The Sunday Mail
This week, Cde Sonny Shambira (SS) continues narrating his meandering journey to the war by recounting how he was finally selected to undergo military training. He also narrates to our Deputy News Editor, LINCOLN TOWINDO (LT), how he narrowly escaped with his life during the Chimoio massacre.
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LT: Last week, you concluded your narration by telling us how you patiently waited to be selected to undergo training. When were you finally picked among the thousands who were waiting to undergo military training?
SS: I was finally selected to go for training in 1976.
It was through sheer luck that I was chosen.
The selection was done randomly by the commanders. As such, you had to have a bit of luck on your side in order to be selected.
The commanders would select some to go overseas for training and education, while others were picked to do different educational courses.
I was selected to go for military training, and luckily, my elder brother was part of that group.
In total, four other siblings — three of my brothers and my sister — went to the war.
We then received training over a few months.
The training was very challenging.
What happened next nearly broke my spirit.
After finishing training, I was hit by a terrible bout of malaria.
I was then hospitalised in Tete.
As I said before, the conditions in the camps were very bad.
They were even worse in the camp hospitals.
Luckily for me, while I was receiving treatment, the late General (Vitalis) Zvinavashe visited the camp.
While touring the camp, he visited the hospital and what he saw made him very angry.
He witnessed the dire circumstances the hospital was in and immediately ordered our leaders to put everything in order.
When he saw me, he immediately ordered that I receive better treatment.
He said he wanted me to be discharged by the time he was to return to Chimoio.
From there, I was treated nicely and was given good food.
LT: I am assuming that you eventually recovered. What happened next after you were discharged?
SS: After being discharged, I was told that I was to return to Chimoio, where I was to receive my duties.
A truck came and took us to Chimoio, where I was assigned to the national stores.
The stores department was responsible for supplying food, clothes and many other materials to all the bases.
After a short while working under that department, I was transferred to the personnel department.
I did not last that long in that department.
The commanders ordered our deployment to the front.
I was assigned to operate in the Manica province, which was one of the three areas of operation that also included Tete and Gaza provinces.
In Manica province, I was deployed to Marange area.
We were involved in many battles with the enemy.
I remember this one battle where I was injured very badly.
We were sold out to the Rhodesian forces, who launched a surprise attack on our base.
There were many sellouts who worked with the Rhodesians during the war, whose activities led to the death of thousands of comrades.
The Rhodesians used to camp high up in the mountains, where they used binoculars to track our movements.
So, in order to avoid detection, we used to move at the break of dawn or at night.
We rarely moved that much during daytime.
So, on this day, the Rhodesians who were camped in the mountains received intelligence that we had set up base in the area.
They undertook their reconnaissance and established that, indeed, we had settled in that area.
They intended to attack when we least expected it.
When we had settled at the base and resting, the enemy pounced.
A brutal exchange of fire ensued.
Soon, we realised that we were being outgunned.
So, we employed this tactic we had learnt in training, whereby we would all disperse in separate directions whenever we realised that the enemy was having an upper hand.
We would later regroup at a different station.
As I was making my way out of the killing bag, I was hit in the right leg by a bullet.
I bled profusely, but luckily for me, I was able to escape the battle.
Later on, after regrouping, it was decided that I should be taken back to Mozambique for treatment.
So, I was taken back to Mozambique; I think it was sometime between September and November 1977
After receiving treatment, I was reassigned to work in the stores department again.
It was also during that time that I was afflicted by a strange ailment.
It all started with intense back pain and my condition deteriorated rapidly until I was unable to walk on my own.
I was taken to a place called Pasichigare, where traditional healers treated those who were suffering from different and inexplicable ailments
That was around the time the Chimoio massacre took place in November.
LT: Take us through how the Chimoio attack unfolded.
SS: The attack took place around the time I was suffering from this strange ailment that made it difficult for me to walk.
In fact, I could barely stand up.
Prior to the attack, the commanders were warned about an impending disaster by traditional diviners who were with us at the camp.
But they refused to heed the warnings.
The morning of the attack, we were called to a parade.
Since I could not stand on my own, I leant against a mango tree for support while the rest of the comrades were standing in the parade.
Just as one of our leaders began addressing the comrades, we heard a very loud noise coming from above.
Everyone looked up into the sky and we all saw a swarm of Rhodesian aircraft.
The planes were flying at very low altitude, so the sound was very terrifying.
They were also flying very low so that we would not spot them from a distance.
If I am not mistaken, there were 11 different bases at Chimoio.
So, each individual plane was assigned to attack a specific target.
The planes suddenly began dropping bombs directly at the comrades who had gathered for the parade.
I remember this young woman who, out of sheer terror, was immobilised; she did not know what to do or where to run to.
She then came running towards me and grabbed me and wrapped her hands tightly around me.
We both were unable to move.
I guess she wanted me to carry her to safety.
But I could not do that because I could not move on my own, let alone carry someone along.
I suppose she figured out that I could not help her, so she suddenly let go of me and ran off.
I then started thinking about how I would make it out of there alive.
The camp was located in what was, in fact, a farm. The outlying areas of the farm had just undergone land preparation, in preparation for planting of a maize crop.
So, there were no trees as far as the eye could see.
Because of that, there was nothing one could use as cover from enemy fire.
So, we were extremely exposed to the enemy advances.
What was clear to me was that if I remained rooted by that tree, I was definitely going to be killed.
So, I started walking away slowly.
I couldn’t run as the others were doing.
I was moving away very slowly while crouching.
By the grace of God, I was unscathed.
But what I saw broke my heart.
Comrades were being torn to shreds by the enemy’s bombs and bullets.
As I moved, bullets were whizzing past me.
Even up to today, I don’t know how I survived that massacre.
At one point, when enemy fire was so intense, I just hid under dozens of dead bodies that had piled up close to the peripheries of the camp.
People were crying out for help; there was so much bloodshed.
Later, when I noticed that the bombing had subsided a bit, I got up again and started walking away.
As I approached the boundary, I noticed a small burrow in the ground and got inside.
I then fell asleep inside that hole.
I got up sometime towards dusk and started walking towards the fence again.
The Rhodesians had burnt down the forest area surrounding the camp to make sure we had no cover.
So, they had cleared the ground to kill all those who were trying to escape.
Now, the soldiers were making their way into the camp, and I knew I had to find a way out quickly.
Fortunately, the back pain had subsided a bit and I could walk properly.
I made my way out of the camp through the burnt down forest.
That is when I noticed this one comrade who had also made it out.
We joined up and started walking away, leaving the danger behind us.
No one knew where we were going.
Next week, Cde Shambira continues recounting his riveting experiences by narrating how he was redeployed back to the front after recovering from his inexplicable ailment and bullet wounds. Twitter: kuntowaz
