
WE continue with the armed struggle experiences of Lieutenant-Colonel (Rtd) Nimrod Ndlovu who, during the war, was known as Cde Vincent Sakala or Osmond Fomoja. Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu now a farmer in the Figtree commercial farming area in Matabeleland South Province operated in Mashonaland Central Province, starting from early 1978 until the ceasefire period in 1979.
The highlight of his participation during the armed struggle was combining his platoon with a ZANLA platoon to carry out joint operations in Guruve then known as Sipolilo.
Last week, we ended the interview when Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu was telling our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) about the battles they were involved in the joint operations with ZANLA. Below he continues with his narration. Read on….
MS: Last time you were still talking about the joint operations you carried out with ZANLA guerillas in the Kabasa farming area in Mashonaland Central Province. May we continue from there?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: One day while relaxing, a villager came to us and said they had seen the enemy roaming at a farm. We immediately organised a strong force and it was around 10am. The villager pointed the area to us. We moved to the said area and then heard dogs barking and the man said it could be the enemy coming in our direction.
MS: How did you react to that?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: We immediately set up an ambush and when they were within sight we started firing at them. They returned fire and heavy exchange of gunfire ensued. Then all of a sudden the helicopters and a spotter plane started hovering and we gaped out. We didn’t suffer any casualties in that contact. During the contact, even those left at the base withdrew. However, there was a ZANLA commander who had come into the area, he was very unfortunate as he fell into the ambush of the Rhodesian forces and was killed together with another guerilla. He was called Gold Mayingere, they had come from Dande.

Colonel Blessing Kashiri alias Kapenga Wehondo
He was a sectoral commander and they were buried the following day. When I went for the vetting exercise recently in Mashonaland Central, I asked Kapenga Wehondo (Col Blessing Kashiri), a former field commander during the armed struggle what happened to the grave of Gold. Kapenga said his remains were exhumed and reburied at the Mashonaland Central Provincial Heroes Acre in Bindura. Despite the ambushes we set up to attack the enemy, our patrols in the area sent the enemy into a panic mode. We also used to write letters to the enemy and give them to the villagers to deliver at the enemy’s camps.
MS: What were the contents of the letters?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: We would write that “Stay prepared because tomorrow we are coming for you at your camp.”
MS: How did they respond?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: They would respond by saying they were ready for us. Our strategy was to keep them on their toes. We continued operating together with ZANLA until we started receiving disturbing news.
MS: Like what?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: There would be broadcasts on the radio saying ZPRA and ZANLA forces were fighting each other. They would mention places like Matabeleland South Province and even places where we were operating ourselves like in Mashonaland Central where the two liberation armies had deployed. It was part of the enemy propaganda in most cases. Such news then became frequent and that started to affect us as we were moving together. We had been operating together with the unit kaNorman for a long time without any incident. I then told Norman that the radio broadcasts were not good for us.
MS: For how long did you operate together?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: We had been together for close to a year. I think that should have been between eight and nine months.
MS: Where were you getting the supplies?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: The villagers were very supportive and as for us ZPRA, our ammunition dump was on the other side of Angwa River. The advantage was that ZANLA colleagues were nearer to the border with Mozambique and they would also give us the ammunition.
We didn’t have a problem with that. Also as guerillas, when engaging the enemy you just don’t fire randomly and also you don’t always fight unnecessarily. Like I said, we had an excellent working relationship that is my platoon and that of Norman.
MS: Let’s come to the broadcasts that you were talking about, how did you handle such a delicate situation?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: I spoke to Norman and suggested that we separate the units because it was clear that the news broadcasts were causing a lot of anxiety among the troops. I said the commanders were far away, they would understand if we took the decision to stop the joint operations. So, we devised a plan and I said I would tell my troops that we were going to replenish our ammunition at Angwa while Norman would explain to the ZANLAs that the ZPRA unit was going to collect ammunition at Angwa.
ZANLA comrades were not happy and some even questioned why we were leaving with some certain weapons, which they said were very useful in battle. We had boosted the unit with a number of machine guns. In response, we said we had to take those weapons because we were not sure what our commanders would say if they saw us without them.
It was an emotional moment to separate. Ours was one of the few success stories that we had as the two liberation armies during the armed struggle.
MS: When did you break the sad news to your platoon?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: We had walked for a kilometre or so after leaving the ZANLA unit when I told my unit that “madoda laphana asisabuyeli.” The troops although very disappointed, understood the position we had taken. I am not sure how Norman broke the news to his troops.
MS: From Kabasa where did you go?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: We went back to Nyakapupu where we found large units of ZPRA guerillas. ZPRA had intensified its deployment in many parts of MashonaIand West and Central. They were coming in large numbers. Some of the newly deployed guerillas were conventional forces who were moving in large numbers, a departure from some of us guerillas who were moving in small units. Then in October/November 1979 we heard that talks were intensifying at Lancaster in Britain that would pave the way for the ceasefire. The ceasefire was eventually announced. It was announced that the contending forces should put their arms down.
MS: Where did you move to?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: We crossed Hunyani and moved to Mangula Mine (Mhangura) where we had been told we would meet other forces. It took us about five days to reach that place. We met many units, some pulling heavy weapons such as anti-air guns like the Zegue and anti-tank weapons like B-10s. ZPRA had deployed its elite units in the operational areas. Trucks then arrived to take us to Rikomechi, which was the Assembly Point (AP).
MS: The forces that were accommodated there had been operating from which areas?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: They had been operating in Sipolilo, Chinhoyi, Mhangura and other areas in the provinces of Mashonaland.
MS: How were the guerillas and the regular forces going to operate together if the war had continued?
Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu: The plan was that guerilla units were going to lead in the attacks, harassing the enemy with the conventional forces who would be operating in large groups moving in and holding the captured ground. However, the ceasefire stopped all that.
To be concluded next week with Lt-Col (Rtd) Ndlovu talking about life at the Assembly Point and his integration into the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA)