Face-to-face with Chimoio massacre

 

IN last week’s instalment, Cde Joze, born Joel Mutandi, narrated how he crossed into Mozambique to join the liberation struggle at the tender age of 17. In this continuing discussion with Garikai Mazara, he comes face-to-face with bloodshed at Nyadzonia and Chimoio, even before joining the fray at the front.

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Q: How long did the burials take?

A: Almost a week. We did not concentrate on Nyadzonia alone as some of them were killed while they were fleeing from the camp. You could find a dead body a kilometre or even more, from the camp. Some of the injured were taken to Chimoio, Parirenyatwa Base, after which the present-day hospital takes its name. The badly injured were taken to Beira.

After the burials, we went back to Chimoio, Takawira Base 2, a training base to be specific, whose base commander was Dominic Chinenge (current Vice President Constantino Chiwenga) and the director of training was Stephen Chocha (former police chief Augustine Chihuri). We were now military instructors, training comrades.

We didn’t take long as military instructors, as soon there was a call for those who had gone up to Form Four. I think when we were selected we were slightly over a hundred, to open Wampua Academy of Political Studies.

We were the founding students. Gula-Ndebele, Mutsvangwa (after he had been injured at the front), Boniface Chidyausiku, Justin Mupamhanga, I am mentioning only those you might know, those that became public figures and my dear friend Pascal, the one who fed me at Nyadzonia — we were the first students.

After finishing the training, we were deployed, some to the front, some to the commissariat. I was deployed back to military, back to Takawira Base 2, where, again, we were chosen to go and open Nachingwea Base in Tanzania and the head of that team was the late Mark Dube, nom de guerre Joshua Misihairambwi.

When we got there, we had about five bases at Nachingwea, Bases 1 to 4 and HQ, where Cde Misihairambwi used to stay. That was early 1977. Then there were squabbles back in Mozambique and we were asked to go back, all those who had come from Mozambique.

A signal arrived that all those who had come from Mozambique should go back and attend to the issues that had arisen there. The late Rex Nhongo addressed us on arrival at Beira, that though we had been sent back, there was really no need.

We were then taken to Chimoio, back to Takawira Base, as military instructors. Then Yugoslavia helped us with a lot of weapons, the M90s and lancer grenades. I was chosen as part of the team to research and learn how those weapons worked, working with Luck Luciano, that is the one I still remember.

Then we started training comrades how to use the weapons.

After some time, I was chosen to go and open Mabanana Base near Pungwe River. But before leaving Takawira Base, as military instructors, I had trained the likes of Webster Shamu, the late Felix Muchemwa, the late Herbert Ushewokunze, Rugare Gumbo and Sydney Sekeramayi in military warfare.

Q: You mean these comrades were trained to handle guns?

A: Yes. There was a time when it was decided that everyone should have basic military knowledge.

Q: And Robert Mugabe?

A: He was trained outside the country.

Q: So that he never handled a gun, those are just rumours?

A: Well, the information that I had was that he had trained outside. I don’t know for sure but I know it was now party policy that one had to receive military training before one became a political leader. Whether it was a cover up for Mugabe or not, I am not sure but we were told he had trained outside.

Anyway, later on we went to Mabanana Base, where we were tasked to train commando units. Our first commando unit was the one that hit Grand Reef air base, if you have heard about the attack on Grand Reef.

Led by the likes of Gibson Mashingaidze and Stephen Chocha, that commando unit went and hit Grand Reef and came back without any casualties, which was a feather in our cap. They also hit Mutare.

Pungwe 1 was then closed for logistical reasons and we opened Pungwe 3, where we received those we had left in Tanzania, at Nachingwea. And those who had been injured at the front, we received them at Pungwe 3.

Q: What were the logistical problems that caused the closure of Pungwe 1, Mabanana Base?

A: Water was the main concern, there was not enough water for use. At Pungwe 3, we were by the banks of the river.

Because I had received medical training, I was asked to attend to those who had been injured at the front.

Then one day, we noticed planes flying to and from, and we just wondered, but we knew something was wrong. Then later in the day, one comrade arrived and told us that all was not well at Chimoio.

Q: What was the distance like, between Pungwe 3 and Chimoio?

A: Well, could be slightly over 20km. Yes, this comrade had walked all the away from Chimoio. At Chimoio, there were several bases: Nehanda (for women), Zvido Zvevanhu (logistics), Takawira (training base), HQ, Commissariat (which had Wampua College), Parirenyatwa (the hospital) and Chindunduma (for children).

There was a real fight at Chimoio, because unlike Nyadzonia, this one had trained personnel. Although there were more refugees than trained personnel, our comrades put up a fight.

And just like at Nyadzonia, I was part of the first team to arrive at Chimoio on a save-and-rescue mission.

The Rhodesians lost a number of planes and soldiers, especially their paratroopers, because they thought they had over-run the base and when we arrived, we engaged them.

Q: Chimoio HQ, what kind of personnel stayed there?

A: Cde Bethuene was the camp commander, and this is where members of the High Command would stay when they visited. The very first plane attack threw a bomb on the command centre, and fortunately the likes of Cdes Tongogara and the late Mupanzarima had just left Chimoio.

We started the Nyadzonia experience over again, looking for survivors, burying the dead. It was horror again.

That was the fall of Chimoio and from thereon it was decided that we were no longer going to have a permanent base, that we were going to be always on the move. It was a strategic military decision.

The High Command and provincial and sectoral commanders used to meet at Chimoio to plan the war.

Q: Probably make us understand, when you say provincial commander, what are we talking about? How many provinces did we have?

A: We had three provinces. Tete was for Cde Perrance Shiri, Manica was for Cde Paradzai Zimondi (Tonderayi Nyika during the war) and Gaza changed provincial commanders several times. It started with Cde Makasha, then Cde Chinenge (Chiwenga) then came Cde . . ., I have forgotten his name.

Most of these left because of injuries. Cde Makasha is buried at the National Heroes’ Acre.

Q: After provinces?

A: A province was divided into sectors, that is where the sectoral commander fitted in. We started off only with provinces, sectors and detachments.

But as the war progressed and the numbers swelled, the detachments were further divided into platoons and a platoon would be made up of three sections and a section would have an average of 12-15 comrades.

Q: We have buried the dead at Chimoio, what happened next?

A: Then I approached Cde Tonderai Nyika (Paradzayi Zimondi) who was the provincial commander and I asked him to go to the front. Remember we had abandoned the idea of bases and we were now constantly on the move but that did not stop the air raids.

These were like weekly now and it was becoming unbearable, so I approached him and said I want to go to the front. He advised us to organise ourselves and he would take us when we were ready.

We were four and he took us to Cde Stan Matiki, who was a sectoral commander and handed us to him.

This was at a base called Kufa, Kufa’s Base that is how we called it. We spent a week there and then joined a group that had just come back from the front for reinforcements.

What I remember about Kufa’s Base is the Kambudzi Mountain, which had a steep slope, so steep and stretching for kilometres such that some failed to cross it.

I had to carry about 20kg of medical supplies and cross that mountain. We got into Honde Valley and found all the people in a keep, those were the days when villagers were enclosed such that they didn’t offer support to comrades.

Walking mostly by night because we could not risk exposing ourselves during the day, we would survive by raiding bread delivery trucks for food.

We walked up to the Bonda Mission reserves, whose detachment stretched up to Manica Bridge. After a week or so of walking, we got into Mutasa, crossing the Bingaguru Mountain, where we were introduced to the spiritual mediums in the area, and I remember one Machengo.

Later on we were introduced to Cde Marvellous, who was the detachment commander.

Then my first confrontation. We were walking one night and we just came under fire, very close by. We took cover and listened, trying to find out if they could be fellow comrades.

When we realised it was the enemy, we exchanged fire, with Cde Easy Go firing the bazooka. But on retreating I fell into a pit, must have been a disused mine shaft, three to four metres deep.

I slept there for the night and in the morning, got out. But the territory was unfamiliar to me and I could not make out my bearings so I sought to find out where I was and where my fellow comrades had gone.

What made my situation difficult was that I was wearing a Libyan army camouflage.

Q: Where did you get the Libyan camouflage?

A: When we left Pungwe we passed through Mavonde with Cde Nyika, Mavonde which went on to have that decisive Mount Cassino battle. There were comrades who had come from Libya with arms and I just admired the camouflages that they had.

I asked one comrade if he could give me his and that is how I got it and went with it to the front. But at the front, comrades were known to wear Sting outfits and jeans so when I got to one village looking for my colleagues, the villagers teamed up and tied me up, saying I was a Selous Scout trying to fool them.

They put me in a hut and later that evening, must have been around 7pm, they brought in comrades to identify me. Mike Jamela, whom I had trained with back in Mozambique, immediately recognised me, much to the relief of the villagers.

After untying me, they helped me to locate where I had left my weapon.

This episode shows you how much the villagers were in support of the struggle, they knew whom they were fighting and the reasons, there was that spirit of togetherness.

Then, here and there we would attack Odzani Dam, where whites would come for recreation, or the Nyanga highway.

Then came the battle that I will never forget, it was a dawn-to-dusk duel.

Q: Tell us more about it . . .

A: We had retired for the night and when we woke up, we realised we had been surrounded and when we did our reconnaissance we found out that we were badly outnumbered and it was pointless to open fire. So we started manoeuvring, trying to get out of the area.

We got into a stream and started following that stream. For some reason, the Rhodesians were not keen on attacking us as well and they just followed us, monitoring our movements.

Then at one point Cde Nation asked us why we were running away, weren’t we defeating the purpose of coming to the front if we were to spend the whole day running away from the enemy. He said we should just attack them.

By this time the Rhodesians were also tired, this we could tell by the way they carried their weapons. We were less than 15 and we decided to take positions and open fire.

We strategically positioned ourselves and we hit them hard.

But little did we know that they had reinforcements and soon two helicopters came. We lost quite a number of our comrades, some were even captured as well as some villagers, for collaborating with us.

I remember Cde Aleck was captured during that battle.

I ran to a nearby homestead, with Dave, a mujibha. We hid in a granary (dura) and when the Rhodesians who were pursuing us came, they were told by the villager that had hid us that we didn’t stop by his homestead but had proceeded. That is how we survived.

Later on, I went to Gandanzara detachment and briefed them about the battle that had just happened. Then some time later we were sent, must have been about 20 of us, to go and collect weapons from Nyanga. When we got to Odzi River it was flooded and we could not cross it.

We slept by its banks so that we could cross the following morning. Around 4am, we came under attack as Rhodesian soldiers had been following us all the way.

We fought back and by some stroke of luck we managed to cross the raging river under that attack. The 20 of us made it across the river and later on we went back to collect our weapons, which we had hidden.

We made it safely back to our area of operation, just in time to hear that a ceasefire had been announced.

In the next and final instalment, Cde Joze speaks about his third granary escape and how he was injured and left for dead when the ceasefire had already been announced. He also remembers Morrison Nyathi arriving at Goromonzi Assembly Point in 1980, probably the last time the sell-out was seen alive. Don’t miss it.