Beaming from the trenches to Independence

22 Apr, 2018 - 00:04 0 Views
Beaming from the  trenches to Independence Sunday Mail

The Sunday Mail

Lloyd Mutema-Hazvineyi
“The 1960s was both an end and a beginning”, writes one of the most decorated Zimbabwean authors, Shimmer Chinodya, in his seminal book “Harvest of Thorns”.

The 1960s marked the beginning of the end of colonialism.

It was the decade when the Unilateral Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on November 11, 1965.

In the 1960s, Michael Mawema became one of the first nationalists to use the name “Zimbabwe” in official correspondence.

It was in March 1966 when one of the earliest gun battles took place between seven Zanla-trained guerrillas and several battalions of Rhodesian security forces which were armed to the tooth.

In 1968, the Zipra army in cahoots with the Umkhonto we Sizwe coordinated the illustrious Wankie-Sipolilo armed crusade as the guerrillas braved the harsh Zambezi forests to offer the Rhodesians an unpleasant surprise; shaking the entire racist regime to its very foundations.

Events in the 1960s upped the nationalist tempo in the Southern Rhodesia.

Guerrilla outposts had been established in countries such as Tanzania, Egypt, Zambia, Soviet Union and China.

Abantwana benhhlabathi (sons and daughters of the soil) were beginning to heed to the call to join what later became a protracted struggle for independence.

The war of independence wedged by Zipra and Zanla now required the two major nationalist movements to first win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the different classes of the colony.

It was a guerrilla war that required the coordination of the masses – the proverbial water in the Maoist philosophy.

With the Zimbabwean nationalists now housed in different hideouts in the frontline states, there was need to sustain the war through additional means other than military.

The 1960s marked the birth of guerrilla radio.

These were piggybacked radio stations manned by guerrillas in the Frontline States’ legendary nationalist hotspots such as Lusaka and Maputo.

These radio stations became an important weapon in the scramble for hearts and minds.

The Voice of the Revolution (VoR) controlled by Zipra from Lusaka and the Voice of Zimbabwe (VoZ) beamed from Maputo became the new weapons used in the coscientisation of the masses to buy into the nationalist ideologies.

Besides churning out nationalist messages to educate the masses, these two underground radios were pivotal in deflecting Rhodesian propaganda rolled out by the Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation’s radio stations. The VoR, piggybacking on Radio Zambia, became functional in the 1960s.

The voices of broadcasters like Jane Ngwenya and Chipo Mabuwa became important sources of alternative news and war updates as the masses were now familiar with the Rhodesian propaganda.

In addition, Samuel Parirenyatwa, Jason Moyo, James Chikerema, George Silundika and George Nyandoro appeared more often on this radio station with their agitating tones and incisive speeches; ushering the people into the realms of militant militancy.

VoR’s broadcasts were beamed conspicuously in the evenings, usually between 6pm and 8pm; times when the Rhodesian patrollers had retreated into their gated garrisons.

The messages were packaged in a manner that reflected the Africans’ everyday suffering.

In addition, they also provided a run down of various acts of guerrilla insurgencies that were being undertaken by vana mukoma (guerrillas) in various parts of the country. The other component of the broadcasts was war education which sought to explain to the listener the objectives of the war. At a time when the internal political climate was hostile, the VoR became a weapon for mass recruitment.

Indeed, many heeded the call to join the war as seen by an exodus of young Africans who went to Zambia en masse especially in the 1970s adding fuel to an already blazing liberation war.

Meanwhile, in Maputo, the VoZ benefited from Radio Maputo’s infrastructure following Zanu and the Frelimo Government’s working relations.

The VoZ was run by the Zanu Information and Publicity Department, a division that lubricated the party’s war effort with an ideology.

The VoZ was dominated by a group of young intellectuals who had left the University of Rhodesia and Nyasaland to join other fighters in Mozambique.

This high level of cadreship was exhibited by the likes of Sobusa Gula-Ndebele, Mark Gray Marongwe and Nyasha Donald Musiiwa.

Webster Shamu, “The Masterblaster”, had previously worked as a broadcaster in Rhodesia and joined VoZ, quickly becaming a household name.

Victor Mhizha-Murira, Anna Mugwara, Nyasha Maphosa, Shingirai Tungwarara, Darlington Munyoro and Tichatonga Muchazosiya were some of the notables who drove the Zanu revolutionary wagon.

Among its broadcasts, the VoZ had one of the most interactive programmes, the Chimurenga Music Requests where listeners wrote letters requesting revolutionary music to keep up the morale.

The Zanla Choir was one of the regulars that were invited to perform on radio.

Yes, Comrade Chinx, (Dickson Chingaira) featured regularly on this programme.

The VoZ underground radio also became the medium through which the Zanla war strategy was communicated to the guerrillas in the front.

It was thus an instrument that bridged the geographical gap between exile and front.

Guerrilla guns alone could not defeat Ian Smith. In fact, a combination of guerrilla guns and politicised masses was dope!

This combination of guerrilla guns and the politicised masses was made possible with radio broadcasts beamed into the country by VoR and VoZ from Lusaka and Maputo respectively. Besides updating civilians on the progress of the war, radio became an expedient platform in upholding the Chimurenga hype.

The masses took the risk of tuning into guerrilla-run radio stations; risk in the sense that listening to these underground radio stations through the Short Wave platform had been criminalised by the Rhodesian government. Hence listening was done secretly, in “quiet and intimate places” as one historian puts it.

These are our unsung heroes of the liberation struggle whose contributions should never be allowed to fade with the ticking clock.

Theirs was a struggle that was meant to win the ‘hearts and minds’ which are the most critical components of any war.

If hearts and minds are the most critical components in every battle, then these broadcasters are our special guerrillas who had mastered the art of educating, conscientising, sensitising and inciting the masses for the success of the liberation project.

The power of the airwaves in the liberation of war of Zimbabwe has been understated, and so has been the agency of the guerrilla broadcasters who churned news broadcasts, blasted Chimurenga music, created political programmes and published war communiqués. In this Uhuru month, let us appreciate the guerrilla broadcasters as our unsung heroes of the liberation struggle, and the unknown listener who heeded the call to take up arms, big and small, to bring colonialism to its very end.

These figures need to be celebrated as our unsung heroes.

As we acknowledge their contributions, we are also challenging the dominant orthodox nationalist narrative which views Uhuru as a project of a few super-human cadres.

Lloyd Matema-Hazvineyi is an independent researcher and lecturer with Catholic University of Zimbabwe’s Department of History. Feedback: [email protected]

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