The Sunday News
TODAY we conclude our interview with Cde Ralitali Ngwenya Qondani who left the country towards the end of 1976 to join the armed struggle.
Cde Qondani was part of the 13 Highlanders Football Club junior players who left with the team’s kit. Cde Qondani was to be part of the first group of more than 2 000 Zipra combatants to be trained in Angola by the Cubans. As Cde Qondani’s interview with our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) comes to an end, he talks about his deployment to Hurungwe District in Mashonaland West Province. Below are excerpts of the interview.
MS: You spoke about your return from Angola and deployment to the front, you specifically going to Mashonaland West. Please take us through that process.
Cde Qondani: I was not supposed to be deployed to the front as I had been earmarked to be an instructor in the artillery division, but I forced my way to the front. What happened was that those who were being deployed from the Freedom Camp (FC) were made to do number 9 (frog jump) for 200 metres in a given time and then jump into waiting trucks if they met the required time. Because I was very fit I did it in no time and jumped into the truck, that was how I evaded the system.
I joined a group that was heading to Feira en-route to Hurungwe. We were being deployed in platoons of 25. Comrades were being sent to different fronts like Midlands, Matabeleland North and South. We moved to a base along the Zambezi River where all logistics were done. Our platoon was then armed with Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova light machine gun (RPKs), bazookas and Siminov, a snipping and semi-automatic rifle, which is also fitted with launcher shells. We managed to cross the Zambezi River, a very big obstacle itself without any incident, but it took us two weeks to reach koChundu, the first villages eHurungwe.
The journey from the river to koChundu was very difficult. This was because each comrade besides his weapon and the terrain was carrying two kashas, that is a sealed box with ammunition, it has 2 000 or so rounds, each comrade was also assigned a mine, six shells of a launcher, six bazooka shells as well, you will be carrying for those guys who are specifically assigned to use those weapons. The bazooka and launcher guys would also be carrying those shells as well. There was also food supplies to be considered, mealie-meal, tinned fish and beef as well as other provisions. Each comrade also had a sleeping bag and a blanket. That is how we were kitted. As a result of that heavy load, it meant our walking pace was a bit slow. However, we soldiered on and reached koChundu.
MS: Then from there what happened?
Cde Qondani: I can tell you that immediately after being deployed, those are very difficult moments as you would not be knowing anything about operations. Then when we got koChundu that is where we found the regional commander for the Northern Front 3 (NF3), Joseph Sibuko (Joseph Mbedzi) and he was expecting newly arrivals as there had been communication between him and the rear in Zambia. Cde Sibuko briefed us and took us through the situation on the ground. After his briefing he distributed us to the units that were already on the ground.
I was put into the platoon that was under the command of Cde Richard Findo Mpofu. Other colleagues of mine I had come with from Zambia were also spread across to different units. When our platoon was broken into sections, I was placed in the section that moved around with the platoon commander, Richard. As for us the new guerillas as we moved we were being introduced to the villagers, opovo. As sections we were assigned areas that we should cover.
However, we had brought with us from Zambia pamphlets with pictures of the Kutyusha, a multiple rocket launcher built by the Soviet Union and used during the Second World War. We distributed those pamphlets to the povo and some leaked them to the Rhodesians and all hell broke loose. The Rhodesians thought the guerillas had brought the Kutyusha on the ground and they started harassing the povo, demanding that they show them where it was. They also brought big units to hunt us down and fierce battles ensued. We had to be on our toes all the time. While we were contending with the Rhodesians there was also the issue of sell-outs.
MS: Tell us about the sell-outs and how you treated them.
Cde Qondani: You know the Rhodesians and some villagers had come up with a way of communicating. Whenever we went to a homestead to organise for food, a woman would just start scrubbing a pot and as know the way it is done, it makes noise that can be heard at the next homestead. The person at the next homestead would do the same and that way the signal would move quickly until it reaches the enemy forces. At times a drum was used and the signal would be picked in a similar way to that of the pot. At first, we were always caught by surprise.
However, we held our own and that infuriated the Rhodesians, who then started burning down homesteads and the villagers realised that it was their war as well. So, they quickly switched sides and started warming to us. With our efforts on the battlefield we had won the minds and hearts of the povo. Also, the Rhodesians had made things worse for themselves. So, our operations mainly involved setting up ambushes and laying mines. That harassed the Rhodesians to an extent that they ended up using helicopters to reach certain areas such as Kazangarara, Vuti West and East where I mainly operated from.
MS: Among the battles that you fought, which one really stands out?
Cde Qondani: It was my first encounter with the enemy forces and that was at Kazangarara where we located the Rhodesian soldiers at a bottle store. That bottle store was near the local primary school. Among the comrades I was with were Chance Makhwahla, the commander Richard Findo Mpofu and Sibangani Nkomo. We were a section. It was a surprise attack and we did a lot of damage. The enemy had to call for helicopters.
As the war intensified, I was hurt when we lost Danisa Sibanda, whom we had played together in the Highlanders Juniors and also left together for the war. He was killed in combat koChundu. Also during our operations in Mashonaland West the Rhodesian government deployed mercenaries and other foreign soldiers on horsebacks. Those ones it seemed were told that they would just come and capture us. However, they suffered heavy losses and villagers’ dogs had feasts of horse meat. Zanona izinja ngenyama yamabhiza (dogs got fed from eating horse meat).
MS: You spoke about the death of Danisa Sibanda, so how many survived the war from the group of 13 Bosso juniors?
Cde Qondani: There was Promise who died in Hurungwe as well while Mdolomba was killed in combat in Zambia near the Livingstone area. What I can safely say is that from the 13, it is only myself and JB (Jabulani Mbambo) who are still alive now. But others died after the war.
MS: So you were in operations until when?
Cde Qondani: From the time I was deployed in Hurungwe early 1978 I did not go anywhere. I played cat and mouse with the enemy until the ceasefire period at the end of 1979.
MS: How did you feel when the ceasefire was announced?
Cde Qondani: I was very disappointed, especially us the guerillas. As someone who had specialised in artillery I had been looking forward to the use of our heavy weapons some of which had reached operational areas as Zipra was preparing for the Zero Hour. You know all that heavy artillery that Zipra had sourced was never properly used in the battlefield. Even when we moved to the Assembly Points, soldiers from the Monitoring Force were shocked with the way we were armed.
Up to now I still have a feeling that we were going to achieve a military victory, but the rug was pulled under our feet by the talks. As for the Assembly Points, I moved to Papa One late with other 14 comrades as I did not trust the Rhodesians, to some of us who had spent time fighting in the bush, we thought the ceasefire was a trap. So I was at Papa One at Rikomishi then Papa 2 at Mashumbi Pools, moved to Chitungwiza and later on Gwayi River Mine. I was later demobilised at Llewellin Barracks.
