I was on my own. I just left alone as that time I was seized by the revolutionary spirit. In fact it was easy for people from our village to travel across to Botswana because the distance is very short. relives his experiences as detachment commander in t
MATABELELAND North is one of the provinces in the country that bore the brunt of the country’s armed struggle. As for districts such as Nkayi, Lupane, Tsholotsho, Binga and Hwange the situation was tense as Rhodesian soldiers tried to close down freedom fighters coming from Zambia from penetrating inland. For Zipra forces going for deployment in other parts of the country such as Matabeleland South and Midlands they had to pass through those districts in Matabeleland North and that saw fierce battles being fought with Rhodesian forces trying to cut them off while the freedom fighters on the other hand looked for a breakthrough. One of the freedom fighters who saw action in Lupane, Nkayi and Bubi districts is Retired Major Nditsheni Dube who later on became the detachment commander for the Madiliza unit in the Northern Front 2. Madiliza was one of the six detachments that served under the command of Cde Gilbert Khumalo (Nicholas Gibson Nkomo), the deputy commander of the Northern Front. In this week’s Lest We Forget Column our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) spoke to Rtd Major Dube whose pseudo name was JD Smallboy or Umaleveni Omncane taken from the Venda birth marks about his military exploits. Below are the excerpts of the interview:
MS: Can you please tell us who is Nditsheni Dube?
Rtd Maj Dube: Nditsheni Dube is a Venda boy who was born in Limpopo Village in Beitbridge District in 1955. I did my education at the local school, Limpopo and grew up herding the family livestock like all the boys during that time. I spent the formative stages of my life at my rural area in Beitbridge.
MS: What drove you to join the armed struggle and when did you leave the country to take up arms to fight the colonial Government?
Rtd Maj Dube: I was motivated to join the armed struggle when I had an encounter with a group of Zipra fighters in my home area and that was in 1975. In my home area the guerillas were known as thebula sikhuni and so what happened was that they came to our village and asked for food. I then assisted my father in carrying the food where they were. That was my first and last encounter with the guerillas at my village. Seeing those people carrying guns inspired me to join the armed struggle and so a few weeks down the line I left home and crossed the border into Botswana.
MS: How many were you when you left the country for Botswana?
Rtd Maj Dube: I was on my own. I just left alone as that time I was seized by the revolutionary spirit. In fact it was easy for people from our village to travel across to Botswana because the distance is very short. From our homestead the distance to the Botswana border is just 15km. When I got to Botswana I met immigration officers who facilitated that I be sent to Selibe-Phikwe. I only stayed for four days at Selibe-Phikwe and then moved with others I had met there to Francistown. From Francistown we were flown to Lusaka, then taken to Nampundwe Transit Camp where I spent two months. MS: From Nampundwe where did you go? Rtd Maj Dube: From Nampundwe we were taken to Mwembeshi and that was the beginning of the real military training. The year was 1976. We were the famous group of 800 and we were taught guerilla warfare which was semi-commando style. The camp commander was Cde Sam Madondo while Stanley Gagisa was the chief of staff. From that group we had comrades like Jerry Mthethwa, Parks Ndlovu, Kindness Ndlovu, Volunteer Mkhwananzi (Andrew Ndlovu) who was my Judo partner, the late Stanley Donga, Mafutha (Saul Dube), Tenderai, Clever John Dube, Orders Mlilo, the late former MP for Gwanda South who was the brother to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, George Mlilo. However, our training was later interrupted after the then Organisation of African Union (OAU) directed that all liberation movement camps should be in Tanzania. We then moved to Morogoro where we completed our guerilla warfare training. We still had the same instructors. We completed our training in that year which was 1976.
MS: After completing your training at Morogoro what happened then?
Rtd Maj Dube: Some of the comrades were deployed to the front while myself and other comrades that we met in Zambia were sent to the Soviet Union for further training. In the Soviet Union I and other comrades such as Mandevu, Mugabe, Mlalazi and Maplanka specialised in a secret weapon called Straller (SAM 7). In our group there were 12 of us who were trained to use that type of weapon which is an anti-air gun. We were in the Soviet Union until the end of 1977. We then returned to Zambia. When we arrived in Zambia I was one of the cadres who were quickly deployed to the front and I was sent to the Northern Front 2 where I was appointed one of the sector commanders. I was under the command of Gilbert Khumalo (Nicholas Gibson Nkomo) and Phebion.
MS: Which areas were covered by your sector?
Rtd Maj Dube: My sector covered mostly areas in Nkayi District such as Magazi, Sivalo, Gwamba and St Lukes in Lupane, Mbembeswana, Nkosikazi, Inyathi and Siganda in Bubi District. We made serious inroads in those areas as we would go for attacks and not wait for the enemy to come to us all the time. In other words we took the war to the door step of the enemy. The villagers were also excited as they realised that the guerillas were there to free them from the Rhodesians and also protect them against the enemy forces. While I was still operating in that sector there was a signal that I should report to Zambia at the Zipra headquarters.
MS: Any reasons for recalling you to Zambia?
Rtd Maj Dube: It was during the formation of battalions and since I had specialised in the use of the Straller I was required to assist in assembling units to provide cover for the battalions. So together with other comrades we managed to assemble the batteries for the anti-air units. We covered three battalions, the one that was under the command of Madliwa (Retired Major-General Stanford Khumalo) and the ones that were under Soneni and Clive respectively. Each battalion for those special weapons had 12 comrades each. Besides being armed with the secret weapon each of the 12 comrades were also to carry AK-47 assault rifles. One of the comrades I was working with in the strengthening of the battalions was Cde Mandevu. However, I had to leave him continuing with the task as I was ordered to return to the front.
MS: What had happened to the front to call for your immediate return?
Rtd Maj Dube: I was one of the senior guerillas who were given the orders to accompany one of the senior commanders, Cde Gedi (the late Retired Colonel Richard Dube) who was on a mission to assess the situation at the front. Cde Gedi was supposed to carry out an inspection of the semi-liberated zones and so we were supposed to escort him and show him the way. He was also supposed to meet the Deputy Frontal Commander for the Northern Front, Cde Gilbert Khumalo who was at the front.
MS: How many comrades provided escort to Cde Gedi?
Rtd Maj Dube: There were 120 newly trained guerillas who were also going for deployment while the experienced ones were myself, Cdes Wallace and Madayiza Moyo who is now working for the State. Those 120 guerillas had trained at different camps as some were from Angola, others from CGT 1 and CGT2. We then set out for the journey to the front. But we split those guerillas into three units after crossing the Zambezi River. I took command of one while Madayiza and Wallace commanded the other two. The one under my command was the one that moved with Cde Gedi. Madayiza and Wallace’s units were on the flanks while we were at the centre although there was quite some distance between us, the objective was to give maximum protection to Cde Gedi. MS: Any incidents along the way? Rtd Maj Dube: Yes. When we got to Khwarayi area near Jotsholo where there is an irrigation scheme we had a contact with the Rhodesian forces and it was around 10pm. Those soldiers were on patrol near the irrigation scheme. We had a very successful battle as we managed to kill quite a number of enemy forces and burnt three trucks. The units under Madayiza and Wallace were not involved in that battle but it was an exciting encounter for the guerillas as they saw their senior commander Cde Gedi involved in the thick of things. He fought like everyone else. The following day we decided to lie low and did not move as we did not want to put the life of the commander in danger. We then set off at around 7 and 8pm heading towards Gwampa Valley to look for Gilbert Khumalo and we found him at Khiwayanyana. We handed Cde Gedi to Gilbert Khumalo. MS: Who was with Cde Khumalo? Rtd Maj Dube: He was in the company of other senior commanders at the front who were always with him. Those comrades were the administration that assisted him to run operations. Throughout the operations he was always with the late Cde Stanley Donga who died a few years back in an accident near Shangani along the Bulawayo-Harare Road. Cde Donga was the regional security officer. Others who were always with Gilbert were Cdes Phebion and Musorowensomba. Cde Phebion was the commander of the Spear Detachment that moved together with Gilbert. Besides the three senior comrades, Cde Gilbert was always provided an escort by a section of 12 troops.
MS: What then happened to the 50 guerillas that you brought from Zambia?
Rtd Maj Dube: They were handed over to Gilbert Khumalo who then distributed various detachments as reinforcements. Some were given to me, others to Jack Hlongwane and Cde Fuyane whose real name is Gatsheni who now runs a car sales company here in Bulawayo.
Next week we continue the interview with Rtd Major Dube with him giving us an account of the battles fought in Lupane, Nkayi and Bubi. He will also speak about how his unit destroyed the Siganda Rest Camp which housed Rhodesian forces and the closure of Inyathi and Fatima High Schools.