Mukushi Camp attack survivor relives the ordeal

“I was at Mkushi Two since I had completed training and the sad part was that most of the cadres who had not yet received training were at Mkushi One and that the highest number of casualties was recorded at that camp,” said Cde Maboyi.

Cde Maboyi said hundreds of Zambians also perished in the bombing as they came to help fight the alongside Zimbabwean freedom fighters.

She said after the attack they were addressed by one of their senior commanders Cde Dumiso Dabengwa who persuaded them to leave the camp despite initial resistance.

“The news of the attack reached our top commanders and Cdes Dumiso Dabengwa and Lookout Masuku came addressed us. They disarmed and persuaded us to leave the camp for Lusaka where we were supposed to regroup. It was not easy as they tried to convince us to leave Mkushi,” said Cde Maboyi.

They were taken to Kafue Camp for trauma counselling and Cde Nkomo later ordered them to proceed to a much safer place at Solwezi.

She said Rhodesians came and attacked their camp but there were no casualties.

Cde Maboyi dropped out of school in 1977 and crossed to Botswana via Tuli Camp enroute to Zambia to join the liberation struggle.

Soon after independence in 1981, Cde Maboyi joined the Zimbabwe National Army during which she continued with her studies through correspondence. She left the army in 1988 and joined the Ministry of Education as a teacher.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education degree from the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU), a Masters in Public Administration from Cairo University and a Masters in Public Relations and Diplomacy from Washington International University. She is pursuing a doctorate degree with the University of KwaZulu-Natal. — @mashnets