The Sunday Mail
CDE AARON MUSIWAVO TOKOYO (AMT) ends the narration of his perilous struggle in guerrilla camps in Mozambique in the late 1970s, as he sought to be deployed to the front to fight in the war of liberation. This week, he recounts to our Deputy News Editor LINCOLN TOWINDO (LT) how he narrowly survived the Chimoio massacre by chance, leading to his eventual deployment to the front towards the end of the war.
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LT: Upon realising that Chimoio was under attack, what did you do?
AMT: We did not realise at that moment the true scale of the Rhodesian offensive.
At that time, we had no idea where the Rhodesian planes were coming from because there were just too many of them in the sky.
All we could see were bombs being dropped from the planes onto Chimoio.
Luckily for me, I was coming from Mudzingadzi Camp, which was about 10 kilometres from Chimoio. I only survived that attack because I had gone to Mudzingadzi to look for snuff.
The Rhodesian planes did not drop any bombs on Mudzingadzi on the first day of the attack. I suspect they did not have orders to attack Mudzingadzi on the firstday. If they had those orders, that would have meant certain death for me.
Mudzingadzi housed the production department, where we had gardens for our food.
Rhodesian planes then started dropping paratroopers.
They wanted to stop anyone from leaving Chimoio and any reinforcements from going towards the camp. So, I took cover on Mudzingadzi River, which was a short distance from the camp.
Many of us took advantage of the enemy’s focus on Chimoio to go into Mudzingadzi to pack up supplies such as food and clothes from the storeroom. We knew there was no way we were going to stay there anymore, because we suspected an attack on Mudzingadzi was imminent.
Our fears were confirmed the following day, when the Rhodesian planes came and mounted an attack on Mudzingadzi. Luckily, by the time they launched the attack the following morning, the base had already been abandoned.
While I was not at Chimoio when the attack happened, I observed from a distance how our fellow comrades were massacred in broad daylight.
LT: Since Chimoio had been decimated, obviously, you had to move on to another camp.
AMT: We went to another base — Gondola — where we stayed for a while, awaiting orders from our commanders on what we were supposed to do next. Before long, trucks were sent to ferry us to Tete, where we were settled in a new camp.
Having witnessed the true scale of the massacre at Chimoio, the commanders decided that, as young, trained cadres, we would be sent back to the Red Guards for our own safety.
This was not well received by my peers.
We knew that being sent to the Red Guards would mean that there was no chance of being deployed to the front.
Along with a small group of peers, we then decided to run away from that base. We knew that we would not be deployed to the front by our commanders.
We decided to go to Tembwe, where we knew that deployment of trained cadres to the front was imminent.
Fortunately for us, we were again working under the security department.
So, it was very easy to come up with an escape plan and find our way to Tembwe because we were interacting with locals who knew the local terrain better.
After staying for a short while, bidding our time, we ran off.
LT: What then happened on arrival at Tembwe? Were you finally deployed to the front?
AMT: Unbeknown to us, around that time, our political leaders were finalising talks with the Smith regime in Geneva.
That was around the time they settled the ceasefire agreement. However, our commanders were also planning to deploy reinforcements to the front around the same time.
So, the orders came that we were finally going to be deployed to the front. We were elated.
Dozens of Scania trucks came to our camp; they were going to ferry us to the crossing point.
We were taken to a place known as kumaBanana, where we crossed the border into Rhodesia.
We were welcomed by battle-hardened comrades who were already at the front.
The vehicles went back to collect others.
Sadly, before I even had a chance to fight the white man on the battlefield, the ceasefire agreement was finalised.
We were ordered to go to assembly points, and I was part of the group that was taken to Mary Mount Mission in Mt Darwin.
At Mary Mount, I worked as a personal assistant of Cde Perrance Shiri, the late former commander of the Air Force (of Zimbabwe).
I was one of his guarda poshtos.
Due to our proximity to Cde Shiri, we were chosen to be part of the group that was deployed to Mt Darwin, where ZANU was setting up an office. I worked as a receptionist at that office.
Since I had access to office phones, I called home and told my family that I was alive and well, and staying in Mt Darwin.
I am one of the few war veterans who can stand up and say I survived the war without sustaining an injury. I think my ancestors were guiding and watching over me since I was very young. After demobilisation, Cde Tokoyo served in the Zimbabwe National Army before retiring in 2000.
Next week, we feature Cde Nobert Mavhungire, a former guerrilla fighter who took part in countless bruising battles that left him scarred for life.
Twitter: @kuntowaz
