Machine gun preacher…how Father Starch Ngwenya exchanged the cassock for the gun

01 Jan, 2023 - 00:01 0 Views
Machine gun preacher…how Father Starch Ngwenya exchanged the cassock for the gun

The Sunday News

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter

WHEN one mentions St Joseph’s Mission in Kezi, Matabeleland South Province, perhaps the first name that pops is Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo, the late Father Zimbabwe and Vice-President.

This is perhaps not surprising, given the role that the iconic nationalist played in pre- and post-independence Zimbabwe, acquiring a reputation as an indomitable titan that championed the liberation of his country.

It takes a community to raise a child, the adage goes, and it is perhaps for this reason that Kezi has often found itself under the microscopic spotlight of those that often wonder what kind of village gave birth to this maverick, who seemed to have been bred specifically to put the aspirations of his country on his broad back.

While he certainly inspired a country, Joshua Nkomo also captured the imagination of the community that saw him rise from an idealistic young man to a prickly thorn on the side of the colonial administration. Before it was in vogue to be aligned with the man who would later become the father of a nation, the community in St Joseph’s used to pay a harsh price for its affiliation with him.

“Zimbabwe heeded the call of nationalist leaders to join the liberation forces in fighting for Independence,” recalls the current Parish Priest, Father Innocent Ndlovu.

“As a result, many people died, or maimed in support of Dr Joshua of Nyongolo Nkomo. The mere mention of being born in Kezi or St. Joseph Mission area was good enough to be killed, beaten or job loss. Throughout the history of formation of revolutionary parties, St. Joseph Mission remains a beacon for spiritual and moral support for the nationalists leaders, freedom fighters, war collaborators, restrictees and detainees.”

So strong was Dr Joshua Nkomo’s call and the allure of freedom that eventually, it convinced the parish priest at St Joseph’s in 1977, Father Albert Starch Ngwenya, to trade his priest’s cassock for military fatigues, his bible for an AK-47 and join the war effort.

“The call by Joshua Nkomo for Zimbabweans to rise up and reclaim their independence even propelled the Roman Catholic Priest in Charge of St. Joseph Mission in 1977, Father Albert Starch Ngwenya to join the freedom fighters in Zambia, and was eventually sent for military training in Angola and Russia,” Father Ndlovu said.

Born in 1957, in Tshitshi to Ntozabo Starch Ngwenya and Macala Ncube, Father Albert Ngwenya was ordained as a father in 1975 at Empandeni Mission in neighbouring Mangwe District and from where he continued his ministry at St Joseph’s. In 1977, his journey in Ministry would come to an abrupt end as he joined the liberation struggle.

According to his brother Andrew Ngwenya, Father Ngwenya was the first born in their family.

“When he came back from the war, he wanted to continue with his priestly mission but the church authorities were not keen to accept him given that he had been trained in Russia, a country that was viewed differently by the West. Our missionaries were from the Western side and he was viewed perhaps as communistic and maybe for that reason, he was not accepted,” said Andrew.

Perhaps Father Ngwenya’s exclusion from retaking his robes can be viewed through controversial lens, as other priests that had taken up arms in prior wars were welcomed back with open arms.

“The irony, however, was that some of these German missionaries had actually also fought during the World War and some of them were pilots during that time. Despite the fact that they had taken part in such a brutal war that shook the world and resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, they still managed to come this side and practise their Ministry. Given the facts at hand, we cannot rule out the element of segregation or racism as to why Father Ngwenya was not allowed to come back when others who had taken part in other wars were able to do so,” said Andrew.

Father Albert Ngwenya’s decision to take up arms may perhaps have contributed to the colonial authorities’ view of St Joseph’s as a hotbed for nationalist activity that needed to be snuffed out as a matter of urgency.

In 1978, a year after Father Ngwenya’s departure, the current parish priest, Father Ndlovu, while doing primary education at Mpamadzi St. Maria Primary School, an out-station institution under St. Joseph’s Mission, suffered a fractured left arm.
The incident occured during break time that was prematurely ended by the ringing of the bell summoning all pupils to come to the Assembly Point by Rhodesian white forces. The young boy was suddenly left swinging on the see-saw game and fell on his left arm, resulting in a fracture.

The young Innocent therefore became a victim of the liberation war struggle, as the purpose of cutting short the break time and call to the Assembly Point was to announce the presence of Rhodesian white soldiers that had come to the school to demonstrate how they would shoot freedom fighters at a close-range at the nearby tree.

The sound of an FN rifle reputedly terrified everyone at the school but the demonstration was also cut short after it was learnt that one of the school pupils had fallen and broke his left arm hence the need to take him to St Joseph Mission Clinic.

“On the way and upon learning that I was experiencing excruciating pain, the white soldiers offered me cookies but due to the severity of the pain I was feeling and my lack of trust in the white soldiers, I did not enjoy them. I found the biscuits bitter in taste. St Joseph Mission Clinic referred me to Antelope Hospital near what is now Maphisa Growth Point where I spent several weeks in a plaster on the left arm. At Antelope Hospital, the catechist Canisius Bimbane Moyo gave me nice treatment and care.

Every day during the visiting hour he would bring me a one-litre bottle of milk from Minda Catholic Mission farm. I enjoyed the taste of the milk far more than the cookies I had been given by the Rhodesian white forces.”

With the intensification of the war, most schools in rural areas were closed. Only to be reopened in 1980 and Innocent Ndlovu had to resume his primary education but now at St Joseph’s Mission School. Father Starch Ngwenya was, however, unable to take up his post again.

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