The Sunday News
WE continue our series of interviews with former Zanla member of the General Staff and instructor during the armed struggle, Retired Brigadier-General Edgar Dube pseudo name Cde Lot Sibanda. In the past two weeks the Bulilima District born Brig-Gen Dube has told us about how he was recruited into the Zanla ranks while he was still a schoolboy in neighbouring Botswana where he was staying with his father who was working in Francistown.
He has also spoken about his training at Mgagao in Tanzania and about the death of Zanu chairman, Cde Herbert Chitepo on 18 March 1975 in Lusaka, Zambia. Today in the conversation with our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS), Rtd Brig-Gen picks the interview with the visit by political leaders at Mgagao as well as the formation of short-lived Zimbabwe People’s Army (Zipa).
Below are excerpts of the interview.
MS: You were still talking about your stay at Mgagao during the détente period. Take us through that time.
Rtd Brig-Gen Dube: During that period, we also had a visit from the political leaders at Mgagao, James Chikerema from Froliz, Ndabaningi Sithole from Zanu, Joshua Nkomo from Zapu, Abel Muzorewa from UANC, they visited under the umbrella of ANC, which was a political arrangement that the parties fell under during that time.
That thing was very tricky because we had agents, enemy agents who wanted to destroy the pure nationalist parties, that is Zanu and Zapu. They wanted to destroy the liberation struggle. The enemy had its preferred leadership, which were Chikerema and Muzorewa and also we should bear in mind that Sithole had started to drag his feet as far as the armed struggle was concerned.
The struggle was in a precarious situation as on our part the Dare ReChimurenga and members of the High Command had been arrested by the Zambian government. The enemy at that time wanted everything to go through Muzorewa and that move was quickly picked by both Zanu and Zapu, so the two started having talks on how to proceed with the struggle.
I am told there were a lot of discussions between Jason Ziyapapa Moyo and Josiah Tongogara who by then was in prison. JZ would visit Tongo in prison. Then leaders of the Frontline States also wanted a united front from Zanu and Zapu, which culminated in the formation of Zipa. This was because it was felt that the struggle had to go on.
MS: So when the political leaders came to Mgagao what was their message to forces like you?
Rtd Brig-Gen Dube: Their message was unity. During that period officers, that is senior comrades decided that some comrades from the camp should be sent to meet Sithole. This was because it was felt that during the visit by the leaders, our officers could not talk to him because we were avoiding a situation where we could talk to him through other politicians. So, four men were sent to Zambia, I still remember they used a vehicle that was bluish in colour.
Those four were Tendayi Pfepferere, Parker Chipoera, James Nyikadzinashe and Godwin Mlambo. So, they went there, but Sithole told them he was too busy and said they should go and talk to some of his people like Noel Mukono. However, the four told him that Mukono had been suspended from the party so there was no way they could talk to him.
It should be taken into consideration that Sithole preferred Mukono because they came from the same area, they were homeboys. Sithole wanted Mukono back into the party. Then that group of four became suspicious of the whole thing and their instincts were spot on because Sithole was behind the scenes organising that they be arrested. The four were tipped-off by Zanu branches in Zambia who said ‘look you are being traced here, they want to capture you.’
Then Mlambo sympathised with those who wanted to capture them and remained behind in Zambia while the other three made good their escape back to Mgagao. They then said ‘look when we were there Sithole wanted to have us captured.” The officers at Mgagao then asked them whether they had informed those in prison and they said they did, that is when Sithole’s leadership came under serious scrutiny.
Comrades at Mgagao could not believe that the president of the party could behave like that. Those three said people like Tongogara had told them that they should go back to Tanzania and organise something of a revolutionary nature as the struggle had to continue. Those are the events that led to the comrades coming up with a document at Mgagao, which became known as the Mgagao Declaration to fire Sithole from the party. That document was sent to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), various media platforms and so on.
MS: You guys were in that historical moment?
Rtd Brig-Gen Dube: Yes we were there when history was made to save the revolution. Now remember Zipa had been formed and the Liberation Committee wanted to move comrades who were in camps to Mozambique to continue with the struggle. So a few guys from Zipra were with us when we went to Mozambique aboard a ship called Mapinduzi.
That is how Zipa started. We were in the ship for three days, arrived at Beira and then taken to Dondo. At Dondo Zipa was functional and that is where I met Alfred Nikita Mangena. He came with Rex Nhongo who was the commander of Zipa and we were addressed there together with a few members of Zipra. We then opened Tete, Manica and Gaza provinces as operational areas and that is where some Zipra guys left and either went back to their operational areas or Zambia.
MS: People are saying there was a lot of infighting between Zipra and Zanla during Zipa operations. What are your comments on that?
Rtd Brig-Gen Dube: Yaa, if people are saying infighting within, it’s like in a family, such things happen a lot, a husband and a wife having some of those things. That was there of course but not always. We were good comrades when it came to the battle front against the Ian Smith regime forces. But at times we will come to some misunderstanding but people will label that Zanla and Zipra were fighting each. But not all groups were having such issues.
MS: At that time where were you deployed?
Rtd Brig-Gen Dube: I was an instructor at the camps and I moved to the front for a special mission when we went to attack the Rhodesian Ruda base in Hauna, about 50 or so kilometres from Mutare. That is in Honde Valley. It was specially assembled unit that was under the command of Cde Tonderayi Nyika (late former Commissioner-General of Prisons, Retired Major-General Paradzai Zimondi).
It was a well planned night attack and we left the Rhodesians in disarray. In fact it was the second time to attack that base. As Zanla we had this policy that instructors should from time to time be deployed to the front so that they appreciate the situation on the ground. It was also meant to give instructors the experience of the battle field.
MS: So you were an instructor at which camp?
Rtd Brig-Gen Dube: I was at Chimoio. I trained a lot of people, some are in Government and very senior, some in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and very senior as well. During the attack at Chimoio that is 23 November 1977 I was there and we fought the Rhodesians for 48 hours. I was an instructor based at Takawira Base Two.
For those two days there were no members of the High Command who fought in that battle, it was members of the General Staff and those in detachment level going down. By that time I was a member of the General Staff.
(To be continued)
