The Sunday Mail
LAST week, CDE RICHARD CHIRONGWE (RC), who is the Secretary for Administration of the ZANU PF War Veterans League, revealed how he saved a fellow comrade, Cde Trevor Gwaradzimba, from the jaws of death at the height of a battle with Rhodesian security forces in 1979. This week, he tells our Political Editor KUDA BWITITI (KB) about the final days of the war in late 1979, just before the country attained independence.
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KB: What happened to Cde Gwaradzimba after he received treatment in Mozambique?
RC: He recovered fully and we became very good friends after independence. Whenever we met, he always expressed his thanks. He was the husband of national heroine and former Manicaland Provincial Minister Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba, who was also a war veteran. At times, he would even shed tears, recalling how I saved his life. For a while, he went to Yugoslavia, where he trained in security and returned to the country to become a senior officer in the intelligence department.
KB: Your main mission was still to complete the special assignment that General Josiah Tongogara had assigned you. Did you accomplish it?
RC: I received a message from Gen Tongo that I should now return to Mozambique. I now had the full report of what needed to be done. However, I could not go back because just before I was to travel, the Lancaster House talks started. Gen Tongo was no longer in Mozambique; he was in Lancaster as part of the team that participated in the talks. I had to wait for further instructions.
KB: What was the situation in the bush during the Lancaster House talks?
RC: We now had some free time. But the situation was still tense between us and Rhodesian soldiers. We were particularly concerned because they still harassed our war collaborators (mujibhas and chimbwidos). Restrictive laws were still in place and ordinary people continued to be segregated. Also, Rhodesian security forces still carried out acts of sabotage. For example, if they knew that you wanted to buy clothes, they would poison the clothes.
KB: Did you have any skirmishes with Rhodesian security forces during the Lancaster House talks?
RC: After the ceasefire was announced, I hijacked a Puma vehicle belonging to Rhodesian security forces in the Chirumanzu area. After taking the Puma, I drove into a police camp. I was with a comrade by the name Innocent, who was the driver.
I saw a Rhodesian police officer at the camp holding an AK47 gun and I did something brazen. When the police officer came to inspect the vehicle, I confiscated his gun. He was shocked, as he never anticipated that.
We drove away in the vehicle, with the Rhodesian security forces as our captives. We went to a nearby school and the children cheered us on, as they could not believe that we had taken the enemy captive.
On our part, it was a deliberate act to prove that we were now in charge and the povo did not need to fear our enemy anymore.
KB: So, you actually broke the ceasefire agreement?
RC: Yes! The news even reached Lancaster House that a comrade had broken the ceasefire. In fact, General Constantino Chiwenga was deployed to Chirumanzu to talk to me. I am sure he even remembers that incident to this day. He told me that it was not good to break the ceasefire arrangement by confiscating guns from our foes.
KB: Why did you decide to break the ceasefire?
RC: Our mission was not really to break the ceasefire; it was a protective measure because we could not trust the Rhodesian security forces. We wanted to act before they used those guns against our people.
KB: How did you relate with the people just before the ceasefire.
RC: We still worked with our mujibhas and chimbwidos. For example, with their assistance, we once addressed a meeting of over 2 000 people in Highfield. I was one of the comrades to put in place ZANU districts in Harare just before the ceasefire. We needed these because the challenge we had at that time was that there were some people who did not trust us. This was because Rhodesians still spread propaganda that we were terrorists.
Addressing the masses was important to apprise them of the developments that were taking place and explain to them that we were not bad people, but we were fighting for their freedom.
For me, that Highfield rally was very special because we told the masses about the needs of the comrades who were still in the bush.
We appealed to them for support to buy necessities for the comrades and we raised a lot of money. We also received other items such as clothes and food.
We were able to take these to the comrades who were still in the bush just before the war ended.
