Fighting at night was our specialty

LAST week, CDE SOLOMON MOYANA (SM), a veteran of the liberation struggle, told our Political Editor KUDA BWITITI (KB) how he survived an air raid by Rhodesia’s security forces at Nyakatsine base in Mutoko, Mashonaland East province, sometime in late 1978. During this incident, liberation fighters suffered heavy casualties. This week, he tells us about another battle in Mutoko, where guerillas emphatically defeated the feared Selous Scouts.

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KB: What happened after you recovered from the air attack at Nyakatsine?

SM: We then moved to another base called Mutemwa, which was also in Mutoko. It was not long after we arrived there that we were attacked by some Rhodesian planes.

KB: How did the attack happen?

SM: It was in the morning when we saw two planes. We lost some comrades in that battle. However, after this battle, we decided to change tactics. That is when we started using landmines and booby traps to target the enemy. I was given the task of making the landmines.

I was quite proud and pleased to be given this task. In fact, I can say I became an expert in making landmines and laying booby traps.

KB: Can you recount some battles where you used these landmines and booby traps.

SM: Yes, there were a number of occasions when I did so. Our strategy was to ambush the enemy forces. In one battle, which also occurred in Mutoko, I concealed a landmine by putting some sadza and porridge on it. This was to ensure that the landmine would not be detected, because the enemy forces moved around with detectors.

On this day, the Rhodesian security forces approached our base with a convoy. Just as they arrived, one of their vehicles, which was at the front, struck the landmine and there was a big explosion. That vehicle literally flew off the ground because of the powerful force of the landmine.

As the rest of their vehicles stopped, the soldiers disembarked, ready to fight. Little did they know that there were more landmines.

I saw one enemy soldier flying into the air after he stepped onto a landmine. I kind of felt sorry for him, because he was literally torn into pieces due to the sheer power of that explosive. This is one of the battles I remain proud of because we roundly defeated the enemy, and I played the major role of having made the landmines that caused damage to our foes.

KB: Did they not come for you after this battle?

SM: Yes, they did. We had moved to another base, at Dzvengwe, in Mutoko, not far from that battle zone.

You see, they always preferred to attack us during the day, as they avoided confrontation at night, because, as guerrillas, fighting during the night was our specialty. So, on that day, we were prepared because we knew that it would not be long before they came to revenge for losses they had suffered in the last battle.

This time, they deployed the Selous Scouts, who were among their special forces. We used to call them MaSkuza.

What they did not know was that, the night before, we had received information that they were in the area. They actually went to a place where they had some beer that evening.

Our chimbwidos and mujibas (war collaborators), who acted as our intelligence officers, gave us critical information about their movements.

They knew the Selous Scouts because of the way they wore their hats and their brown attire.

After learning of where they were, we decided to catch them off-guard and attack them in the early morning, at dawn.

On that morning, there was a full moon. They had grouped together at a rock pavement in the bush. We approached them stealthily, camouflaged by the bushes. As soon as we got within firing range, we started shooting at them. However, one of them, who had an LMG machine gun, managed to flee.

He is the one we really wanted so that we could confiscate that machine gun. However, we killed the rest of the enemy soldiers. They suffered heavy casualties. That whole rock pavement was covered in blood.

We managed to take away their guns and even their shoes. They lay dead on that pavement for three days, until their bodies were removed by their colleagues.

KB: How many Selous Scouts were killed in that battle?

SM: There were about 15 of them. We were really proud of winning that battle because Selous Scouts were known for their brutality against liberation fighters. They were special forces and used several strategies to outwit us, including pretending to be liberation fighters, before pouncing on unsuspecting comrades.

Next week, we conclude our discussion with Cde Moyana narrating some of the last battles he took part in just before the country gained independence.