“The Mgagao incident was a sad chapter in our armed struggle”
WE continue our interview with Cde Tapson Ncube pseudonym Makhula Thebe who operated in Nkayi and Lupane districts during the war of liberation in the 70s.
In the past two weeks Cde Ncube has spoken about how he joined the armed struggle, rising from being a Zapu youth leader in Mpopoma and New Magwegwe suburbs then crossing the border into Botswana en-route to Zambia. In Botswana that is where he did what then was an anathema challenging both the Zipra and Zapu leadership for taking too long to move the recruits into training camps. He also spoke about how the late General Solomon Mujuru (Rex Nhongo) almost “stole” the famous Group of 800 and take it to Zanla when he found them at Nampundwe Transit Camp. In this week’s interview with our Assistant Editor, Mkhululi Sibanda (MS), Cde Ncube talks about his military training in Zambia and Tanzania. Below are excerpts of the interview:
MS: You are saying you spent the whole night standing at attention on the orders of the now late General Solomon Mujuru, then what happened after?
Cde Ncube: He (Gen Mujuru) had ordered the Zambian soldiers to monitor us and like I have said about 20 comrades fainted due to fatigue. So the Zambians called off that parade at around 6am of the following day as ordered by Nhongo. However, we spent the whole of December 1975 at Nampundwe Transit Camp doing nothing, no training or vigorous military exercises to talk about. We were getting food of course which we were told was being supplied by the then OAU but the comrades were beginning to have challenges with clothes. They then raided a room where there were heaps of clothes that were left by the Zanla comrades and helped themselves on them. The comrades started selling some of the extra clothes to the Zambians living nearby to buy soap, those who smoked also used the money from the proceeds of the sale to buy tobacco. We were later told that the reason for not embarking on military activities there was because at that time Zambia was not a designated military zone for the liberation movements. OAU had earmarked Tanzania for that. However, we were told that it was the wish of the Zambian President then, Kenneth Kaunda (KK) to set up military bases in his country. With all those difficulties KK later on bent the rules and gave us a place to be used as a training camp.
MS: When did you training?
Cde Ncube: That is how Mwembeshi came about. It was the first military training facility for liberation
start the movements in Zambia, we were the pioneers of that camp. We went to Mwembeshi in January 1976. All the time we spent in Nampundwe we did not meet anyone from Zapu and Zipra. We only saw them at Mwembeshi.
MS: With such a big number of people did you not have problems of discipline?
Cde Ncube: We were disappointed that we were not getting the attention from the party and the military command element. As for your question with regards to how we organised ourselves and issues of discipline, we had sort of a committee. It is not difficult to notice people with leadership qualities so I belonged to that committee, so did Mafutha, Khilikhiya Nyathi and the now late Member of Parliament for Gwanda South, Orders Mlilo. That committee was meant to keep us functioning as a group and also so that there could be a semblance of order. That is when my friendship with Orders started, we became friends until his unfortunate death a few years ago. While all this was happening pressure was being put on Zapu and Zanla to form a joint military force, which culminated in the formation of the Zimbabwe People’s Army (Zipa) by the continental leadership such as Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Samora Machel of Mozambique and Kaunda of Zambia.
MS: Then tell us about Mwembeshi? Cde Ncube: It was there where we met trained guerillas who were to be our instructors like Stanley Gagisa, Busobenyoka, Khwela (Rt Lt-Col Kenneth Chitambo) who died recently. We were then placed into five companies, Company A to E. Company A comprised mainly youngsters, those who were the youngest, so it had guys like the now national hero, Maphekapheka (Zenzo Ntuliki) and Vandabhayili. Company E where I belonged had king killers (old people), one of them being Orders Mlilo. Company E consisted mainly of people who were born in the 40s although Mafutha was in Company D I think. When we got to Mwembeshi we had to start from scratch in setting up the military infrastructure. The instructors gave us duties according to companies such as preparing the combat grounds, setting up obstacles, clearing the shooting range and so on. We are the ones who turned Mwembeshi into a proper military facility. We then started our training after we had set up all that infrastructure. As for the dressing we were kitted either in Egyptian or Cuban combat clothing.
MS: What about training?
Cde Ncube: We started the training immediately after putting all the infrastructure in place. The first day was a shock to many because the training was tough. What saved me was because I was fit, having been used to running, hunting amabhalabhala (kudus). However, a majority of the people picked up fast, so were the girls who numbered eight, among them Toriso Phiri and Grace Noko. The eight were the first women to undergo military training under Zipra. Also within us was a Gwanda man aged 81 who had fled the country from the Rhodesian security forces, but he did not undergo military training. We were at Mwembeshi until a decision was taken by the Frontline States that all liberation movements’ military activities should go to Tanzania. The recruits from both Zipra and Zanla were to combine forces and go either to Morogoro that housed Zipra or Mgagao which was for Zanla. So our group found itself on its way to Mgagao to join Zanla at their training camp. There was also a group of Zanla recruits that was sent to Morogoro to join Zipra recruits, the group of 137.
MS: Take us through this period when you had to leave Zambia for Tanzania.
Cde Ncube: We boarded trucks to Tanzania and on the way we spent three nights at Mbeya. We then finally arrived at Mgagao and we were met by singing Zanla colleagues. We were shown where to stay, which was separate from the Zanla guys. Everything was fine at first, but things changed. There came a time when we started starving and from our point of view as Zipra we felt the Zanla comrades were depriving us of food deliberately to weaken us, so to speak. There came a time when one of our commanders who was an intelligence officer and was Shona speaking, Sam Madondo, had to outsource food for us from the Umkhonto WeSizwe guys who were not even at Mgagao. The situation degenerated further.
MS: But what was the real problem? Cde Ncube: From my own analysis as soldiers or recruits at that time from both Zipra and Zanla we had no problems with each other. The problems emanated from the top. I am saying so because when we started having problems of food, some Zanla colleagues would secretly keep food for us and say “ngatidyei machuwachuwa” something sort of a derogatory name that we were called by the Zanla combatants. They would tell us that as Zimbabweans we had one goal of freeing Zimbabwe and they were very genuine. So as soldiers we had no problems with each other and up to now we have mutual respect for each other, no wonder why the leadership of the national war veterans association has never been contested using the Zipra and Zanla card. Then on 6 June 1976 things got worse at Mgagao and there was a shoot-out which saw us losing around 45 comrades. Our Zanla colleagues were armed while we as Zipra did not even have a pistol. It was a sad chapter in the history of our armed struggle.
MS: What sparked the shooting incident?
Cde Ncube: It was over food as I have alluded above that we were having problems, food being one of them. So on that fateful Sunday of 6 June 1976, it was the duty of the Zipra combatants to be in the kitchen, doing all the cooking and dishing. Normally there would be around 30 guys in the kitchen. Since there was a problem of food, our guys in the kitchen quickly prepared the food and a signal was given to call all the Zipras to come and eat before the usual lunch time hour. So when our Zanla colleagues went to the kitchen all the Zipras had eaten, had got larger portions for that matter. If I am not mistaken around 300 Zanlas failed to get food and pleas to them that more was being prepared fell on deaf ears as they saw it as a deliberate ploy to starve them.
The situation then became more tense and late in the afternoon guns started firing. Since we were not armed we had to summon all the combat tactics we had learnt especially at Mwembeshi to escape from the jaws of death. However, we lost around 45 comrades. Miraculously all the eight women survived, so did the 81-yearold man.
To be continued