The Sunday News
AT the tender age of 16 Cde Highten Khuluma Nkomo pseudo name Billy Mzamo left the comfort of his home in a newly independent Zambia to join the Zimbabwean armed struggle and fight the racist Ian Smith regime although he had never set foot on the land of his fatherland.
Born to Zimbabwean parents who had migrated to Zambia, the young Nkomo could not resist the urge to join his fellow countrymen in taking up arms to free Zimbabwe. The young Nkomo was to prove himself as a brilliant soldier resulting in him being quickly pushed up to take care of very serious assignments such as camp commander, a position that needed one with the brain to avert infiltration and also provide security to camps. He also rose through the ranks to become second deputy chief of personnel and training in the Zipra High Command. Below are excerpts of the interview he had with our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda.
MS: Cde Nkomo, your story is different from others although it’s not unique that you joined the armed struggle while you were a resident of Zambia. Can you please give us the background of how this happened.
Cde Nkomo: I was born of Zimbabwean immigrants on 12 January 1952 in Lusaka, Zambia. What happened was that my grandfather left his rural home of Tsholotsho with his three sons, one of them who was my father and a daughter to settle in Zambia. However, he left behind one son and two daughters. The other interesting aspect of my family history is that my grandfather was a sibling to the late Vice-President Dr John Nkomo’s father. So I was born in Zambia, grew up in the Chief Mungule area and attended schools in Kapopo and Mutakwa which were under the Zambian Central Province.
MS: As someone who was born and bred in Zambia what motivated or influenced you to join the armed struggle?
Cde Nkomo: As someone with roots in the then Rhodesia we used to come across a lot of literature on the Zimbabwean armed struggle. We had access to publications that were produced by the Zapu publicity department like the Zimbabwe Review and People’s Voice. There was also the issue of Zambia attaining independence and that had great influence on me as I also wished that my own country should also be free from the colonial bondage. I was active in the youth ranks of Kenneth Kaunda’s party, UNIP so the revolutionary spirit was upon me. It should be noted that what I felt at that time was felt by many children of Zimbabwean immigrants.
MS: Then how did you join the armed struggle?
Cde Nkomo: When I was in Form One in 1967 I left home for the Zimbabwe House in Lusaka in a bid to join the armed struggle but my father Abraham Nkomo was not happy because he wanted me to pursue education so he reported the matter to the Zambian police. He confronted the now late Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo armed with a shot gun and a meeting was arranged at the Police Headquarters which was also attended by then Zambian Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Milner. It was decided that I should go back home and my father found me a place at a commercial college in Lusaka this time. However, the following year when I was in Form Two I disappeared again and my father did not make a follow-up. I then hooked up with other recruits at Luthuli Camp which housed both ANC and Zapu people.
MS: Who were some of the comrades that you met at Luthuli Camp?
Cde Nkomo: Some of the comrades that I met there were Ben Stewart, a coloured guy, John Khanye, Stanley Gagisa, Cornelius, Busobenyoka, Base, Nzimande, Nzula, Tjalombwa. After some time we moved to Chakwenga which was about 100km from Lusaka. Chakwenga was a transit camp for those going for training and operations. The camp commander was Albert Nxele while now Retired Brigadier-General Ambrose Mutinhiri was the chief of staff. During that time the military wing of Zapu was known as the Department of Special Affairs. From Chakwenga we were moved to Morogoro in Tanzania and that was in 1969. We were joined by other recruits such as now Retired Brigadier-General Abel Mazinyane, Enoch Tshangane (the late Major-General Jevan Maseko), late national hero Retired Masala Sibanda and Retired Brigadier-General Tshile Nleya. We started real military training around March of 1970.
MS: Who were your instructors and after your training what happened?
Cde Nkomo: We had two Egyptians who were coming from that country’s special forces, Colonel Mustaff and Major Mohammed an artillery specialist. On our side we had Alfred Nikita Mangena, Harold Chirenda, Godwin Munyanyi, Sam Fakazi and Pondai. We completed our training after nine months. What should be noted with our group is that we were the last group to be trained under the Special Affairs Department and the first to be trained as Zipra. We completed our training in 1971 and after that comrades such as Mazinyane, Bhubhudla, Manyokopo and Kenneth were immediately deployed to the front for operations while some of us remained in Tanzania.
That group which was deployed to the front was to later on rejoin us in September 1972 when we were sent for further training in the Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union Gedi (the late Retired Colonel Richard Dube), Base, myself and others were based at the Cremia where we specialised in military engineering. Also at the Cremia were other comrades such as Jack and Chibhoyi who were specialising in reconnaissance. The group that had Mazinyane left us at the Cremia and proceeded to Moscow where they were being trained in intelligence. After nine months of training we returned to Tanzania leaving the Mazinyane group as they had an additional four months to cover.
MS: Take us through what happened to your group when you returned to Tanzania.
Cde Nkomo: When we got to Tanzania we were immediately taken by trucks to Zambia. We arrived in Zambia at night but we did not spend the night there as we were deployed to the front there and there. We were driven to DK which is along the Zambezi River just directly opposite Deka Drum on the Rhodesian side. That group comprised all of us who were still fresh from our training in the Soviet Union. On arrival at DK we were split into small units. Our commanders were Gedi and Mahlole. However, I didn’t stay long at the front as I was recalled to the rear where on arrival I was appointed the camp commander of Chakwenga transit camp. I was also given another special assignment to do as well.
MS: That was the beginning of your tasks as camp commander as I understand you were also the camp commander for Nampundwe and Mkushi, a women’s only camp. But in the meantime tell us about this special assignment that were you were given?
Cde Nkomo: When I took over as camp commander at Chakwenga and later on moved to Nampundwe besides receiving the newly arrivals and taking care of their needs I was also tasked to train saboteurs. I was given this special task by the army commander Cde Mangena because of my background as a military engineer.
MS: Who were these saboteurs?
Cde Nkomo: You see as the war started intensifying it meant that as Zipra we had to come up with new strategies and one of those strategies was to infiltrate the enemy. There was a need for us to recruit people who were working for the enemy, some of them domestic workers while others were employed at the security stations. So in answering your question these saboteurs were brought to me in particular by guerillas coming from operational areas. They would identify Zapu activists working closer to the enemy and bring them to us in Zambia where I will take them through a rigorous and crash exercise programme.
If one was a gardener or cook for example that person would either fake illness or take leave. He would then be brought to Zambia where I would train him in sabotage missions, field intelligence, how to make and use home explosives. I will be with them 24 hours a day because we needed to quickly get over with them so that they return to their work stations without raising any suspicions.
MS: So when such people were brought to you did they behave just like any other recruit?
Cde Nkomo: No, no they were not mixed with the other recruits. They were separated and they were not many of them, maybe three or five at a time. They did not even spend a lot of time. Five or seven days was just enough to deal with them. Those people played a crucial role in intelligence gathering that is why the Rhodesians up to now are still wondering or looking for spies within their ranks on missions because we took them by surprise.
MS: Then Cde Nkomo on general recruits how did you deal with the issue of Rhodesian spies coming in pretending to be joining the armed struggle. Did you pick any?
Cde Nkomo: Oh, that was an everyday thing. As the temperature on the war front started picking up especially around 1976 we were receiving large numbers of people coming to join the war. First we were receiving around 60 a day and the number went up as more than 100 would be coming to our camps a day especially when we were at Nampundwe. That called for tighter measures. Spies were picked up at times and to be honest with you there is a possibility that some managed to beat our system.
MS: So what was the procedure in dealing with the new arrivals to pick out the enemy spies?
Cde Nkomo: The first stage of screening was done by the department of personnel and training which was under the command of now late national hero Cephas Cele. Cele’s department would screen and record every recruit. They would also keep personal records such as educational background, previous job, village of origin, personal experiences and next of kin.
After satisfying themselves the department of military intelligence which was headed by Abel Mazinyane would come in and vet the recruits, they would do their things as well. As intelligence officers they knew what they were looking for. The third stage of vetting was done by the party intelligence which was headed by Cde Dumiso Dabengwa, they would come in and do their part.
Next week we continue with the interview with Cde Nkomo relating to us on the life at camps, how he was given a vehicle for use, a rare thing during the war and how they dealt with spies caught trying to sneak their way into the Zipra ranks. Cde Nkomo will also talk about how they handled women recruits and how they avoided issues of sexual abuse.
