I was once senior to Mangena and Masuku

WE continue our interview with veteran freedom fighter Cde Moffat Hadebe pseudonym Cde Morris Dhlomo who in the past few weeks has in a series of interviews with our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) been giving an account of his exploits during the armed struggle.

He has spoken about his early political activities in the then Salisbury, now Harare, his defiance campaigns in his rural home of Gwanda, training in guerilla warfare in Zambia, deployment to Rhodesia, his capture and then dramatically escaping from prison in the company of three other combatants, the now late Cdes Clark Ngiyo Mpofu, Keyi Nkala and Elliot Ngwabi. Cde Mpofu passed on last year while Cdes Nkala and Ngwabi died recently with the latter passing on, only last week at his home in Umzingwane District, Matabeleland South Today Cde Hadebe takes us through his training in Algeria. Read on…..

MS: You spoke of being recommended to undergo further military training in Algeria, please take us through that period.

Cde Hadebe: Like I said there had been concerns about my safety as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had reported that it was believed that I had arrived in Zambia. I had been in Zambia for just two days, when they started broadcasting that I had arrived there.

Then soon after that the MPLA of Angola approached Zapu to give it 20 cadres to add to its number that was being sent to Algeria to receive military training. The MPLA had 70 cadres ready to go to Algeria but the Algerians whenever they were giving out military scholarships, they insisted that the number be 90, so the MPLA did not want to miss out on that programme, so they approached Zapu to add to their number.

So, I found myself being one of the cadres being sent to Algeria for military training, to me it was further training as I had done guerilla warfare training before in Zambia. In Algeria we were going for a nine-month commando training, which was not child’s play.

All these arrangements show the relationship that Zapu had with fellow liberation movements such as the MPLA itself, SWAPO of Namibia and ANC of South Africa. There was mutual trust.  In fact, this group of 90 was meant to replace the Zapu group that was completing its training in Algeria. From that group, 20 among them Alfred Nikita Mangena were to continue in Algeria but this time training as officer cadets. They had gone through a commando training course. The 70 not chosen for the cadet course was sent to Kongwa in Tanzania. Sasisiya tshintshana labo. From my group I was chosen as its leader.

MS: Who were other Zapu cadres from your group?

Cde Hadebe: There were comrades like Moses Moyo, Elliot Ndlovu, Misheck Nhliziyo, Onatsho Masuku, Raphael Mambo and others. We boarded the plane in Dar es Salaam with our first stop being Cairo in Egypt before proceeding to Algeria. When we got there we found the 70 Zapu cadres who had completed training at the airport waiting for their departure. Like I said above they had trained with Mangena who and 19 others had been chosen to go for the cadet officer’s course. We had a brief chat with those comrades. Thina we were taken by buses from the airport. First day we spent the night among the marines and the following day we were driven to Bugalri Special Military Camp. That was in 1966.

MS: How was the training?

Cde Hadebe: Ummh, kwakufiwa. It was very tough, the Algerians knew their thing. Our first group had been mixed with eight guys from Malawi who ended up opting out. Those guys were in the Mangena group.  They could not keep pace with the physical demands of the training. The training was top notch, the obstacles were out of this world, kwakusetshenzwa laphana. All our instructors were Algerians, there was no funny trick there.

We came out real commandos spiced up with guerilla warfare whose tenets are to surprise the enemy and withdraw immediately. In guerilla warfare when the enemy expects you, you avoid confrontation, you retreat. As for the weapon handling, we covered a number of arms, your AK-47s, bazookas, big weapons and so on. We came out real soldiers.

However, we left some of the MPLA cadres there as some were taken for military specialisation such as marines because of their geographical location. We were to meet our comrades who had trained as cadet officers, that is Mangena of course, also there was Gordon Munyanyi, Phineas Majuru and Khezwana. From Algeria we returned to Tanzania where we were taken to Kongwa Camp. That camp housed many liberation movements but those with a large number of troops were the ANC and Frelimo.

MS: How was Kongwa?

Cde Hadebe:  We found the first group that had trained before us in Algeria still there. However, we did not stop doing exercises to keep ourselves fit. Then kwathi ngeyinye imini they blew the whistle, no let me not rush. Before that the camp was visited by Jason Ziyapapa Moyo and Ackim Ndlovu who was the overall commander then. From the ANC side or Umkhonto WeSizwe there was Joe Modise. Little did we know that they were arranging the pending operations against the Rhodesians that is the Wankie Campaign and the Sipolilo. As soldiers we were not in the picture.

Those who had been to the Soviet Union to specialise in fields such as intelligence were not there as they had been sent to Zambia. Then one day in the morning, trucks which we called hyenas drove in and we could tell that the situation had changed. The whistle was blown. We dashed to the parade square, then some men whose strength was a platoon were picked together with the man who was to command the Wankie Campaign, Cde John Dube (Sotsha Ngwenya). They left for Zambia.   Then came a group from Moscow who among those comrades was Lookout Masuku, the late ZPRA commander. Also, there was Sam Mfakazi. During that time Zapu had planned to set up a training camp at Morogoro.

MS: How did you find out that?

Cde Hadebe: We only saw trucks being driven into the camp to pick up people like what happened with JD and his troops. Firstly, the person to go was Lookout Masuku who at that time was just a section man, not the commander. During that time I must point out this I was senior to Masuku and Mangena, in other words I once commanded them. Masuku was sent back to the Soviet Union to do a course in commissariat. It was after that those trucks that I was talking about came.

MS: Who commanded you at Kongwa?

Cde Hadebe: Our commander was Albert Nxele with  Ambrose Mutinhiri as the Chief of Staff.  I was one of those chosen during that time. We were to leave Kongwa and head for Zambia where we were sent to Luthuli Camp. When we got there we found the last group leaving and those were the people going for deployment as part of the Wankie Campaign. When we left Kongwa we had been told that it was being closed down with our people going to Morogoro.

That is how the now famous Morogoro came into being.  Those who opened the Morogoro Training Camp are the comrades who were in Kongwa, those officers trained in Algeria. They became instructors so were those who had trained in the Soviet Union.

MS: Then tell us yourself at Luthuli Camp.

Cde Hadebe: The camp was always visited by politicians such as Oliver Tambo, Joe Modise and Kotana from the ANC.  From our side there came Roma Nyathi and we were told he would be my commissar. However, his stay was short-lived. He was not a soldier that one, but an economist trained in the Soviet Union. Then there was another camp set up. The recruits there were being prepared to be taken to Morogoro.

In December we were then joined by ANC cadres and Kotana came. A lot of food was brought in, we were eating luxuries such as eggs and even drinking milk, something rare during the armed struggle among the guerillas. Kotana had told us that you cannot finish the money from the Communist Party. It was during that period that reconnaissance units were being sent to the front in preparation for our Sipolilo Campaign. Others like George Tau from the ANC who lives here in Bulawayo’s Emganwini suburb were carrying weapons to the front.
MS: Now you are together with Umkhonto WeSizwe at the camp, give us an insight of what was happening.

Cde Hadebe: As part of preparations for the deployment there was a lot that was happening. The command structure was being set up and so were the rehearsals. We started doing tough military exercises. Then we were taken to open another camp. It was during that time that a group of about 107 arrived from Cuba in the company of two commanders or officers as it were. The two were Cdes Joseph Zwangami Dube and Robson Manyika. The two did not stay with us as they returned to their positions with Cde Manyika being the army’s Chief of Staff, second in command to Cde Ackim Ndlovu. We moved from Luthuli Camp to Nkomo Camp, west of Lusaka.

MS: Then tells us about the command structure for the Sipolilo Campaign.

Cde Hadebe: The command structure was like this, myself as the overall commander deputised by Cde Arnold Tichafa, a comrade who came from Murewa in Mashonaland East Province. Cde Ralph Mzamo from Umkhonto was the Chief of Security with our own Cde Felix Kahiya as Chief of Personnel. The commissar was Cde Titane Melane from Umkhonto deputised by Cde Sly Masuku from our side. Cde George Mthusi from Umkhonto was Chief of Communications while Cde Lungisani Ncube from our side came in as the medical man. Chief of Staff was Cde Kenneth Mzathi from Umkhonto with two deputies, Cdes Patrick Sibanda and Raphael Mambo. The radio man was Cde Duncan Khoza and Zilane.

MS: When were you deployed for the operation?

Cde Hadebe: The reconnissance unit under Cde Ralph Mzamo crossed into Rhodesia in December, it could have been 27 December 1967. Also part of that group was a unit of military engineers. We were a unit of 107, made up of three or so platoons. The reason why the number reached 107 was because our platoons were reinforced with specialist troops such as engineers and reconnaissance personnel. As for myself I crossed with a platoon between 3 and 4 January 1968. We were later followed by the commissar and his deputy who arrived as part of the unit escorting senior commanders, those based at the HQ in Lusaka. They were both from our side and Umkhonto.

MS: Who were the senior commanders and what was their role?

Cde Hadebe: The senior command element included Cdes Dumiso Dabengwa, Abraham Nkiwane, Report Mphoko and Joe Modise. It was a joint High Command and they were there to assess the situation, to see that the deployment had gone according to plan. They fell into some sections and I remember at some point, Cde Mphoko and I were embedded in the same unit.  We operated in Chief Chitsunge area, I think when he was Vice-President, Mphoko visited the Chief Chitsunge home.

MS: You said when you attacked the Zidube ranch in your first operation in 1964, the type of weapons you were armed with were sort of old fashioned. How was it with the Sipolilo Operation?

Cde Hadebe: It was far much better, we were a modern army. Each section which was reinforced had a machine gun each, which was a dectatarov, also known as a Gronov. The section was also armed with a bazooka, a majority of troops armed with Ak-47s and a few with Seminov. Things had changed.

To be continued next week with Cde Hadebe giving us an account of the Sipolilo Operation.