The Sunday News
Pathisa Nyathi
ON 16 November 1978 the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu), Patriotic Front produced a document titled, “Emergency Appeal for Zapu Victims of the Bomb Attack.” It was a document crafted following attacks on Zapu refugee camps in Zambia. There were several casualties and a lot of property, equipment and infrastructure was destroyed. The three-page document was written under the hand of Edward Ndlovu who was Zapu’s Secretary for Research/ Information/ Projects (RIP). The document went like this:
“On Thursday, October 19, more than 300 young men and women were killed when Ian Smith attacked refugee camps in Zambia. These young people had fled from the war in their country of Zimbabwe to seek refuge in Zambia. Some were simply running from the war in blind terror; others had a vision of contributing to the liberation of Zimbabwe in the future. They left Zimbabwe along the border to Botswana in the west and subsequently we brought them to refugee camps in Zambia. And, again on Thursday, November 3rd six more refugees were killed when Smith bombed another refugee camp twelve kilometres from Lusaka.”
There must have been some factors that accounted for the timing of the attacks which were initiated on 19 November 1978. More cross-border raids were undertaken once again in 1978 and more in 1979, both in Zambia but this time also on Boma in Angola where ZPRA cadres were being trained by the Cubans under the supervision of the Soviets. Others were undergoing training in Luso, also in Angola. It is my wish to chronicle those raids and the impact that they had on the armed struggle. Certainly, one outcome from the attacks was the relocation of Zapu-PF facilities to the north-west in Solwezi. Before we deal with that relocation, let us shed more light on attacks, with regard to the camps that were attacked, the casualties that were inflicted, the numbers of those who were wounded and the amount of property and infrastructure that was destroyed.
But for now, let us turn to possible reasons regarding the timing of the bombings. We should be cognisant of the fact that raids on Zanla facilities in Mozambique had already been launched. In the case of Zapu/ ZPRA facilities, the 1978 attacks on 19 October were the first.
Apparently, there were many reasons for that. In 1978 ZPRA downed the first of the two civilian Viscount aircraft. The raids into Zambia were thus calculated to avenge the deaths of the victims of that aircraft disaster. Of-course the batteries of Strella missiles that ZPRA possessed were already within Rhodesia, not very far from Lake Kariba airport.
On 3 March 1978, some internal political parties struck a deal with the beleaguered Ian Smith regime. The internal settlement deal was going to lead, ultimately, in the holding of Parliamentary elections the following year, 1979. The Patriotic Front (PF) had poured cold water on the deal. Attacks on Zapu/ZPRA facilities in Zambia were meant to weaken Zapu’s resolve to scale up the war in the unlikely event the constitutional deal held. The Ian Smith regime, the real power behind the internal settlement, hoped to give credence to the sham settlement by pre-empting military threats and giving false hope the settlement would usher a peaceful period and, in the process, the white minority would be afforded the chance to extend their rule. Undue pressure would have been eliminated from the liberation movements within the Patriotic Front.
The struggle for independence depended on the liberation movements being hosted by the Frontline States — Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana and Angola. Zapu guerrillas infiltrated Rhodesia through both Botswana and Zambia. The latter was the more critical of the two in terms of hosting Zapu/ ZPRA. The cross-border raids affected Zambia through her citizens’ deaths, destruction of her infrastructure, a closed border which affected trade. Zambia relied on the TAZARA railway line to access the seaport at Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania. Indeed, during the Lancaster House conference in London, the Frontline States were keen that there be a settlement as the war was costing their countries in more ways than one. The raids, it was envisaged, were going to apply pressure on Zambia to demand the resolution to the Rhodesian constitutional impasse, or even ditch Zapu and ZPRA.
Experience showed that with the onset of the rainy season the guerrilla war escalated. The advent of spring saw the sprouting of green vegetation which provided the much-needed camouflage to guerrillas. In his biography published last week, Stanford Sithole (Dumisani Tembo/ Dakamela) tells how they broke into animated chants whenever the summer season commenced. “Woza camouflage!” they shouted spiritedly, (see Nyathi (2020) in Stanford Sithole: The Story of a ZPRA Guerrilla, 1976-1982: Amagugu Publishers). Spotting guerrillas on the ground was a greater challenge in the summer months than it was during winter when spotter planes easily spotted guerrillas due to the absence of a green camouflage. The raids were thus seen as a pre-emptive measure to incapacitate ZPRA prior to the advent of the summer season which worked in favour of guerrillas.
Following the raids and the concomitant reduction in facilities to accommodate refugees, the liberation movement was put under immense pressure, pressure which, it was envisaged, was going to sap their morale and resolve to push ahead with the armed struggle. Besides, the Rhodesians, through the aid of Western intelligence agencies, was aware of Zapu’s Turning Point Strategy and, in particular, its time table.
Once pressure was initially mounted on Zapu from October 1978, it was intermittently maintained till and during the Lancaster House talks that had commenced in London in September 1979.
Intelligence had it that Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo was of the opinion that Joshua Nkomo be imposed as leader in Rhodesia in a deal that was going to sideline Bishop Abel Muzorewa. Apparently, David Owen was behind that deal which would have had the effect of undermining unity within the Patriotic Front and the Frontline States.
This was the background at the time when the callous cross-border raids were carried out against Zapu refugee camps in Zambia. With the internal settlement deal brokered in Rhodesia and the effects of the raids, it is possible that the Frontline States, with their economies on the receiving end, were likely to have felt the pressure to settle during the Lancaster House conference.
When expressed in writing as raids on refugee camps, the real tragedy and pain are not sufficiently captured. We now turn to statistics and the damage that ensued following the nefarious bombings. Edward Ndlovu’s document in which he appealed for assistance does contain some information on one of the camps that were attacked. The camp was Freedom Camp popularly referred to as FC.
“Those killed were located at three of the five camps in Zambia which are administered by Zapu. Freedom Camp (FC) only twenty kilometres from Lusaka, itself housed young and some older men. These were engaged in various agricultural and construction projects. Some were disabled and otherwise unsuitable for military roles. This camp was in the process of being cleared and the site prepared to erect some buildings and water supply so that 12 000 young boys could be moved to FC from another camp which has proved to be unhealthy. These young boys are receiving military instruction from refugee teachers.
“The Freedom Camp was also a logistics centre for food, clothing and medical supplies. Of the nearly 3 000 inmates at this camp, more than 200 (actually 226) were killed and over 600 (in reality 629) were injured when Smith’s air force dropped several bombs including napalm and fragmentation bombs and then strafed with machine guns mounted on helicopters.”
Destroyed during the raid were a warehouse, three residential sheds, a shed for agriculture and construction, three residential sheds, one dispensary, toilets, one washing facility, one transformer and a cooking shed. Through interviews we have documented what transpired on the day of the raid. On the same day the Rhodesian air force launched another attack on Mkushi where, once again, we have interviewed women who lived through the horror.
Next week we shall give more information regarding attacks on Mkushi, a military facility for girls located over 150 kilometres from Lusaka.
