The Sunday Mail
THIS is our third instalment with CDE JOSEPH SERIMA (JS), whose Chimurenga name was Vavengi Muchapera. We ended last week’s discussion with the former freedom fighter narrating to our Senior Reporter TENDAI CHARA (TC) how he witnessed a tragic accident in which a freedom fighter accidentally discharged his gun and shot himself in the face. In this week’s edition, Cde Serima will continue from where he left off as he takes us deep into the war zone where he fought countless battles.
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TC: Cde, we ended our discussion as you were narrating to us how a freedom fighter accidentally shot himself while polishing his gun. If you can go deeper and tell us about your active involvement in the Rhodesian Bush War.
JS: Like I said last week, we were temporarily housed at a farm outside Chimoio as we awaited deployment to the war zone. Before I was deployed, I did specialist training, focusing on using an AK47 rifle fitted with lancers. I also specialised in operating the M90 bazooka. This weapon is very light, but effective. One of our instructors was Cde Zhepe. In June 1976, we were finally deployed to the war zone and I was posted to the Nyanga area. The first battle that I took part in was when we attacked the Ruda camp. Our mission was a success.
Cde Rex Nhongo was the company commander, our political commissar (PC) was Cde Josiah Tungamirai, with Cde Augustine Urayayi being in charge of logistics. We went to the camp during the night, occupied our positions and attacked. We were armed to the teeth with recoilless rifles, Mortar 82, and the bazookas, among other weapons. This was a hit-and-run operation and we did not take much time. We attacked them at dawn when they were enjoying their sleep.
After the Ruda attack, our company returned to Mozambique from where we were deployed to different provinces. I was redeployed to the Nyanga area where I operated from. I covered such areas as Samarenga, in Honde Valley, where I was eventually sold out.
TC: Tell us about this selling-out, what happened?
JS: We were coming from Samarenga and we were headed for Honde Mission. We were being accompanied by some of the locals who were helping us by carrying our war materials. When we arrived at our base, we dismissed those that were helping us and they returned to their homes. One of the locals that had helped us, a teacher, then sold us out to the Rhodesians, for whom he was working for as a spy. We wanted to proceed to a place called Samanyandwe the following day.
We slept at our base and as we were about to have our breakfast the following morning, all hell broke loose. The sky was blue and clear, without any clouds. We noticed a spotter plane hovering above us. I was the Section PC and I immediately sprang into action. We were least expecting an attack. I advised the security guys to take their positions. Our commander ordered us to defend ourselves. Within minutes, the sky was full of Rhodesian airplanes, mostly helicopters. Rhodesian soldiers were being dropped at the same time. I took aim at a helicopter, but the gunfire from the helicopter ripped apart my gun. I was left holding only a small portion of the gun barrel. I got confused. I thought my hand had also been blown off.
As I tried to take cover, a bomb was dropped. The shrapnel from the bomb hit my arm. Some of the fragments also hit part of my head. The battle was fierce and we fought the enemy up until seven o’clock in the evening when we could not fight due to bad light. Initially, I did not realise that I had been hit by two bullets which entered my body through the waist. The bullets are still lodged in my body up to this day.
Doctors advised me against having the bullets removed since an operation to remove them would affect some of the veins, resulting in further damage. If I show you the x-rays, you will clearly see the bullets.
TC: It was now late in the evening and the fighting had stopped. What did you then do?
JS: I then realised that I had been shot and I could barely walk. My fellow comrades had left the base and I was now all by myself, bleeding profusely. I crawled to a nearby river before I gathered strength to slowly walk down the river. After walking a short distance, I came to a garden which had banana and sugarcane plants.
There was an anthill in the garden. I went to the anthill and leaned against it. I was still bleeding. Exposure to gunpowder can make a person feel dizzy. Within minutes, I fell asleep. I had a dream and in the dream, I had been captured and was being severely tortured.
I then woke up and within minutes, I fell asleep again. When this happened for the second time, I had the same dream in which I had been captured by the enemy. I then noticed a light, which was coming from a torch, in the direction of the river. The Rhodesian soldiers were following the blood trail that I left behind as I was trudging into the garden. They were clearly hot on my heels and I was certain that within moments, the enemy was going to sniff me out and kill me.
I somehow squeezed myself through a small gap in the garden fence and went on to lean against a banana plant. Within moments, two white soldiers arrived at the fence. I overheard one of the soldiers saying that I was somewhere near since he had seen the bloody trail that I was leaving behind. His colleague argued that I had already left the place. A heated argument soon ensued and harsh words were exchanged between the two soldiers.
After a while, two shots rang. The feuding Rhodesian soldiers had exchanged gunfire, resulting in the death of one of them. In a strange and miraculous development, a strong wind carried and placed me right in the middle of a thick banana plantation. I then lost consciousness, only to be awakened by a helicopter that came the following morning to pick up the dead Rhodesian soldier.
When the helicopter came, it blew up a strong wind which exposed me. For another strange reason, the Rhodesian soldiers did not notice me although I had been badly exposed. As the helicopter was hovering above me, I was making a silent plea to Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Chaminuka for them to intervene and save me. I was, however, pleasantly surprised and relieved at the same time when the helicopter flew away without the occupants noticing me. The blood that had oozed from my head injuries had covered my eyes and I struggled to open them.
TC: How did the Rhodesian soldiers fail to see you when you were that badly exposed?
JS: A lot of unbelievable things happened during the war. We had spirit mediums that guided us out of dangerous situations and our ancestral spirits took great care of us. Under normal circumstances, the Rhodesian soldiers should have seen me and possibly killed me.
If you look at it carefully, those that fought during the war do not boast about how they survived during the war. We all know that we are alive today not because we were clever during the war, but because we were under the protection of the spirit mediums and our ancestral spirits.
TC: You can continue with your narration . . .
JS: After the helicopter had left, I later on gathered the strength to slowly walk towards the nearest home. When I arrived at the home bloodied and dirty, the family members all fled in different directions.
Don’t miss the next edition as Cde Serima narrates to us how he was nursed back to health and how he continued to fight the enemy despite the life-threatening injuries.
