‘Mkushi Was Not Properly Secured’
THE publication of the 19 October 1978 attack on Mkushi, a Zipra women military and training camp in this column has generated a lot of interest especially among the female former freedom fighters. In the interest of the readers in today’s instalment we continue with an account of what happened during that dreadful day when the Rhodesian army unleashed its ground and air troops on Mkushi leaving thousands of female cadres dead while others were seriously injured. Last week we spoke to Cde Rosemary Mathe-Maphala, the mother of former Miss Zimbabwe Lorraine Maphala-Phiri and today we have another survivor, Cde Ntombiyakhe Ndlovu pseudo name Luzibo Gumbo or Madziyilane who is now the national secretary for the war veterans association. Cde Ndlovu, a nurse by profession spoke to our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) on how the events of that fateful 19 October 1978 occurred. During the interview Cde Ndlovu did not mince her words, describing the security at the facility as appalling and embarrassing. She also accused some senior commanders of taking advantage of the vulnerability of the female cadres to have sexual relations with them. Below are excerpts of the interview:
MS: Cde Ndlovu you are one of the cadres who survived the Mkushi bombing, but before you start relating the events of that fateful day, people might want to know your background. Who is Ntombiyakhe Ndlovu and when did you join the armed struggle?
Cde Ndlovu: Ntombiyakhe Ndlovu is a former freedom fighter who was born at Plumtree District Hospital on 5 June 1959. I then did my schooling at Osabeni School, which is in my rural home koZimnyama in Mangwe District here in Matabeleland South. I grew up at Osabeni but at one point I stayed koHingwe. I joined the armed struggle in January 1977 when I with the last born in my mother’s family, umama omncane (maternal aunt) and my uncle’s wife crossed the border into Botswana where we were taken to Dukwe Camp.
MS: You mean you took away your uncle’s wife to join the war, where was your uncle at that time?
Cde Ndlovu: (Laughing). Yes, my uncle’s wife left her husband who was my mother’s brother. However, my uncle later followed but the couple did not meet until after the war. You know for us to leave the country for Botswana was not a difficult thing as my home area is not all that far from the Zimbabwe-Botswana border. We were used to the terrain. MS: What drove you to join the war? Cde Ndlovu: On my side my two siblings, Gibson and Nicholas had already left the country to join the armed struggle and during that time it was fashionable to learn that children from such and such a family had crossed into Botswana to join the war. Also the revolutionary spirit was all over, it was difficult to resist. Ukuthi umuntu uchaphile (someone had crossed) was the buzz word those days.
MS: Tell us what happened when you got to Dukwe Camp in Botswana?
Cde Ndlovu: We were lucky in that we just spent a day in Dukwe as the following day there was a plane that arrived to fly people to Zambia. We were lucky in that although there were other people who had been at the camp for some time, all the three of us were chosen to leave for Lusaka. When we arrived at Lusaka International Airport I said to myself “wow” what a nice place to be and I thought it was the beginning of a good life. However, all that changed when we got to Nampundwe Transit Camp as we were given one blanket each and a small piece of soap which was for both washing and bathing. We also started being introduced to physical exercises. As for the food it was usually a plate of isitshwala either with beans or powdered milk.
MS: At that point I suppose you might have regretted taking the decision to join the war.
Cde Ndlovu: Not at all. I was among my age mates, so there was nothing to be afraid of and also for the fact that there was that zeal to free the country. It drove me on. At Nampundwe there were also lighter moments in the midst of that challenging situation where the instructors, Cdes Teddy, Mahlangeni and Thodlana would tell the new arrivals that the party president, Dr Joshua Nkomo would be visiting the camp the following day. The recruits would dress in their best clothes especially the injivas who would put on a tie and jacket so that they would be presentable before Dr Nkomo. To the shock of the new arrivals they would be taken to the bush for serious drills such as number 9 (frog jumping), toyi-toyi and also made to roll in that thicket. Under grueling conditions it was the usual thing for those recruits to remove the ties and jackets and leave them in the bush because of the rigorous exercises. From Nampundwe we were taken to Mkushi where we did our full military training and I was in the first group that included Cdes Charitidzo Iris Mabuwa (Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade), Cecilia Bhebhe (former ZITF executive), Auxillia, Ottilia, Rosemary Mathe now Mrs Maphala and Ossie. We did guerilla warfare.
MS: Then came the Mkushi bombing. What happened on that day?
Cde Ndlovu: That was a terrible day, the most difficult one in my life. The previous night of the attack I had dreamt the camp coming under attack. In the morning a few hours before the camp was bombed I related my dream to a close colleague, Cde Angeline and others whom I was sharing the tent with. I told them that I had dreamt the camp being bombed when we were waiting to be served food. I told them that I was not going for breakfast that morning. All my dreams had been accurate in the past. So when breakfast time came which on that day was served late as it was after 10am, I did not go to the kitchen, some of my colleagues I shared the tent with also did not go. We just sat outside the tent and while we were seated there chatting, we saw some planes and Angeline said “nanziyana ifrematshina zika Kaunda ziku- patrol” (there goes President Kaunda’s military aircrafts, they are on patrol). Then in a flash the aircrafts were all over the camp, they first hit the kitchen where comrades were being served food and the dispensary. There was confusion all over the camp with people running in all directions. MS: While all this was happening what did you do? Cde Ndlovu: Angeline Puniwa and I dived for cover and then quickly we started moving. Then a spotter came in our direction and I took cover. Immediately a helicopter which was spitting volleys of fire came my direction and there was heavy firing near where I was. I then found myself covered with soil which was made by the bullets from the helicopter and that is how I survived. I even told myself that I had survived. I then moved and hid somewhere, moved again until I found myself out of the killing zone. At that time I could see ground troops being dropped but I was out of the way. Those ground troops then started setting fire on the vegetation which was mainly composed of bamboo plants in a bid to drive the comrades to one side so that they could get them into the enemy killing zone. It was not a good sight I tell you, there was a lot of mayhem. I ran as fast as I could and met Puniwa, but we lost each other again. I then stopped running when we got K2 which was a Zambian settlement, that is where some of the survivors gathered. After that we changed base and we were later on taken to Solwezi. MS: Do you think the camp, I mean Mkushi was properly secured? Cde Ndlovu: There was no security there. We were exposed and we were not well armed as people had just small firearms such as AK-47s and what do you do when faced with a n enemy attacking from both ground and air. In fact the security at Mkushi was an embarrassment and a mockery of the situation in which we were in. We had also reported time and again to the senior commanders that there were suspicious looking people loitering near the camp, but the command element dismissed that, saying we were imagining things. They told us that those people were Zambians and when one looks at the issue in retrospect I may not be wrong to say we had sellouts within the camp.
MS: So in other words Cde Ndlovu you are saying the bombing was a result of someone selling out information to the Rhodesians.
Cde Ndlovu: Absolutely. How do you explain a situation where the enemy forces knew the set-up of the camp? The way the Rhodesians did their business during that operation on Mkushi, it was clear they had been given information. The way those Rhodesians behaved it was clear they had prior knowledge of our camp before. They were spot on regarding everything they did, we were sold out. The other issue is that the commanders were more protected than us, their trenches were longer and they were led out of the camp that is why they were not affected.
MS: Then there is this contentious issue about relationships during the war. There is talk of women being abused at the camps, did you witness anything of that sort? In this column I spoke to the former camp commander of Mkushi, Cde Billy Mzamo and he said there was no sexual harassment of women.
Cde Ndlovu: He was just being economical with the truth. He was hiding information from you. How does he explain the case of one comrade who shot and killed herself over one of the commanders? That girl discovered that one of the senior commanders at the camp was double-crossing her and she committed suicide by shooting herself. MS: At Solwezi how was the situation? Cde Ndlovu: We continued with our duties but I was seconded to take up a nurse training course as part of the party’s policy of forming a government in exile. Then at the time of the ceasefire we returned home and our assembly point was Sierra near Gweru in the Midlands Province. I was then demobilised from the army and then joined the Ministry of Health as a nurse, a job I am still doing today here at Plumtree District Hospital as the Principal State Certified Nurse. At family level, I am a mother of four but my husband is late. I have not abandoned politics as I am an active member of the war veterans association holding the position of national secretary for the disabled.