The Sunday Mail
WE conclude our discussion with Cde BAXTER MUPOTARINGA (BM), a former ZANLA liberation fighter who, like thousands of other youthful cadres, sacrificed his life for the liberation of the country. In our previous instalment, CDE MUPOTARINGA narrated his escape after a surprise Rhodesian army ambush and how he re-united with his comrades before returning to the rear. This week, the former freedom fighter narrates to our Senior Reporter TENDAI CHARA (TC) the rest of his journey until Zimbabwe attained Independence.
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TC : Kindly take us through your journey to Yugoslavia.
BM : In 1978, I was approached by Cde George Kashiri, one of the senior commanders who were operating in our zone.
Cde Kashiri’s real name is Cde Munyaradzi Machacha, who is now the principal of the Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology.
He led the section that also had Cde Black September in its ranks.
Cde Machacha took us to the rear before we went for specialised training in Yugoslavia.
We were the first group from our province to go to Yugoslavia for training.
We were ferried by a lorry to Tete in Mozambique, then to Chimoio, and finally Maputo.
In Maputo, we camped at a place called Maputo Farm One.
We stayed at this place for a long time.
Plans were being made for us to be flown to Yugoslavia.
We had our passports sorted out in Mozambique.
We were then taken to Yugoslavia via Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom, then to Amsterdam, Holland.
From Holland, we went to Belgrade and then Slovenia.
Yugoslavia, if I am not mistaken, was then made up of six republics.
We were taken to Ljubljana in Slovenia and housed at a police and army training camp, where we were taught customs clearing, immigration and law enforcement.
The training was meant to prepare us for work in independent Zimbabwe.
TC : How were you treated in Yugoslavia?
BM : The Yugoslavians were very good people.
They treated us very well.
For the six months I was there, I never encountered any problem.
Law enforcement training should have lasted four years.
Four years was a very long time since our services were needed at the front.
After completing the training, we went back to Maputo and from there, we were taken by lorry to Chaminuka Base in Chimoio.
From Chimoio, we were taken to Tete and then the Takawira sector.
We were operating in Mutoko, Goronga and Murehwa, among other areas.
The late national hero, Cde Perrance Shiri, was commanding Tete province.
I first met Cde Shiri at a base in Changara.
This was in early 1979 and the Lancaster House negotiations had commenced.
The war had reached a climax.
Ian Smith wanted to defeat us, so that he could have an upper hand during the negotiations.
TC : Take us through the battle that resulted in your permanent injuries.
BM : It was another surprise attack.
We were attacked when we were at our base in Goronga village.
I was part of a group being led by Cde Dobbie Grey.
I was shot in the leg and the bullet shredded part on my thigh and exited on the other side of the thigh.
Blood oozed out.
Some minor arteries had been raptured.
After being shot, I wobbled out of the battle zone and hid behind an anthill.
Luckily, I had some tractor wheel seals that we always had on us.
We called them ‘black power’ and they were very useful if one was injured.
We used them as bandages and they were very much effective in stopping the flow of blood.
The masses always saw us wearing the seals as necklaces.
They thought that the seals were part of our fashion statement.
After bandaging the leg, I tried to run further away from the battle zone.
Little did I know that a Rhodesian sniper was in the vicinity, aiming at me.
We were taught never to run in a straight line during a battle since doing that would make us easy targets for snipers.
So, I was running in a zig-zag way.
As I was running, the sniper’s bullet grazed my arm, narrowly missing my heart.
The sniper was targeting my heart.
He missed his target simply because I was not running in a straight line.
I used the “black power” to tie the gaping wound.
The sniper then came for the kill.
I hid behind a small bush and, strangely, the sniper breezed past me.
A lot of strange things happened during the war.
The involvement of spirit mediums gave a spiritual dimension to the war.
Stories in which freedom fighters were saved from the jaws of death by spirit mediums were very common.
TC : What happened next?
BM : The area that we were operating in was semi-liberated.
In semi-liberated areas, the povo would come and inspect bases after they had been attacked by the enemy.
The masses did that to ascertain whether there were dead or injured freedom fighters.
The villagers would bury the dead and take the wounded for treatment.
One villager came to where I was and when he saw me, he bolted.
The villager mistook me for a Rhodesian soldier.
I cried out to him to save me.
He then came back and made arrangements to take me to his home, where I was treated.
I am very grateful to this man.
My wish is to go back to this village and try to locate this man and thank him for saving my life.
From the villager’s home, I was taken to the nearest base, where I was re-united with an injured Cde Dobbie Gray.
Cde Gray had been shot in the stomach and his intestines were protruding.
The biggest challenge that we faced was the lack of medical drugs.
I was in pain and there were no pain killers.
The locals gave me marijuana to ease the pain.
For three days, the comrades, with the help from villagers, carried me to the Mozambican border.
We had to pass through a landmine-infested area.
I was a burden to the villagers since I was heavily built and, therefore, very heavy.
We then crossed the border and I was treated at Changara before I was taken to the Battaliao Camp Hospital in Tete.
The hospital was overwhelmed and I did not get the best treatment.
I spent the last days of the war recuperating at Matidze Base and, from there, at Chimoio.
When Zimbabwe attained independence, we were then taken from Mozambique to Goromonzi as refugees.
In independent Zimbabwe, I worked as a customs and excise officer before retiring.
I am now a full-time farmer.
TC : Thank you for your time
BM : You are welcome.
