The Sunday Mail
Cde Denga Haven Hunda
On July 1, 2015, Zimbabwe marks 16 years since the death of Father Zimbabwe, the national hero and Vice-Presdient Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo. Last week, The Sunday Mail’s Chief Reporter Kuda Bwititi tracked 93-year-old Cde Denga Haven Hunda, a top ex-Zapu cadre who was detained at Gonakudzingwa Detention Centre alongside Dr Nkomo from 1965 to 1972, to get rare insights into Father Zimbabwe’s life. We publish Cde Hunda’s tribute to Dr Nkomo.
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My name is Denga Haven Hunda, born on February 4, 1922. I began my political journey with the African National Congress and then joined the National Democratic Party in the 1950s. After that, I assisted in the formation of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union.
I held several positions and eventually became Zapu’s provincial chair in the Mashonaland area. This was my post when I got detained at Gonakudzingwa and after my release, up to the signing of the Unity Accord in 1987. I am a Zanu-PF National Consultative Assembly member.
Talking about Joshua Nkomo brings me a lot of excitement because he is one person I can describe as a larger-than-life character. He was an extraordinary human being. I first met him during the days of the ANC. At that time, I was mainly based in Harare where I was part of what was called the Youth League. We became acquaintances as he would come from his base in South Africa to interact with us. It was through this interaction that our Youth League eventually became part of the ANC.
He struck me as a sociable, hands-on and easy-to-understand person with charisma. His being sociable was evidently honed through his studies in South Africa where he majored in social science and through his trade union activities as leader of the Railway Workers’ Union.
So, it was not by coincidence that his friendliness attracted people to Zapu.
Though he spent considerable time in South Africa to evade arrest by the colonial regime, he did a lot to ensure Zapu remained intact. When Dr Samuel Parirenyatwa – the Vice-President of Zapu – died, Joshua Nkomo spent so much time comforting the comrades, encouraging them to soldier on in spite of this sad loss.
My most vivid memories of Joshua Nkomo were during the time of our detention. He was part of the first group of seven at Gonakudzingwa. Others in this group included Josiah Chinamano and his wife, Ruth. I was in the second group, which comprised hundreds.
I don’t have actual figures, but at full capacity, the detention centre must have held 3 000 people.
There were five camps surrounded by a fence.
Leaders such as Dr Nkomo lived in the first camp while Camp 2 housed second line leaders. The remaining camps consisted of barracks, and there were about nine such barracks in each camp.
I lived in Camp 3.
Camp 5 was mainly for the Indian and Coloured community. One of my friends was Naison Kutshekaya Ndlovu, as he was also very close to Joshua.
Events at Gonakudzingwa imbued in me utmost respect for Joshua Nkomo because he exhibited great leadership qualities and proved his mettle.
The centre had a large and diverse population and it appeared uniting all these people would be a Herculean task.
But not for Joshua Nkomo!
He tailor-made strategies to harness unity, something I still find amazing.
He came up with the idea of festivals that we called Hundekunde, which were held every Friday. Hundekunde was essentially a time reserved for entertainment, fun and games that one could imagine. Dr Nkomo introduced an interesting rule that each ethnic group should showcase its tradition.
So, for example, people from Murewa showcased their Jerusarema dance in one week, then the other week, we would have the Ndebeles with their Nqcuzu.
This was helpful in uniting the people because they would learn from other cultures and such discussions would continue for days, while helping us to relate and understand one another.
Another masterstroke was that he gave us specific days on which to speak one language. On one day, we would speak in Shona only, then on a certain day, we would speak in Ndebele, or Tonga or Shangani and so on. If one was not proficient, one would still have to speak in that particular language and this made us learn. This is why, today, I am conversant in several vernacular languages.
All this helped us unite as a people and it shows that Dr Nkomo was a unifier par excellence. He found joy in uniting people and he was very insistent that unity would take us far. One of his most common phrases was, “Mwana wevhu or Umntwana wenhlabahti”, meaning we are all one people and should not be separated by tribe or language.
Whenever I hear these words “Mwana wevhu or Umntwana wenhlabathi”, I always relate them to Dr Nkomo.
So, despite being detained, we had memorable moments.
Actually, the name Gonakudzingwa came about as a moniker. Gona means to excel, kudzingwa means to chase away.
We took this to mean the Rhodesians’ chasing us away from our homes and detaining us was a blessing in disguise.
We owe that to Dr Nkomo because he brought unity at the centre. As our leader, he managed to make us live in harmony and to be oblivious of our repressed circumstances. Gonakudzingwa is located inside Gonarezhou National Park. A lot of wild animals lived within our vicinity, though we were separated by a fence. No one could harbour any thoughts of escaping out of fear of being attacked by the animals. At night, you could hear lions roaring or hyenas laughing very nearby.
I remember how Dr Nkomo always emphasised the need for us to bond as none of us could leave the camp.
We had to learn to live together as one.
He always advised us against escaping because that meant instant death. He established a close relationship with the realm leader, Chief Mahlengwe, and would remind us what the chief expected of us in terms of conduct and the rituals that guaranteed protection by the ancestors. Such rituals saved us from potential hazards. I believe this is why not a single person tried to escape; we all followed the rules laid down by Dr Nkomo.
When we left Gonakudzingwa, Dr Nkomo continued to be a great motivator and an exemplary leader.
We called him Chibwe Chitedza, which was translated to mean “an insurmountable character”.
This was because he always kept his composure, even in the most difficult of circumstances. He remained principled and had that countenance which showed that nothing could break him, not even the Rhodesians who were out to assassinate him.
Dr Nkomo had a look-alike named Murape, the father of the famed football coach Shepherd Murape, and this is the man he used to escape the Rhodesians.
On a number of occasions, Murape would travel in Dr Nkomo’s car and the Rhodesians would be duped into tracking him, leaving Nkomo to do other things undetected. I regard myself lucky to have spent considerable time with Nkomo.
During the Unity Accord talks, we would travel across the country between Mashonaland and Matabelaland, and he encouraged us to make sure the accord succeeded.
I was one of the people who suggested that the united party should be called Zanu-PF. I reasoned that since Zapu was called the Patriotic Front then, the “PF” should come at the end, much like a surname, because Zapu was older than Zanu.
I will never forget his words, “If I am to die, I do not want anyone to spit on my grave.”
I am sure on account of his work with President Mugabe to unite the nation, no one will ever think of spitting on his grave.
He was indeed a great man whose exemplary life should be a lesson to our young people.
