The Sunday News
ON 11 February 1979 Zipra Southern Front Three (SF3) regional commander Adam Dube pseudo name Cde Mphini leading a unit of 12 guerillas was gunned down after they found themselves cornered near the homestead of Gogo MaDube at Ratanyana in Kezi.
Cde Mphini and 10 of his men perished in that battle, which according to the villagers raged from around 10am to 5.30pm.
Although the Rhodesians might have won the battle, they in frustration, after seeing their chopper brought down by the guerillas, gunned down four minor children in a brainless vengeance. Initially it was believed that only one guerilla survived that raid.
However, on Friday an ex-combatant now shuttling between Zimbabwe and South Africa, Cde Moses Mkhanda pseudo names Hlomani Thebe or Max Khumalo emerged on Friday and said he is the one who survived that horrific battle.
Our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) spoke to Cde Makhanda at his Nketa 6 residence and said he indeed was part of the battle that saw the demise of Mphini, but pointed out that he was not the only survivor.
He said the other guerilla who came out of that battle where the Rhodesian forces launched a combined operation using their air force and ground forces was one Cde Zebezebe. Below are excerpts of the interview:
MS: Cde Makhanda, a lot has been said about the battle of Ratanyana in Kezi and the guerilla who survived, so the comrade who survived is you?
Cde Makhanda: I survived that battle and I should point out from the onset that I am not the only one. I have read stories where it is said there was only one survivor.
Besides myself there was also Cde Zebezebe who came out of that battle as well where the regional commander for SF3, Cde Mphini was killed together with other comrades. In that battle there were 12 of us including the commander, Cde Mphini.
MS: So how did you find yourself in that battle? Take us through the events leading to that incident.
Cde Makhanda: Let me take you back, a little. I did my guerilla training at Mwembeshi in Zambia after which I was seconded to the then Germany Democratic Republic (GDR) to go and do political commissariat. Although we were trained guerillas our programme was different from the military side of things. It was an all-inclusive programme leaning towards the party programme. When I returned to Zambia I was deployed to the front in 1979 in a group of commissars, there were 11 of us. Some we left at the northern front.
Among the comrades I was with were Hebert and Doti. I should point out that we were being embedded to the guerilla units, it was an attachment. You know during that period there were also a number of conventional forces being deployed and they had among them attachments in the form of intelligence officers, military engineers, anti-air units, commissars and so on. The military side of things were evolving.
MS: Interesting, so what was your first port of call when you arrived in Matabeleland South?
Cde Makhanda: We manoeuvred until we reached Makorokoro and Brunapeg areas. I was on my way to then Belingwe now Mberengwa District, which fell under region SF2. In the Brunapeg area that is where we met guerillas who had been on the ground for some time, having been deployed there earlier on. We met comrades like Destroyer or Mabhidliza, Amini and Themba among others who were operating in Kezi. Our small unit was being received and moved to another group by the comrades on the ground. While I was going to Mberengwa, there were others who were going to Beitbridge. I then met the small unit that was escorting Mphini and I should have been with him for two to three days before we had contact where he lost his life.
MS: Let us come to the Ratanyana battle.
Cde Makhanda: It looks like the Rhodesian forces had got intelligence that the guerillas would meet in that area and the regional commander would be there. So they had prepared well, they posted some of their soldiers on the Ratanyana mountain as Ops. At Kezi Centre they had helicopters on standby while jets were also activated. There were also ground troops ready for action. It looks like there was a makeshift camp nearby for the helicopters to refuel. They had done their homework. When we woke up that morning, the enemy Ops were on the lookout, they could have seen and read well all our movements. We could also sense that something was amiss. There was just something wrong with the atmosphere. Then when we were moving towards the mountains, the helicopters descended on us and the battle began.
MS: So when you came under attack, what command did you get from Mphini?
Cde Makhanda: His command was that we were surrounded and there was no way out. He told us not to waste ammunition by using automatic fire. He said each bullet should be on target. After the helicopters had harassed us and the ground troops closing in, it was clear that there was no way out. So we had to fight while trying to find ways of dodging the enemy bullets. It was a terrible sight, the Rhodesians were coming from all angles, those who had been stationed on the mountain closed in as well. However, during that contact that started in the morning and went on until late afternoon towards 5pm, we managed to bring down one of the helicopters. We fought until we ran out of ammunition.
MS: Then how did you survive?
Cde Makhanda: I sneaked into the traditional boundary fence yensimu, uthango. I moved phakathi kothango for about 300 or so metres and hid there. Everywhere there was fire and a strong smell of gases. From that day I started suffering from inkankila. From my position I could see everything and I stayed there until after sunset when I was sure that the enemy forces had left. They collected all the bodies of our comrades and loaded them into their trucks, there were serious casualties from both sides.
MS: What could have happened to Mphini as you describe him as a very able and brave commander?
Cde Makhanda: The intention of the Rhodesian forces was to capture us, especially the commander. They wanted him alive. So I have a feeling that Mphini did not die from the enemy bullet. I have a strong feeling that on realising that he was not going to survive or there was a big possibility of him being captured he could have committed suicide by shooting himself. There was no way Mphini could have left his fate in the hands of the enemy forces, never.
MS: After surviving what was your next move?
Cde Makhanda: I wandered around the Kezi area until some other comrades I had come across handed me over to Reeves Nyandoro who had come to the area and he took me to Mberengwa. I was greatly affected by what I had gone through in that battle, but I soldiered on. I then continued my operations where I worked with comrades like Caleb, Sibhajuni and Farai.
