War intensifies in Lupane
IN our Lest We Forget Column today we continue with Rtd Lt-Col Stanford Moyo relating about his operations in Lupane District. Last week Rtd Lt-Col wrote about the deadly effects of chemical warfare in Matabeleland North. Read on . . . The months of April and May 1977 saw a lot of the intensification of our military activities. The first being the raid at Tinde following by an ambush carried out by a section led by John Chironda real name Majuda Totshane Ncube just less than a week after our raid. This was carried out along Tinde Road just from its turn off from KamativiBinga Road. Just three days after the incident our two sections arrived at Manyanda area from Dongamuzi and found one of the comrades who had separated from others when they were repulsed by the enemy in that ambush.
He was hidden in a maize field and was being secretly fed by the owner of the homestead. The comrade had just arrived from the rear in Zambia and was not familiar with the area. The section commander had rushed to engage the enemy before his men familiarised themselves with the ground. The old man joined us with the comrade and lucky enough we knew him as we were trained together.
He briefed us of the ambush which they had laid. We searched for the rest of the section and managed to locate them. Still in the same area we picked information that the Rhodesians were coming for a cattle sale the following day. The information was that some soldiers would come from Kamativi to pick up the buyers from the Gwayi River Hotel who would buy the cattle at Manyada Cattle Sale Pens.
We deliberated and quickly agreed to take them head-on. Early the following morning we moved to the ambush area that was along the Manyada-Lubimbi Road. We took our positions on the eastern side facing westward. We agreed not to hit them before they go and collect the buyers. Then a convoy of five vehicles drove past our positions towards the Lubimbi Road at around 7.30am.
After that we remained adjusting our positions to suit the length of the convoy. I then placed my controlled landmine, set the line (pull type) to ignite it. I then hid behind an anthill about 25 metres away from Cde John Chironda. The rest of the positions went southwards and I was positioned first from the north to block the convoy.
We waited for three hours before the convoy returned. I was close by when the vehicles arrived at the scene of the ambush. The lead vehicle was a Mazda pick-up truck driven by a big white man with four armed men at the back. When the front wheels went past my mine I pulled the T-shaped detonator. The vehicle flew into the air and landed between my position and the road. I then quickly got up from my position and advanced towards the wreckage and found that the driver had been thrown about three metres in front of the vehicle. I greeted him with a burst of rounds in his chest to make sure he was dead.
In the process of trying to search him a salvo of fire came from the south. I dashed from the scene and hid behind the wreckage. I observed about three comrades running eastwards where we had come from. The fire was so heavy that I decided to cross the road and go west. I ran for about 500 metres and was caught by a snare which was set to catch kudus. At that moment I though the Rhodesians had caught me with something. The wire had caught me by the chest and all my hands and my RPK weapon were tied together. I stood still for some moments.
I then realised that it was just a snare and I removed it. I coughed blood. I continued going westwards and met a villager who was inspecting his snares. In anger I hit him on the face with the weapon’s butt at the same time ordering him to lead me to his home. After hitting him I realised that it was not proper to do that as his support was crucial. I apologised to him. I then gave him some painkillers after which we proceeded to his home. The home was far away and we got there at sunset.
I chose to remain outside the homestead while he went to organise food. After some time he brought isitshwala and some game meat. We ate together. I then I ordered him to go to his home and sleep, promising to see him the next day. I quickly left my position and went up to a nearby hill where I laid my map and put my campus. I then realised where I was. Lubimbi was due south-east. I moved towards Lubimbi and got there at around 3pm as in between I had taken some rest. By 4am I noticed that I was at a village in Dongamuzi near Songo Shopping Centre. I went southwards to avoid homesteads as I did not want to wake up the dogs which were going to start barking. When I reached the Dongamuzi River I headed east and went past a homestead whose owners I knew very well, walked past another which belonged to SekaThoko (Mr Ncube) who then worked at St Luke’s Hospital. Mr Ncube used to supply the guerillas with some medicine. I resisted the temptation to go to his homestead and instead went straight to Matala stream which was the 3rd and our last gathering point (GP) from that operation.
When I got to a Mr Khumalo’s homestead I spotted some comrades, among them Sandlana Mafutha (Saul Dube) who was on the other side of the field. I went straight to them and discovered that I had been the only one missing. No one was injured in that operation. We then had a post-mortem of the operation and that is when I learnt that only two vehicles got to the killing ground of our ambush. As most of the vehicles did not get to the killing zone that gave the Rhodesians the chance to counter-attack us.
After the debriefing we decided to proceed to Mzola and when we got to Kakula area we got information that the villagers had been summoned to Lupane Centre to be briefed of our coming into the area. Towards sunset an old man Mr Mbobo Ndlovu returned to the village. I, Cdes Majority and Mency were ordered to go and talk to him. He told us everything about what the district administrator had told the chief and his village heads. They were told that “terrorists” were now in their area and that all those “terrorists” were not from their district but were from the south of the country so they should not have anything to do with them since they were not sons. Although that statement was just cheap propaganda it contained some truth as among us a group of more than 20 there were only two comrades from Matabeleland North with the rest coming from Beitbridge, Kezi like myself, Gwanda, Bulilima and Mangwe districts.
After realising that what the white administrators had said might go against us we called for a meeting with the villagers and Mr Mbobo Ndlovu gave us the go-ahead to have that meeting with the villagers the next day. By 10am the following day villagers as far as Borehole Number 57, 58, 59, Bimba, Matshotsha, Kakhula, and Guga had arrived in their numbers. When the headman started addressing his subjects we appeared and separated the old people and the youths. I was given the task to address the youths. I accepted but I had not addressed a meeting before in my life. At first I was tongue tied not knowing what to say and then I realised that among those youths there were some I had met at their individual homesteads. I then decided to give them the platform while I recollected myself.
In their talk the youths expressed their interest in getting the weapons and it was at that time when I stepped in and told them that was very possible and if they were serious we would take them across to Zambia and arm them. The youths then became very excited and after the meeting I briefed my commanders and they accepted that the volunteers should be taken to Zambia. We got some volunteers among us who were prepared to take the recruits to Zambia. All went well, we had managed to bring the villagers to our side. Now the villagers also realised that since their sons and daughters had decided to go and join the armed struggle then they were now part of us.
We then gave ourselves almost two weeks to familiarise ourselves with deeper lying areas like Tshongokwe, Ndimimbili, Gomoza and others situated along Tshangane River. We divided ourselves into three sections so that we quickly cover the ground and start launching attacks on the enemy. Our task was two-pronged, mobilisation of the masses so that they fully support the armed struggle and possible ambushes along the main roads in our area of operation.
A few days later Cde Chironda took his section for an attack.
Next week Rtd Lt-Colonel Moyo who operated under the pseudo names Lloyd Zvananewako and Mabhikwa Khumalo would round up his article by relating to us some of the battles he was involved in. He can be contacted on 0771630629.