The Sunday Mail
IN his narration this week, Cde STEVE TRINITY CHIDAVANYIKA (STC) tells our reporter AARON CHARUNGWA MOYO (ACM) of the bloody battle he was involved in.
*************
ACM: You have told us of your involvement in five fiery battles with the Rhodesian army. Can you tell us what happened in subsequent contacts with the enemies?
STC : The sixth battle took place in November 1978.
I was part of a group that was accompanying two sections of comrades from the Hwedza and Chiduku detachments that were coming from collecting materials in Mozambique.
We came under a surprise attack from enemy forces while we were climbing the Kambudzi Mountain cliff.
Anyone who has ever used that route from Kambudzi to Tsetsera near Mutambara will tell you that coming under an enemy attack is the worst thing that could ever happen there.
Kambudzi Mountain is vertically steep, at nearly 90°, and more than 150 metres in height.
Imagine climbing such a mountain while carrying more than 30 kilogrammes of guns, bullets, bullet cases and bombs.
The enemies, who were perched somewhere on the same side of the cliff, waited until we were halfway up and started firing at us.
Because of the steep angle, the enemies knew that it was impossible for us to directly hit them. We were clinging to the moss and outgrowth on the cliffside.
The enemies probably hoped we would panic, lose grip and plunge to our deaths.
We told comrades to hold on tight as the bullets were missing our positions by some margin. Because of the way we were clinging to the plants, we could not unsling our guns that were on our backs to return fire.
When the situation became desperate, God and our ancestors probably heard our pleas and somewhere from the opposite side of the cliff, we heard the sound of SMGs (small machine guns) firing towards the enemies’ positions.
Comrades from Mahomad Kufa’s base, who were also on a mission to collect war materials, had come to our rescue. If it weren’t for them, we would have been killed.
As they fired at the enemies, we continued climbing to safety. We had no time to look back at what was happening because we needed to get to safety quickly.
ACM: Okay. What happened next?
STC : The seventh was the Ruda Camp battle, which happened around October 1979.
We had received orders from our commanders to advance the Hwedza-Svoswe and Chihota detachments to the margins of Salisbury (now Harare). This was in preparation for a final push against the colonial regime in the capital.
We were ordered to go to Nyachibva for a briefing by Cde Mupetabere, the Tangwena sector commander, and Cde Tonderai Nyika, the provincial commander.
Our group, which was under the command of Cde Chenjerai Hondo, was travelling on a very dark and rain-drenched night.
One of our comrades, who was leading the single file formation, probably fell asleep because of exhaustion whilst on the march and missed the route others were following and fell into a gully.
We had all been disoriented by exhaustion and the lightning that was relentlessly flashing in the night sky, and we almost fell into the gully as well. He then began shouting for help and all those behind him stopped to assist. After we got him up and out, we continued with our march. But we soon realised we had lost our way. So, we had to rest and wait for daybreak to see where we were going.
As soon as it was clear enough to see where we were, we noticed that we were on the edge of the dreaded Ruda Camp. We soon realised we were in the lion’s den. Suddenly, being captured by the enemies was a real possibility.
We knew that engaging the enemies in daylight was very risky given that they could deploy planes within minutes.
I quickly took a decision to act.
The Rhodesians had cleared all the land around the camp as far as the eye could see so that they could detect an attack from a distance.
We could not afford to lose even a second if we were to cross undetected and avoid heavy fighting or being captured. So, I ordered the comrades to start crossing at 10-second intervals. Unbeknown to us, the enemies were able to scan the cleared land from their fortified enclosure. They discovered that something amiss was taking place about four kilometres up the adjacent slope. It was when the last three comrades were about 100 metres from the safety of the highland on the opposite side that they were spotted by the enemies.
The Rhodesians then started firing.
We then began scurrying away before the enemies could deploy heavy machinery such as helicopters. Soon, we were at a vantage point. We then began firing back to protect our retreat. We quickly made our way out of the enemies’ sight before they could mount a massive deployment. Soon enough, we reached our gathering point at Sekuru Nyamandwe’s kraal, around 7pm. We were walking like zombies because of exhaustion.
The next battle was the botched Inyanga Road raid of October 1979.
After spending the night at Sekuru Nyamandwe’s homestead, we decided to raid a convoy of trucks carrying goods to shops in Inyanga town, before we could proceed to Nyachibva.
A number of similar raids had been conducted along the Inyanga highway to get clothing and food supplies for both the guerrillas and the masses in the area.
We set our ambush positions just after the curve on the highway that was close to the stream between Kukwanisa College and Nyamandwe village on Nyanga Road.
Comrades lined up along the tarred road to the east. We then placed two M90 rocket launchers on the northern end of our ambush positions; one was facing the north while the other faced south, towards the mouth of the ambush position.
We then had a third in the lower southern end of the ambush position, with all comrades out of sight and a good distance away.
The Odzi River depression was supposed to be our direction of retreat. There were more than 60 comrades in ambush positions.
Cde Chenjerai was in charge of the whole deployment and planning.
Then things went horribly wrong as we waited patiently for the trucks to enter the killing bag. A convoy of about 18 Rhodesian army trucks hobbled into the killing bag from the steep slope, unaware that they had entered an ambush zone.
There were no provisions trucks among them, and this left us all dumbfounded and confused. The Rhodesians sensed that something was amiss. They spotted our positions.
Cde Chenjerai ordered us not to fire. The Rhodesians were also ordered not to fire.
Then the unthinkable happened.
The Rhodesian convoy commander asked to be allowed to pass, assuring us that they will not fire at us. The situation was complicated.
Each side was going to lose many fighters if a firefight broke out.
All comrades remained glued to their positions, while the Rhodesians were also stuck in their trucks up above our positions.
Both sides were pointing their weapons towards the other.
That was when Cde Chenjerai and the Rhodesian commander started to negotiate.
We knew the Rhodesians were probably calling for reinforcement, including air support, so we needed to act fast.
The stalemate had to be broken and we were supposed to retreat to safety before the arrival of Rhodesian planes and ground force reinforcements. The Rhodesian pleaded for safe passage, but Cde Chenjerai was unconvinced.
He shouted at them: “You are lying! You are crooks!” But the Rhodesian continued to plead.
Then after some deliberations amongst ourselves, we agreed that allowing them safe passage was the best solution, as we were losing valuable time.
Cde Chenjerai then allowed them to go.
The vehicles started to move slowly up the road and were soon out of sight. That was when Cde Chenjerai gave the order to retreat into the Odzi Gorge. We all retreated safely into the ravine. But as soon as we reached high ground, helicopters and jet fighters arrived and started firing and dropping bombs indiscriminately. However, we had made good our escape and we reached Nyachibva without much incident.
Next week, Cde Steve Trinity Chidavanyika concludes his narration by recounting his last major battle against the Rhodesians and his subsequent demobilisation at the end of the war.
