The Sunday News
WE continue our interview with Cde Ezra Wadenga pseudonym Trust Moyo who joined the armed struggle soon after completing Grade Seven in December 1976.
Last week Cde Wadenga narrated to our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) how he left his rural home at Gungwe Village in Gwanda District and the tough military induction he and other recruits faced at Nampundwe Transit Camp in Zambia.
Today he continues the interview talking about his training and deployment. Below are excerpts of the interview.
MS: You spoke about leaving Nampundwe for Camp of General Training (CGT), take us through the time while at CGT.
Cde Wadenga: We were the first group to train at CGT, we were the pioneers of that camp. When we got there it was just a bush and we are the ones who cleared the shooting range, built pole and dagga barracks, pitched tents and so on. That was CGT1 as during our training we had to leave the original camp for a new place which was then called CGT2. At CGT1 there was the problem of water, but others say there was information that the camp had been located by the Rhodesian security forces, so there were chances of it being bombed, such developments meant that we had to relocate.
MS: Compared to Nampundwe, how was CGT?
Cde Wadenga: I was awe struck by the command element at CGT, I mean the instructors. As you might be aware the camp was under the command of current Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) commander, General Philip Velerio Sibanda. PV called Ananias Gwenzi during the war is a commando by training, a well built and physically fit man. Below him were beasts of men, equally well built and physically fit, we were impressed by them and they knew their stuff, Kwakungamadoda sibili lawana.
MS: Do you still remember their names?
Cde Wadenga: Yes of course, I will never forget those ones. There was Goronga, Godfrey, Dry Phetsheya whose real name was Cde Chizema, I only knew his surname, Chizema not the first name, Boston, Elias, Velaphi and Makanyanga. Being our instructors those men impressed us, those ones were soldiers and a half. I was in Company A and our training involved political orientation, obstacle crossing, party ideology, map reading, being familiar with the use of the compass and first aid. As for weapon handling or use, we learnt how to use Siminov, AK-47, bazooka, pistols, grenade launchers, grunov, RPK, PK, mortars, Gun-75 and so on.
Cde Wadenga
The training was very tough. Initially the training emphasised on guerilla warfare but towards the end we were taught conventional warfare as we were learning how to use weapons such as the Desheka, which are meant to defend positions. In guerilla warfare you don’t defend the territory, you hit and run, make sure the enemy is kept on its toes. Holding the ground is for conventional soldiers. We completed our training in November, that is when we were taken in groups to the Freedom Camp (FC). Others from our group of around 500 were chosen to undergo further training in different countries, I was deployed to the front.
MS: Where were you deployed?
Cde Wadenga: From CGT2 we were taken to FC as I have alluded above, but we did not spend a night there. Those of us being deployed to the front we were being moved in platoons, that is in groups of 30 each. My unit was taken to the north-east, crossed Kafue River and finally arrived at the Zambezi River, at a Zipra forward base called BL2, which was on the Zambian side. While at BL2, Kariba was on our right, so we were told. However, when we got there we could not cross immediately.
MS: What caused the delay?
Cde Wadenga: The Zambezi River was raging, there was too much water, which made crossing dangerous as there were waves as well. It was going to be suicidal to cross under those circumstances and the other reason was that the reconnaissance units had reported that across in Rhodesia there was a lot of enemy movement.
MS: What was going through your mind while all this was happening, were you not afraid? You were around 16 then.
Cde Wadenga: To be honest with you I had no fear at all. As for the enemy forces I felt ready to face them, the only problem that I had and was not sure of was the Zambezi River. In flood that river affects even the bravest. I can tell you that when the time came for us to cross you could see fear written on some people’s faces. I have to say this, the number one enemy for the Zipra forces was the Zambezi River with animals living in it such as hippos and crocodiles worsening the situation. Some comrades died while trying to cross the Zambezi. As platoons had gathered waiting to cross we left one comrade who was so afraid that the commanders decided that he should remain behind as his condition was going to affect us. I am not sure what happened to that comrade but we left him behind. We had arrived along the Zambezi in December 1977, but because of the fact that the river was in flood we managed to cross in the first days of January 1978. We had been armed well and that gave us a lot of confidence, besides the AK-47s, we had a bazookas, grenade launchers, RPKs and so on. The day we crossed, we started moving in the water after 4pm because the veteran guerillas knew that the enemy forces after that time usually stopped their patrols along the river. We were a section of 12, already there was another unit that was across the river, so were going to reinforce it. Others also followed and that was done without any incident.
MS: After finally crossing, how were you deployed?
Cde Wadenga: There were two bases situated in the gorges on the Rhodesian side and our section was led into one of them by the veteran guerillas who had been in operations for some time. We arrived there in the evening and we were immediately told that some of our comrades who had been on a hunting expedition had detected the movement of the enemy. The commanders then said early the following morning we should conduct patrols, they said there was no need to wait for the enemy to locate us. We should make the first move. Indeed, the following day by sunrise we were already hunting for the Rhodesians, we were a section of 12, moving between three or four metres apart. After some time of patrolling, we saw a small stream and decided to move along it. Later on we decided to take a rest near a gorge where there was thicket so that it became our cover. Just as we were taking the rest in a battle formation, I saw some movement from where we had passed, at first I thought my eyes were fooling me, but I saw another figure making a swift movement. I then alerted others and we saw the movement. The enemy was trying to encircle us. What happened also is that we had gone through their positions and they might have developed cold feet and failed to shoot us. They had let us through, now they were trying to make amends. Command was then given that we counter their move by blocking their way. Imagine we had crossed the day before and there before us was the contact with the enemy. It dawned on us that indeed we were at war.
MS: That was tricky I suppose for you first timers.
Cde Wadenga: We had dreamt of fighting the Rhodesians and now they were there before us. So what happened is that we managed to block their movement and that could have surprised them a bit. Fighting ensued and like I said we were well armed and being young gave us a lot of zeal. Our fire could have been very accurate and we were surprised to hear whites crying, ikhiwa likhala and we said among ourselves ukuthi kanti ikhiwa lenza so. I must say in that contact God and our ancestors gave us those Rhodesians on a silver platter. We took control of the battle but we were restrained from going on an assault by the seniors among us, they said we had to make a speedy tactical withdrawal because obviously those enemy soldiers had already called for air support. We were right as helicopters came and started hovering around.
MS: When told to withdraw you might have been disappointed, what were your intentions?
Cde Wadenga: Personally, which was the feeling of my fellow comrades I had trained with was to assault and drag the bodies of the Rhodesians, capture those who were alive. We wanted to get something that would be used as evidence that we had overrun the enemy. However, we were discouraged from doing so and we were not happy as up to now I don’t even know whether we killed or wounded the Rhodesians. We got satisfaction from the fact that we heard the Rhodesians screaming in pain. In fact we could not believe our ears.
To be concluded next week
