain started falling, a heavy one. We crossed the road and moved towards Tinde. As we continued moving we heard the sound of enemy trucks. By the time we crossed the Dete-Binga Road the rain had stopped. So when we crossed the road we left our footprints and they were very visible because the ground was wet, so from a security point of view our situation was compromised. The enemy forces picked our spoor and followed. However, something was fishy.
MS: What do you mean?
Cde Ncube: Up to now I still believe that the enemy forces had full information about our unit. It was not just coincidence, some of our people could have tipped the Rhodesians. There was a pattern on how new units which had just been deployed were being ambushed. Normally it was in the areas around Tinde in Binga, but such ambushes for guerillas already in operational areas were rare. So as we moved we decided to camouflage the Gun-75 and Mortar 60 weapons. We then based about a kilometre from where we had hidden those weapons. We organised food from the villagers and we were served sumptuous meals such as idobi, chicken and wild vegetables such as ulude and delele. After I had finished eating and some of us we were on a plateau, I stripped my AK-47 and started cleaning it. That was mistake number one as the enemy forces were closing in.
MS: So you were attacked when you were cleaning your weapon?
Cde Ncube: Of course we had deployed some sentries to check the enemy movement, but we were a bit relaxed. Suddenly there was a sound of a helicopter and before we could do anything it was upon us, so I had no time to pick up my AK-47 which was in pieces, in that confusion I only left with the cleaning rod. While the helicopter was causing all this confusion, the enemy ground troops were also closing in. There was a sudden burst of gunfire from both sides, our guys did a good job as they offered a strong resistance. Veterans of the battlefield such as oVolunteer fired at the helicopter just to harass it and it went away. We then made a tactical withdrawal and left the area, moving towards Dongamuzi and Mzola in Lupane.
MS: So in all that commotion and fighting, what were you doing as you had no gun?
Cde Ncube: Ngase ngiyisigudula nje ( I had become a hornless beast). I was just useless, watching from the sidelines. We then moved to Dongamuzi-Mzola areas where we found a unit under the command of Sandlana Mafutha. We had done a lot with Mafutha starting as recruits in Francistown where we questioned some decisions from both the Zapu and Zipra leadership. We had also trained together in Tanzania. So when Mafutha saw me and heard how I had left my weapon, he jokingly said “Makhula why did you hand over the Zapu weapon to the enemy forces, have you also become a Selous Scout?” During those days I was a spectacle among the guerillas and villagers as I was the only one who was unarmed. I was now carrying a bazooka shell just to keep up appearances. However, after a few days a unit was sent to the scene of the battle to do a comb up and they found pieces of my AK-47 undisturbed. It looks like the Rhodesians did not comb the battle site. They quickly withdrew as well. So I was very happy to be re-united with my beloved gun.
– To be continued next week with Cde Ncube talking about how he was given a list of 15 sell-outs to kill in Lupane and Nkayi districts. Don’t miss that riveting account in next week’s copy.
