The Sunday News
WE continue our interview with Cde Kenny Sibanda aka Cde Dallas Nyamukapa, a veteran freedom fighter who joined the armed struggle in the late 60s. Cde Sibanda was trained in Morogoro, Tanzania in 1969 and operated in the Hurungwe District of Mashonaland West Province. Later on he was detained by his colleagues on accusations of being a renegade. Below are excerpts of the interview with our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS). Read on . . .
MS: Tell us about the life after Morogoro. What happened after all that confusion period as you put it?
Cde Sibanda: From Tanzania the few of us who remained with Zapu, we were taken to Zambia. Some of the people in our group were sent to friendly countries overseas for further training while some were deployed to the front, few as we were. I was deployed to Hurungwe in Mashonaland West Province. We were only five and under the command of Kelly Malaba. We crossed the Zambezi River and the year could have been 1972. Since we were that few our operations were strictly guerilla warfare. We were supposed to be mobile and swift during our operations to give the impression to the enemy that we were many. So, we would plant landmines and move to another area further way to do the same and that caused panic among the Rhodesians who got the impression that the terrorists, as they used to call us, were all over. We avoided direct contact with the Rhodesian forces.
MS: Besides Kelly Malaba who else was in that small unit of yours?
Cde Sibanda: The other three were Cdes Base, Zulu who was from the Plumtree area and Ben who was from Masvingo. We had good relations with the masses and communication was made much easier because from the five, I could speak good Shona because when I was growing up in Bulawayo, I had many Shona friends and obviously Ben as well who was Shona speaking. Our operations also meant that we had to embark on a recruitment drive which we did very well. We would take the recruits and organise that they cross over to Zambia. It was not easy. We also cashed ammunition as we anticipated that we will receive reinforcements. We were armed with AK-47s, grenades and we also had a bazooka. Then later on we were joined by three comrades. That is when we were given a mission to attack some Rhodesian installations like police stations and related facilities. However, we would go for missions and then return to Zambia emagojini (gorges).
MS: Any major operations during that time?
Cde Sibanda: Then later on we got more guerillas and our strength rose to 13. We were ordered to attack Mana Pools and the person who was asked to command that operation was Cephas Cele, in fact I can say he was meant to be the commander. However, when the time came for us to cross to the Rhodesian side, Cele who was the Zipra Chief of Personnel chose to remain on the Zambian side, but nevertheless we went ahead with the operation. We attacked the premises with bazookas. We also had two light machine guns and I can say it was a successful operation. Around 2am we heard the Rhodesians crying and that gave us the courage that indeed we had done our part. The objective was to keep the Rhodesians on their toes, put them in a panic mode so that it does not become business as usual for them. We then returned to Zambia without any incident, but we could not tell Ziyaphapha (JZ Moyo) that Cele had failed to lead us, we just kept quiet. In fact, it was Cele who briefed the command element about the operation. However, what should be noted is that there was another attack on Mana Pools during which the Zipra guerillas overran it. That attack was led by Rodwell Nyika and it could have been in 1978. During operations in Hurungwe we would also raid farms and ask villagers to take whatever they wanted and that brought us closer to the masses. We would tell the masses that after getting back our country from the regime we would move into the farms and that excited them a lot. However, we warned them that the war we were fighting was going to bring a lot of suffering to the people, in some cases death.
MS: You were in Hurungwe until when?
Cde Sibanda: We stayed there until we were moved to open a camp called Lisitu. We were joined by comrades like Wisdom Chauke, who was very educated. That was the period when we attacked an aerodrome at Kariba. During that time the Chief of Operations was John Dube (JD). Then came the détente period and later on we were told that Zipra and Zanla were joining forces to form the Zimbabwe People’s Army (Zipa) in Mozambique. We went to Mozambique and that initiative did not hold for long. The way the troops were being deployed with different trainings; the usual political suspicions made things difficult for Zipra to hold on. During deployments one could find that there were more Zanlas in a unit than Zipra, so there were suggestions that we as Zipra should have our own sector and Zanla theirs as well. Then there were issues of in-fighting within the forces and we came with the decision that we should abandon the whole idea. So that is how Zipra died. I left Mozambique in a section of nine Zipra comrades armed with Chinese AKs and four bazookas and some grenades. Just imagine walking all the way to Botswana, cutting across the then Rhodesia. We passed through Gwanda and Kezi. From Botswana we were flown back to Zambia, after which I was deployed in the Kariba area for operations. Then came the period of the Conference of Militants in 1977. I was one of the people who were chosen by a unit of 20 guerillas to attend the Conference, little did I know that I was getting myself into trouble. By that time oMangena basebesenza izinto ezingazwakaliyo. From our unit I was chosen together with Stanley Ncube and Zacks. We then left for Lusaka, when we got to Pemba near Lusaka we hid our weapons as we felt there was going to be a problem if we got there armed. We then moved and got into Lusaka and went to the home of a man called Nleya, a Kalanga man whom I knew very well and was a Zapu member who had relocated to Zambia. Nleya had a house in Chilenje South, a residential area in Lusaka. We had already heard stories about how some comrades were being treated, there was a concern that guerillas were being punished for petty things. So even us we were already afraid of Mangena. Then while we were still at Chilenje we were surprised to see Normal Matswaha coming to collect us. He took us to Zimbabwe House, which were Zapu headquarters. From there to our surprise we were taken by Dingani, who was a senior officer in the Military Intelligence to go and show him where we had hidden our weapons. Dingani was then satisfied that indeed we had the weapons. To our surprise we were then taken and detained in the pits at Victory Camp, which was a facility for women. In those pits they used to keep explosives but still Mangena gave the order that we be detained there.
MS: Were you the only ones who were detained there?
Cde Sibanda: We were not the only ones there, they were others and what a horrible sight it was. Some had been burnt while being tortured. You know the guys from the Military Intelligence would use burning plastic as a torture method in a bid to extract information from the supposed spies and renegades. Then one day what I thought was a miracle happened. While down there in the pits which were covered by a sheet of metal and then a wheel of the Craz placed at the top we heard some noise, people saying “Ziii ziii ziiiii” and we could tell that the Zapu leader, Joshua Nkomo had arrived in the camp. We as the prisoners then summoned all the courage and used all our power to push through that sheet of metal. I had been cuffed with Zacks using leg irons and we moved and stood where the cars were parked. Nkomo and his entourage then came and he was shocked by what he saw.
MS: What did he say?
Cde Sibanda: Nkomo expressed shock that such things were happening in the camps and that some commanders had even given themselves powers to imprison fellow comrades. He said it was disappointing that there were some people who were being kept under such inhuman conditions. He then gave a command through Cecil to release all the people and a majority of them could not even walk because of torture. He ordered them to be given tents and said even if someone has done something wrong; they do not deserve to be thrown in a pit. Those with crimes would be tried in Zimbabwe when we had attained our independence. However, three days after meeting Nkomo, the now late Mike Reynolds (Brigadier-General Charles Grey) came and took us at gunpoint to Mboroma. We did not have any charges preferred against us.
-To be continued next week
