The Sunday Mail
IN our previous instalment, we wrapped up our discussion with Cde Sando Kano. In his narration, Cde Sando mentioned the heroic act that was performed by Cde Willie Mazarura who led his group on a mission to rescue the freedom fighters that had been captured by Rhodesian forces. Throwing caution to the wind and nearly sacrificing his life and those of the other fighters that he was leading, Cde Mazarura and his charges gallantly attacked a heavily fortified Rhodesian military camp and rescued Cde Sando Kano and Cde Tichatonga, who were set to be executed by the enemy the following day. We tracked and caught up with the unassuming Cde Mazarura and in this two-part series, he narrates to us how the two gunshots that he fired caused mayhem at the Rhodesian camp, resulting in the captured fighters making good their escape. Before he takes us on this daring rescue mission, Cde Mazarura will first narrate to our Senior Reporter TENDAI CHARA how he watched in horror as several of his fellow freedom fighters succumbed to chemical warfare agents which had been applied on the clothing that the freedom fighters had received from undercover Rhodesian agents. After fighting for his life and barely surviving the toxic chemical warfare elements, Cde Mazarura defied all odds and went on to bravely attack a heavily fortified Rhodesian army camp in a hell-raising rescue operation.
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Q: Cde, as is the norm, kindly introduce yourself to our readers.
A: Thank you. My Name is Willie Mazarura Shambira and I was born in Mutoko at All Souls Mission in 1957. I grew up in Nyamakosi Village and I attended Nyamakosi Primary School up to Grade 7. My parents could not afford to send me to secondary school so in 1973, I went to Harare to seek employment.
Q: Briefly narrate to us your early days in Harare and the path that you took in joining the liberation struggle.
A: My interest in politics started when I was in Highfield when I became a member of the African National Congress Youth League. The death of Cde Herbert Chitepo, whose house was in the same neighbourhood, further fuelled my interest to become a freedom fighter.
Q: Where did you receive your military training?
A: After two attempts to sneak into Mozambique through Nyamapanda and Mutare failed, I succeeded on the third attempt and I crossed into Mozambique through Hauna, Honde Valley. I went through Mavonde, briefly stayed at Chimoio and was subsequently trained at Nyadzonia in 1975.
Q: Can you tell us about the chemical warfare that nearly cost your life.
A: After training, we were deployed to the Gaza province and we were operating in Sector 2, which encompasses such areas as Chiredzi, Mwenezi, Mberengwa, Shurugwi and Chivi among others. In April 1977, we were in the Chizumba area in Mwenezi when I nearly lost my life due to chemical warfare. What happened was that we were approached by people who said they were coming from Harare and were donating clothes as part of the war effort. We gladly accepted the clothes, which were mostly jeans and underwear. Besides the clothes, we were also given money and cigarettes. Although I did not have enough clothes, I somehow elected not to take the jeans that we were offered. Instead, I only took the underwear. Barely a few minutes after putting on the donated clothes, my fellow comrades started to act strangely. Sweating profusely, they exhibited shortness of breath and some had seemingly lost their minds. One by one, six of my colleagues collapsed and died. I was horrified. I didn’t know what was happening. We were eight in my group and only two of us survived. I was traumatised as I buried the comrades who had become part and parcel of my life.
Q: Tell us more about chemical warfare and how you survived.
A: After putting on the poisoned clothes, one would feel some itchiness all over the body, followed by a shortness of breath. Some of the donated cigarettes were also laced with poison. Some of the toxic elements were injected into the food that we were given. In the area that I was operating, I counted 35 fighters who died due to chemical warfare agents. We were not only shocked but also confused. We didn’t know what was happening since it was the first time that the Rhodesian army had used chemical warfare on the freedom fighters. We had no clue what was happening. It was a dire situation and we were panicking.
Q: Did you get sick yourself?
A: I fell sick when we were in Chemhere Village. I heard a strange voice telling me to remove the underwear that I was wearing. I had developed a severe rash all over the body and my skin was itching. Although I removed the underwear, the damage had already been done, the irritation had spread to other parts of the body. As I was sick, another group which was under the command of Cde Moyana MuZimbabwe and was coming from Chiondo, joined us.
Immediately after joining us, Cde Zimbudzana, who was with the other group, collapsed and died. That group had also received the jeans from the same people who had given us. After that I became seriously ill. My friends began digging a grave as they thought that I was not going to survive. I whispered to our medic Dhuma Dhuma to get milk for me from the povo.
I then drank the milk, which was mixed with salt and after a few days I began to gather strength. Finally, I was able to stand on my own but another challenge presented itself. The toxic elements had affected me mentally. I could hear buzzing sounds in my head and one day I severely beat up a mujibha for no apparent reason.
Of the 15 fighters that joined us from Chiondo, only two comrades survived the chemical warfare agents. Moyana was one of the two who survived and he is now a farmer in Goromonzi. His real name is Kambarami. In total, 35 freedom fighters who were operating in our zone lost their lives due to poisoning. I fully recovered after three months.
Q: In the end, how did you know that chemical warfare agents were behind the mysterious deaths?
A: Our commander sent reports to the superiors and tests were conducted in the rear with the results concluding that we were poisoned. Spirit mediums also advised us to desist from accepting clothes from anyone.
Q: What were the effects of the chemical warfare agents on the liberation struggle?
A: The use of chemical warfare agents demoralised us. We did not know what was hitting us.
Some of the chemical warfare agents were being produced at the University of Rhodesia (now University of Zimbabwe). The poison would be injected into beef, drinks and laced in cigarettes. In the end, we became vigilant and were no-longer accepting clothes from people we were not sure of. Sadly, we had black people who were working for the Rhodesians in distributing the poisoned clothes to the fighters. In Mberengwa, we had Masamvana and Madhawu, who were agricultural extension officers. They distributed clothes that were poisoned resulting in many fighters losing their lives.
They were however, caught and Masamvana was killed soon after the comrades nabbed him. Madhawu was taken by the comrades to Mozambique where he died after the Rhodesian army bombed the base where he was being held captive by freedom fighters.
Q: After recuperating where did you go?
A: I was tasked with taking the sick and the wounded to the rear in Mozambique. We could walk for 16 days before we reached the rear. I accompanied the comrades that were affected mentally by chemical warfare and I tell you it was a very difficult task.
