The Sunday Mail
This week, Cde Onias Garikayi Gosha (OGG), whose nom de guerre was George Gabarinocheka, tells us about his time in Zambia and Tanzania, where he underwent military training in preparation for deployment. He narrates to our Deputy News Editor LINCOLN TOWINDO (LT) how he was selected to undergo training and his time at Mgagao camp in Tanzania.
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LT: When you were in Zambia, how were you selected among the many cadres there to go for training in Tanzania?
OGG: Our leaders would ask us to write short autobiographies detailing our history of activism.
The autobiographies would then be thoroughly scrutinised.
They wanted to separate true freedom fighters from spies that were being sent by the Rhodesians.
So, you would write something like how you had decided to give your life to fighting for the motherland.
I remember writing that witnessing indigenous people doing all manner of high-end jobs at the airport in Zambia — work that was exclusively for the whites back home — had emboldened me to fight for freedom.
Also, the houses we stayed in Zambia were a real influence.
Staying in decent houses for the first time in my life really showed me that it was possible for black people to also live in decent homes, unlike the ones we were accustomed to staying in back home.
We realised that these were the fruits of freedom that were enabling Zambians to enjoy such comfort and decent living conditions.
So, I was selected to go to Tanzania for training on account of my record and dedication.
A ZANU representative, Godfrey Savanhu, son of former secretary of the Federation called Jasper Savanhu, was sent to accompany us to Tanzania.
He was heavily involved in nationalist politics after being kicked out of university back home for dabbling in nationalist politics and organising a strike.
We were taken to a place called Chunya in the Mbeya region, across the border in Tanzania.
The place was very close to the border with what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
We were taken to our training camp that was located at a disused mine, which was previously run by some Germans.
The camp was first opened around 1965.
That was where the first-ever group of freedom fighters, which included the likes of Cde Josiah Tongogara, was trained.
On arrival, we could not go straight into training because the group that had arrived ahead of us was yet to complete its own training.
So, we had to wait for our turn.
As we patiently waited for our turn, that is when another group of ZANLA fighters came in.
It was group of seven cadres — Rex Nhongo, Thomas Nhari, David Todhlana, Knox Kuenda, Denny Nzira, Cde Vhuu and Cde Muvhiti.
They had recently defected from ZIPRA, after returning from training in Bulgaria.
They had left ZIPRA on account of internal squabbles in ZAPU, emanating from tribal disputes.
So, they joined us at Itumbi Camp in Chunya and were slated to commence training after us.
LT: Take us through how your training was conducted.
OGG: Training of ZANLA cadres involved much focus on political orientation.
Our leaders would always tell us that there is nothing as useless as an armed soldier who does not know what he is fighting for.
We were told that we first of all had to know why we were fighting the enemy and how the enemy had mistreated us.
We were being trained by the Chinese, who had a strong leaning towards Mao’s teachings.
A weapon, our leaders would always say, was not a decisive factor in resolving disputes, but a determined person wielding that weapon, who is prepared to use it, would be decisive in settling any dispute.
Again, we were told that even when armed with the most sophisticated weapon, if a person is not prepared to use that weapon, then it is useless.
So, they told us, we had to be armed politically first and then militarily afterwards.
Before we could commence training, an announcement came that the camp was being closed for good.
We were going to be moved to Mgagao in Iringa region.
As a result, we were the first people to go to Mgagao.
LT: Take us through your experiences at Mgagao.
OGG: At Mgagao, we were receiving training alongside comrades from the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), who had their own separate camp adjacent to ours.
We used to share cutlery and things like that.At one point, we spent a few days having our food on tree leaves because all the plates had been taken to the MPLA side of the camp. We completed training in June 1971 and were then taken to a transit camp in preparation of our deployment to the front.
The camp was also close to the Congo border, in the Dodoma region.
In Dodoma, we met uMkhonto we Sizwe comrades from the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa.
The camp was a melting pot of freedom fighters from different African countries.
I remember us forming a social interparty club called Ujamaa, which means cooperating with each other to provide for the essentials of living.
We also had football clubs that played against each other.
At the camp, we were under the leadership of the Tanzania People’s Defence Force, under Colonel Changamberi.
I remember that sometime during our stay, we had this really troubling internal squabble between the trained cadres and the party leadership.
We were analysing how the effort was going to be prosecuted and it was clear that we could be overwhelmed by the enemy.
It so happened that Cde Tongogara visited the camp around that time and we had a very heated confrontation with him.
We asked him whether the party leadership was determined to send other people’s children to be slaughtered.
I think there was concern among the trained cadres about the calibre of our civilian leadership.
We told him that we did not want to be led by someone who had not undergone military training.
Cde Tongogara told us that the issue could only be solved by higher-ranking leaders.
So, he undertook to refer the issue to the party chairman, Cde (Herbert) Chitepo.
He asked for a few days to consult with the leadership.
In two weeks, Cde Chitepo visited the camp, along with Cde Richard Hove.
We spent the entire night with Cde Chitepo, discussing our concerns in a heated discussion about prosecuting the war. Some comrades asked whether there was no other way of winning independence without sacrificing people’s lives.
In the end, all the issues were resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.
The following morning, we spent the entire day fraternising with the chairman.
Since we were living in a transit camp, we were allowed to go out in the afternoons and we would mingle with the locals.
Some of our comrades who had a liking for local brews went out to beerhalls and drank to the point of almost forgetting that they were preparing to go to war.
So, we went with Cdes Chitepo and Hove to the local business centre; they mingled with the comrades.
Many were surprised to learn that Cde Chitepo was the former director of prosecutions in Tanzania.
Some, who had a record of confrontation with Rhodesian authorities, would, however, recognise him.
He told the comrades that he was now committed to the struggle full-time.
As time passed, a delegation led by Cde Mayor Urimbo and Mupunzarima was sent to negotiate with Frelimo and ask for safe passage into Rhodesia through Mozambique.
They were duly granted the authority and it was now time for us to be sent to the front and fight the enemy.
Next week, Cde Gabarinocheka will narrate how he crossed into Rhodesia with a small group of other freedom fighters and executed the Altena Farm attack, after meticulous planning.
Twitter: @kuntowaz
