Visiting the frontline States: Gleaning information on the progress of the Zimbabwean liberation struggle

29 Nov, 2020 - 00:11 0 Views
Visiting the frontline States: Gleaning information on the progress of the Zimbabwean liberation struggle George M Houser

The Sunday News

Pathisa Nyathi
“The most recent of my trips to Africa covered about five and a half weeks from August 24th to October 1st. I spent five days in Geneva, Switzerland en route partly to attend some of the sessions of an NGO conference against apartheid partly to talk with organisational representatives in Geneva. But the bulk of the trip was spent in four countries: Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique. I talked with scores of people., many of whom I have known over a period of time, such as representatives of liberation movements, governmental leaders, UN personnel, etc. The purpose of the trip was to get updated information on developments, particularly in southern Africa, and also to discuss projects which the Africa Fund and the ACOA could support.”

Undertaking the trip to Africa in 1978 was George M Houser. He kept careful notes on the trip through the use of a tape recorder. He wrote more than 60 pages of typewritten notes.

In the report that I gleaned Houser gave some highlights. In his brief account he concentrated on the situation in Zimbabwe, and developments in Mozambique.

Political, diplomatic, military and intelligence assessments by Western countries was that in 1978 Zimbabwe was on the eve of independence.

As indicated in an earlier installment many interested parties were maintaining a beeline to the Frontline states some of which were the launch pads for the guerrilla armies of ZAPU and ZANU.

They wanted to keep tabs on the goings-on. What was likely to emerge at the time of independence? What would happen to their multifarious interests? Where possible they sought to influence political events in their favour.

Interestingly, Houser concluded his long trip on October 1st at the time the Rhodesian forces were about to attack ZPRA and ZAPU refugee camps in Zambia on the 19th of the same month. It was as if he did not want to get caught up in the storm which he is likely to have known was brewing.

I have always said Africa just sits back and relaxes without ever seeking to influence political events outside of Africa. They seem to be resigned to their political and economic fate whereas it is not so with countries beyond the African continent. Those countries are quite alert to what is in store for them in Africa.

Africa’s natural resources are vast and are required to power advanced technologies in the powerful nations outside of Africa. Visiting the Frontline states was not out of love for those states. It was diplomatic maneuvering and sniffing around for information which, when collected, collated, analysed and interpreted provided the much needed intelligence to be used in designing and crafting intervention strategies to ensure their interests are safeguarded.

Africa just watches and at best whimpers and wonders just what is happening!

In addition to describing the physical attributes he came across in Tanzania, Houser was also noting the key primary industries being undertaken. He was able to realise that 90 percent of the populace was depended on farming. He also observed that 94 percent of the population of 17 million lived in rural areas.

Tanzania is the number one exporter of sisal and number two for cashews. Knowledge about the economic status of a country is important in that through it strategies to prop up or destabilize a government may be worked out.

Why visit Tanzania and not Kenya or Uganda for that matter? It was well known that Tanzania, through Mwalimu Julius Nyerere was a kingpin in the struggle for southern Africa. Virtually all the liberation movements went to set up offices in Tanzania once that country became independent in 1961.

Military training bases were set up there before Mozambique and Angola became independent in 1975. Zambia became independent in 1964 and that was the year both ZAPU and ZANU went to set up military bases in Zambia and infiltrated elements of their armies into Rhodesia. Nyerere remained a powerful player in the politics of southern Africa.

Accordingly, those seeking information regarding the struggle for independence in southern Africa would be foolhardy to exclude Tanzania on their itineraries. Houser knew that well. Tanzania was an opinion maker.

The political temperature was being measured during such visits. Houser was no exception. “There is a great deal of factionalism among the student political refugees from South Africa. The Botswana Refugee Council, sponsored by five agencies: The Botswana Christian Council, The International University Exchange Fund, The Red Cross, The Lutheran World Federation and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees give a minimum amount each month to the registered refugees. At the present time there are 40 to 100 political refugees coming from South Africa each month. There are perhaps a couple of thousands present in the country now. They are paid at a rate of 30 Pula(Pula is about $1.40) for the head of the family, the spouse twenty Pula, and 6 Pula for each child,” writes Houser.

However, the major interest in Houser’s trip was getting to know more intimately about the struggle for Zimbabwe. Indeed he admits to the fact.

“I concentrated a great deal of my time on the struggle for majority rule and independence in Zimbabwe. Critical events were taking place while I was in Africa on this trip. I was able to visit the headquarters of both movements composing the Patriotic Front-ZAPU in Zambia and ZANU in Mozambique. Also I was able to talk with the top leadership of both movements including Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe.”

In the document Houser goes on to give in summary his impressions. Obviously, he was selective. What he included in his report as he says was a brief summary. The bulk of the report was intended not for public exposure but for the intended recipients whose business it was to influence political events in southern Africa. Both movements impressed Houser in terms of scope and size of their operations. He noted that the ZAPU headquarters in Lusaka was called Zimbabwe House. Not long ago the facility used to be a single house where leaders and other members of the movement lived. But now it is much expanded with a wall around a compound, a network of buildings, a gate guarded by ZAPU troops because obviously security is always a problem, and literally hundreds of people engaged in necessary tasks.

“The dominant impression at this headquarters is not a military one. The real military headquarters is elsewhere. But here the work with refugees, medical work, the educational work, women’s work, youth work are headquartered. One has the feeling at ZAPU headquarters one is not dealing with a small liberation movement struggling for survival but with a movement of size and discipline and a political following that is struggling to give leadership in the effort to establish majority rule in Zimbabwe. One can only liken the atmosphere here and at the Maputo headquarters of ZANU to that at the headquarters of PAIGC, Frelimo, and the MPLA on the eve of their taking of power in their respective countries.”

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