‘We even deployed guerillas to cities, towns’

WE continue our interview with former ZPRA Deputy Chief of Engineering, Lieutenant-Colonel (Rtd) Binoni Benjamin Dube pseudonym Cde Velaphi Nyoni. Lt-Col (Rtd) Dube, a former member of the ZPRA High Command in our last edition unpacked to our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) how military engineers operate. Lt-Col (Rtd) Dube also spoke about how they trained cadres in the use of explosives, charges and accessories, demolition of buildings and infrastructure such as buildings, railway lines and bridges, booby traps and bombs. The engineers were also taught how to defuse bombs, how to make explosives, and how to carry out mine warfare.

They also dealt with anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. The recruits were also drilled on obstacle crossing, construction of obstacles, minefields and sabotage techniques. Below Lt-Col (Rtd) Dube continues his narration of his war experiences.

He explained the operations that military engineers are usually assigned to and today he continues talking about sabotage missions, the evolution of ZPRA to a modern force that saw the creation of separate training facilities for its engineers, and the formation of a proper structure of military engineers, whose command was given to Cde Jeffrey Ndlovu who is popularly known within the war veterans circles by his pseudonym of Kenneth Murirwa. Unfortunately, Kenneth lost his eyesight while in combat towards the ceasefire in 1979 near the Zambezi River. Read on . . .

MS: In our last interview you were unpacking the role of military engineers and you were about to mention sabotage as one of the assignments usually allocated to them. Tell us more about that.

Lt-Col (Rtd) Dube: Sabotage was mainly carried out in urban set-ups such as towns and cities. That was because we couldn’t deploy a big unit that the enemy could easily identify, resulting in their operation being compromised. So these small units who would be assigned to carry out sabotage missions would bring explosives. A guerilla would place an explosive on a target and then move away to ignite it when the time was ripe. He would ignite the explosive remotely. Such missions were meant to create panic within the enemy forces and the Rhodesians in general as we were taking the war to their doorsteps. The purpose of the sabotage missions was also meant to show that the enemy could be hit from anywhere.

We were taking the fight behind the enemy lines and not concentrating on the field in outlying areas.

We were hitting the enemy where it mattered most.

MS: You are one of the lucky former guerillas as there are quite a number of your pictures in ZPRA/Zapu books captured during the war in camps in Zambia. How was the situation at that time?

Lt-Col (Rtd) Dube: Before ZPRA was training guerillas in all aspects of the war, but as the armed struggle intensified it was decided that we set up a special training facility for engineers. This was because engineers were going to be deployed in units as attachments unlike before. They were to become part of the support company. For example in a battalion besides the three companies that make it, there are attachments or support company that consists of engineers, reconnaissance, anti-tank and mortar units. Each battalion had an attachment of engineers who were of platoon strength of around 30. We then started deploying the engineering units in areas like Kanyemba in Mashonaland Central, Hurungwe in Mashonalalnd West and other areas there, the eventual target being Salisbury (now Harare). Besides the Mashonaland provinces, we were also infiltrating some of them to the Southern Front where they would cross on the west of Victoria Falls. These ones would be in the company of our brothers from Umkhonto WeSizwe, the military wing of the current ruling party in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC). In 1978 ZPRA then set up a training camp specifically for military engineering at Camp Guerilla Training 3 (CGT3) on the eastern side of Zambia. However, we had changed how we were doing things.

MS: How?

Lt-Col (Rtd) Dube: Instead of getting fresh recruits we were enrolling those who were already trained from other camps. Those comrades were coming in to specialise. We were getting cadres from camps such as MTD and CGT. Those who already had done their guerilla warfare training were to specialize in engineering after which they were sent for operations or deployed elsewhere.

MS: Then tell us about the structure of the engineers.

Lt-Col (Rtd) Dube: Cde Kenny Murwira (Jeffrey Ndlovu) who along had been ZPRA Adjutant-General that is the Chief Clerk of the army was appointed Chief of Engineering with myself and Cde James Savanhu coming in as his deputies. Cde Savanhu, a trained intelligence officer was coming from the National Security and Order (NSO), which was headed by the now late, Cde Dumiso Dabengwa. Within the top hierarchy, there was also Cde Elliot Mahlole who was involved in supplies, but operating from Botswana.

n To be concluded next week