The Sunday News
Today we continue our interview with veteran nationalist and guerilla Cde Abraham “Brankie” Dumezweni Nkiwane. Last week Cde Nkiwane spoke about the late Vice-President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo joining politics, the state of the education sector in the colonial period and also how the intellectuals of the 50s and 60s organised themselves.
The interview continues today with Cde Nkiwane narrating to our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) how he went into full time politics in Zambia and the beginning of the armed struggle against the Rhodesian forces. Below are excerpts of the interview:
MS: So that is how Dr Joshua Nkomo came into the political arena. Then relate to us your political journey.
Cde Nkiwane: When I left my job at the Bulawayo Omnibus Company, I moved to Lupani Sawmills Limited. Later I was told that things were better in the northern territories. So I joined the Rhodesia Mercantile Holdings, a company which had its headquarters in the then Salisbury (now Harare).
However, I was moved to Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) in the town of Livingstone and that was in 1954.
MS: How was the situation in Zambia?
Cde Nkiwane: Taking the job in Livingstone fitted well to my ambitions. I had now enrolled for a Bachelor of Commerce degree with the University of South Africa. Later on I was to fit well into the Zambian society and politics seemed to be a commodity in every home, so I jumped onto the political bandwagon. I was carried by the political current whose force was not easy to resist. In Northern Rhodesia I joined the African National Congress Movement in 1954 as a simple card carrying member. The people who inspired me most were David Kapaya and Robbie Sambo all based in Livingstone Town. After the split of the ANC of Northern Rhodesia, the Zambia African National Congress was formed under the leadership of Kenneth Kaunda, who had been the Secretary-General in the ANC. Like many others I went with ZANC. However, after a few months this political outfit was banned and Cde Kaunda was sent to Gwelo Prison in the then Southern Rhodesia. In his absence the United National Independence Party was formed with Bwana Mainza Chona acting President, a position he gracefully relinquished when Kaunda came from prison. Chona became the SG.
MS: Besides Dr Kaunda who were some of the firebrands in the Zambian political scene?
Cde Nkiwane: I admired Bwana Kaunda himself, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, Frank Chitambala, Nalumino Mudnia, Andrew Mutemba, Nephas Tembo, Dingiswayo Banda, Humprehy Mulemba, Fines Bulawayo. I then became a member of the Special Election Committee which included men like Bwana Simbule, Bwana Lisulo, Bwana Mathew Siane, Bwana U Mwila, Bwana Moto Nkana, Bwana James Skinner. Later on I resigned from employment to be a full time UNIP member. Then I moved to Choma and from Choma I moved on to Lusaka. It was in Lusaka that I was put on full-time at Freedom House in the directorate of elections. A lot of professionals had come on board to join UNIP.
MS: Let’s turn to the Zimbabwean struggle. How did you come in?
Cde Nkiwane: It was in 1962 and Zambia was on a period of transition and they were self-governing when Zapu president Joshua Nkomo on his way from overseas decided to fly via Lusaka. His intention was to meet Bwana Kenneth Kaunda. His arrival at the Lusaka International Airport was kept a secret. It was in the morning when we were rounded up to Freedom House, the UNIP headquarters. It was officials from the headquarters who were available in Lusaka at that time. All provincial presidents and secretaries were at bases. The drivers moved from place to place informing us of the development. At about 10am we were assembled at Freedom House and later on at about 10.30am we heard people climbing staircases. It was Bwana Kaunda and Nkomo followed by Bwana Kapwepwe. Bwana Kaunda immediately introduced Cde Nkomo and gave a brief narration of his business in Zambia. Later Cde Nkomo was given the floor and he told the meeting that he was asking UNIP to assist in providing cadres to assist his men who have come from Southern Rhodesia as soon as when he would have been able to make such arrangements. The meeting ended but later on a driver was sent to look for me.
MS: What for?
Cde Nkiwane: This time it was not at the Freedom House but at Bwana Kapwepwe’s home in Chilenje. I jumped into the car that had come to pick me up, we drove to Chilenje only to find the three of them there, it was Dr Nkomo, Kaunda and Kapwepwe. I was invited in. Bwana Kaunda then said:
“Bwana Nkiwane, we decided later that in UNIP we had everything to see president’s Nkomo scheme done. If you undertake to lead the expedition (smuggling of firearms) we may use few people and that would reduce the attention that many people would normally draw all the way the Northern Province.” It was during that time that I agreed to carry out the task of smuggling weapons from Tanganyika through Zambia to here at home. Two trucks were sourced and two men arrived from Southern Rhodesia to assist in carrying out the task. They arrived after three weeks.
MS: Who were those people?
Cde Nkiwane: It was Misheck Velephi Ncube and Kenias Mlalazi. Although we were not trained we were the first to smuggle firearms, a situation that ignited the armed struggle in this country. The first consignment of those arms were cached in my father’s field in Lupanda. I made several trips in smuggling the firearms from Tanzania.
MS: Take us through the smuggling process of the weapons.
Cde Nkiwane: The first consignment had 400lbs which consisted of explosives including detonators and cords 200 pistols and 24 sub-machine guns.
We moved well from Mbeya to Lusaka, the second leg was Lusaka to Livingstone, this was accomplished well, then the final lap being Victoria Falls to Bulawayo, this was now enemy territory. Travellers were treated with suspicion unlike the case in Zambia and East Africa. When we got to Livingstone, our minds were racing with whether to cross or not.
MS: The reason being what?
Cde Nkiwane: That was because Victoria Falls Police Station was on the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo highway. It was too close to the highway. However, as we were still thinking heavy rains came and we drove through.
MS: Baba Nkiwane, you went through all phases of the struggle, maybe at this point people might be interested in the composition of the military structure of Zapu. How was it?
Cde Nkiwane: I was smuggled to undergo military training in the Zambian army. There was the formation of the Department of the Special Affairs (DSA), which was the Zapu military wing. That was in 1962. Later the Department was led by two members of the National Executive with all members of the High Command. Among the first members of the High Command was James Chikerema on the political side. The rest of the High Command members were: Ackim Ndlovu as commander, deputy Robson Manyika, Commissar, Roma Nyathi, Dumiso Dabengwa was Intelligence and Operations, myself was in charge of Personnel and Training, Report Mphoko was for Logistics, Joseph Nyandoro, was Deputy Intelligence and Jabulani Ncube was Deputy Logistics and Medical. The main task of the DSA was to establish an army, thus this is the group that set up the foundation for the execution of the armed struggle on the Zapu side. The first High Command began its work in 1963 until it was reconstituted in 1972 to be rechristened as Zipra.
MS: Any notable operations in the early stages of the war?
Cde Nkiwane: Sometime in 1962 we infiltrated some cadres to the farming area south of Bulawayo. The mission target was to ambush the Rhodesian troops who used a farm in the area as their base. This information about Rhodesian army activities had been received from party sources in the country. Four men that included Moffat Hadebe as the commander and still alive with a home in Gwanda, Roger Ncube, Israel Maduna and Ngwabi were sneaked into the country. All the four were armed and had sufficient ammunition.
The farm was in Kezi District. They monitored the situation at the farm for three days and on the fourth day they moved closer to the homestead but were sniffed by the dogs, which started barking towards their positions, they ended up fighting the dogs. Then farmers from the area came from all directions. They then decided to make a tactical withdrawal. Although spotter planes were deployed to the area they made good their escape into Botswana.
There were to be more operations, the joint operation with Umkhonto WeSizwe and the Moffat Hadebe-led operation in the then Sipolilo (Guruve) area in Mashonaland Central Province. By the late 70s Zapu had a fully fledged army ready to fight any war.
NB: Cde Nkiwane is in the process of writing a book on his exploits during the war. Some of the issues discussed in this interview are captured in the book soon to be published.
