The Sunday Mail
This is a continuation of our discussion with Cde Albert Nguluvhe, a former ZIPRA cadre who was among 400 learners and teachers from Manama High School in Gwanda who abandoned classes and crossed into Botswana on their way to Zambia.
In our previous instalment, Cde Nguluvhe (AN) narrated to our Senior Reporter TENDAI CHARA (TC) how he grew up in Beitbridge and how he, together with other Manama High School learners and teachers, crossed into Botswana on their way to Zambia, where they were subsequently trained to became liberation war fighters.
In this week’s instalment, the former freedom fighter takes us through his stay at a military training camp in Zambia, where living conditions were horrendous.
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TC: Cde, we ended our discussion last week with your group of 400 learners and teachers arriving in Botswana. Kindly continue from where you left off.
AN: As said previously, our group of 400 travelled throughout the night and arrived at Shashe River at around 6 in the morning. We then crossed into Botswana. When we crossed into Botswana, some of the cadres that had taken us from Manama – the ones that had AK47s – just disappeared and we were left in the care of the other cadres that were unarmed.
As we were crossing into Botswana, a Rhodesian spotter plane hovered above us. The Rhodesian army obviously spotted us but did not take any action. It was a lucky escape.
We were then addressed by some cadres. An official announcement to the effect that our days in school were gone and that we were now going to war was made. The cadres who had taken us from school told us that they were ZIPRA fighters and that they were ZAPU members. We were given an option to either remain with the ZAPU cadres or join other political parties. We didn’t know much about political parties then and we all decided to stick with the ZIPRA cadres.
TC: Do you still remember any one of the ZIPRA cadres that recruited you from Manama?
AN: I honestly don’t remember any one of them. However, I met one or two of the cadres in 1980 but I cannot remember their names. I am sure if you check with some of the people that we crossed the border with, they might recall who these comrades were.
After the address, we were then handed over to the Botswana Mobile Force. Botswana then had no regular army and the Mobile Force, which was like our own Support Unit, acted as the army. We were then ferried by trucks to Francistown. In Francistown, we were temporarily housed at a police station before we were flown to Lusaka, Zambia.
TC: Were you welcomed and treated well by the Batswana? Were they sympathetic to your cause?
AN: We were treated very well. However, the other cadres that had brought us to Botswana were arrested and detained. I don’t know what happened to them.
One day, before we were flown to Zambia, it came out in the news that Ian Smith, the Rhodesian Prime Minister, was sending buses to collect the Manama students and return them to school. The buses came and we were given a choice to either proceed to Zambia or board the buses and return home. Less than 40 people took heed of Smith’s call and returned home.
We spent a week or two in Francistown before we were taken by plane to Zambia, where we landed at the Lusaka International Airport. That was in January 1977. From the airport, we were then taken by lorries to a camp called Nampundu. This was the camp where everyone who was going to Zambia for military training would first settle.
The living conditions at Nampundu were very bad. We were in our thousands. After arriving at the camp, we were called to a parade. We didn’t know what a parade was. During the early days, we were made to roll, jump and do the toyi-toyi. We always took our food whilst toyi-toying. We were told in no uncertain terms that we were now in a war situation.
I remember we had some guys who were coming from Wenela, the South African mines, where they were working. When they came, they were putting on nice clothes and wearing expensive watches. They were made to crawl and roll in mud.
I remember we had an instructor called Thodlana. He was a tough guy who was determined to turn us into real men. I was very young then, probably 16 or 17. At one time I got sick and I think the sickness was a direct result of the horrible living conditions.
We slept in barracks that were made up of poles, mud and grass. During the rainy season, the huts leaked like sieves. I got malaria. I think that was around the time that Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo, the ZIPRA founder, died.
The instructors did not treat us with kid gloves. They were trying to change our thinking from a civilian mindset to a military one. We were being prepared for the hardships that lay ahead of us.
We had both male and female cadres at Nampundu. Roughly, we were about 67 000 when I was there. Dr Joshua Nkomo came one day and addressed us. He acknowledged the presence of the Manama students and thanked us for the sacrifice.
TC: Were you, in any way, motivated by Dr Nkomo’s speech?
AN: It was my first time to see Dr Nkomo in person. I had heard a lot of stories about him. Stories to the effect that the knobkerrie that he carried around could turn into a snake. I was so eager to meet him in person. It was said that Dr Nkomo had supernatural powers that could make him disappear. His address was well-received and almost everybody present was eager to go for military training. In my case, I was so excited and I desperately wanted to be trained because of the inspiration that I received from Dr Nkomo.
TC: Did Dr Nkomo have supernatural powers?
AN: Hold on to that one (laughing). I will come to that topic later. However, in short, I think it was about the guerrilla tactics that he used that would make people think he would disappear. I will tell you more about the tactics as we proceed.
TC: What then happened after Dr Nkomo’s address?
AN: From Nampundu, we were taken to a new camp that was being established. The camp was called the Communist Guerrilla Training Camp, (CGT). It was located about 90 kilometres east of Lusaka. The current Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General PV Sibanda, was the camp commander.
The conditions at CGT were also very tough. We were, however, getting used to such hardships. Since it was a new camp, we had to build the barracks ourselves using poles, mud and grass.
At times food was scarce at the camp, especially during the rainy season when the trucks that brought food often got stuck in mud.
Sometimes we would spend up to three days without food. We were put into different camps according to our age groups. There was Company A, B, C and so on. Military training, which was very tough, was for six months.
In our next instalment, Cde Nguluvhe will tell us about the experiences that he had at CGT under General PV Sibanda. He will also give us an insight into how the ZIPRA army – made up of cadres of different tribal groupings, among them the Shona, Ndebele, Tonga, Venda and Kalanga – dealt with issues of tribalism. He will also take us through his journey to Bulgaria, where he received further training in intelligence security. Do not miss it.
