Tribute to war time entrepreneurs
PICTURE this. A man walks downhill, backwards. His enemy tries to turn him to face the front so that they can shoot him. He resists and manages to get to his car still walking backwards. No one gets killed, but he manages to drive to the police station and risks breaking curfew. His intention, to report to the District Commissioner that he has just given apparel supplies to Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army ( ZANLA) forces.
However, the only problem with this report, was that the people whom he had supposedly delivered supplies to, were not
freedom fighters, but Selous Scouts
ZANLA disguised as freedom fighters.
The man, my late father-in-law, Nicholson Kashangura an indomitable entrepreneurial force, way ahead of his time, was one of the greatest entrepreneurs in the Shamva area. I take great pride in the fact that my daughter’s middle name (Nicole) is an offshoot of this great man.
In the same breadth, somewhere at the notorious Ruda police station in Honde Valley, Manicaland, another entrepreneur, a former bus driver, was being tortured to a pulp. His crime was to resource
ZANLA forces operating in the area with supplies. His name, Edmund Afrika Makuvaza. (My sister-in-law’s father). With serious head injuries, he is advised by command
ZANLA in the area (Comrade Jongwe, Comrade Davy, and Moses) to flee to Mozambique as he had been marked for death. He flees to Mozambique where he is hosted by the Frelimo headquarters in Katandika region. Luckily his oldest daughter is married to a Frelimo soldier and she takes care of her father.
Stories of how entrepreneurs contributed to the war effort have hardly been spoken off within the realm of the liberation struggle’s narrative. I hope this piece will bring to the fore the great work that was contributed by rural enterprises to the war effort.
Setting up a business in colonial rural area
These two stories cannot be understood within the context of the liberation struggle without understanding the initial struggle of being an entrepreneur. My father and mother-in-law initially struggled to get land from the then Chief Bushu. Their networks eventually paid off as they were given land at Kajakata to establish a commercial centre.
While my father-in-law was still at work, my mother-in-law (Maud Kashangura) got to work to establish the centre using their savings.
However, the greatest battle they were to face was the fight to obtain a liquor licence. This fight which ended in the high court was double-pronged.
Firstly, he had to prove that, the black person had a taste for clear beer (can you imagine) and that there was a market for it in the area he was operating in.
Despite these initial challenges, the business centre was wildly successful. In 1969, from being a general dealer, a store, a bottle store and a restaurant were added. Also, structural additions such as water reticulation systems and boreholes were added. He also had to electrify the place. The connection was sourced from 5 kilometres away on a nearby farm. The centre drew patrons from as far as, Shamva, Bindura and even Harare. The resident band was called the Peacemakers.
In Honde Valley, the business also witnessed an explosion of growth. From a small shop, in 1961, another shop was opened in Sagambe in 1963, another one in Sadondo Sagambe in 1969. Chavhanga store was commissioned in 1972 and Katiyo Mbirwe in 1973. Also, SaMakuvaza who had an eye for opportunities, also bought rapoko from local farmers to supply to Rhodesia Breweries thus creating income for farmers in the area.
It is admirable that both these entrepreneurs used their resources as start-up funds. Also, their wives were instrumental in setting up the day-to-day operations of the businesses. Tinashe Nyamunda, writing for the Journal Historia Journal (May 2016) notes that “The marginal success of African enterprises was funded by constrained capital from saved wages more often than not earned from activities such as teaching and driving.’’
In 1975, the colonial government-would ultimately establish institutions to support black businesses. The Small Industrial Advisory Service ( SIAS) partnered with the United Nations Development Programme( UNDP) in providing consultancy, advisory services, workshops and seminars. The organisation also recommended possible businesses that qualified for start-up funds.
However, the biggest hurdle lay with financial institutions that made it possible for African businesses to qualify for start-up funds. According to Nyamunda, “Most black businesses were located in rural areas further down the value chain.”
As a result, they were not seen as being viable enough.
Business during war time
This period of relative prosperity was to come to a slowdown when the war heated up in the mid-1970s. My father-in-law first received his first big contingency of freedom fighters in 1975, which consisted of General Mujuru a.k.a Rex Nhongo and Josiah Tungamirai.
Consequently, my father- in- law received other groups of freedom fighters who would request various items for their upkeep. Overall, the goods of choice were jeans and jean jackets. The “must-have” items which were never to be left on any shopping list, was Omega watches. It turns out that Omega watches were strong and good for synchronising reconnaissance missions.
It was during one such mission, to supply the freedom fighters, that he realised that he had been tricked by the Selous Scouts. According to his son, who narrated the story, my father-in-law noticed that though this group had fatigues and
ZANLA were dark-skinned, some of them “had blue eyes”. After being told to leave, he thus decided to descend the hill backward-facing them.
In Honde Valley, the business had to double supply, the Frelimo army and the freedom fighters who moved in groups of 10. Frelimo soldiers were mainly after salt while our freedom fighters opted for jean trousers, t-shirts, jean jackets, shoes and hats. This order was to be supplied to every group. It was also a must, to include a carton of cigarettes. The journey to and from the cities was marred by dangerous roadblocks that could endanger their lives if they were found to be assisting freedom fighters.
However, supplying freedom fighters with various items meant that you were automatically under the enemy’s radar. My sister-in-law narrated the countless times that they woke up to find Rhodesian soldiers camped on their verandah.
After their father had fled their mother had to run all the shops and was constantly harassed. At one point, the Jeep that was carrying supplies was mistakenly blown up by the freedom fighters and one person died.
Post war businesses
Unfortunately, the supply of the various items needed by the freedom fighters would inevitably take a toll on the viability and sustainability of the businesses. After the war, my father-in-law inherited a 100 000-dollar tax bill.
This bill was forfeited to his estate upon his death in 1985, leaving his widow and his children destitute. The story, however, ends well. My mother-in-law, being as entrepreneurial as she was, managed to continue with the shops in Chinhoyi and send all her children to school. Upon her death, she would leave an enviable real estate portfolio.
My sister-in-law’s father managed to reopen two shops. However, these shops will never reach their former glory because of the huge debts that were incurred during the war. Gogo Makuvaza is still alive with no medical aid nor any pension.
To his credit, General Solomon Mujuru took an excursion in a helicopter to personally thank my father-in-law. The helicopter landed at Bushu Centre. He was given a ticket at the inauguration of
VVIP the then Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe. The then-mayor Urimbo also personally thanked him for the war effort.
Some major insights
The stories of these two entrepreneurs are a microcosm of the sacrifices that thousands of other rural enterprises made during the war. This breed of men and women fought a silent fight that contributed immensely to the war effort.
They showed us that underpinning the right to be masters of one’s land is the desire, to own an enterprise that should be left to generations to come.
Our youth can do well to learn about these enterprises. Not starting an enterprise solely because one does not have start-up funds is just an excuse. It took careful planning and saving to start up these enterprises. In the same breadth, the choice of a wife is important. (Slay queens spend, I rest my case.)
Our enterprises can do well to learn about the basic tenets of entrepreneurship. Your business should grow. It grows by careful planning, looking out for opportunities, (Sagambe area had no shops and people used to walk long distances just to get to the shops. The Kajakata area had no stores and entertainment).
Creating partnerships is important. The Kashanguras had managed to build amicable relations with Chief Bushu and the District Commissioner.
The Government can do well to possibly take an audit of all the rural enterprises who folded because of the war effort to compensate them.
However, more importantly, robust policies should be put in place to ensure the growth of these businesses. Their ability to sustain the war effort under extremely difficult conditions prove beyond any reasonable doubt that rural enterprises are capable of contributing significantly to the Gross Domestic Product( GDP) when buoyed by a positive policy space and resource base.
Conclusion
Fast forward, four decades later, my daughter (Nicole), was to attend the same school with Thomas Meikles’ great-granddaughter. We see the legacy of that investment still in town. Her grandfather’s legacy, are run down buildings in Bushu Communal lands, a former shadow of their glorious self. The Makuvaza shops have all been sold.
Thank you to all the entrepreneurs who contributed to the war effort. To, Nicholson and Maud Kashangura and Edmund Makuvaza may you rest in peace. This quote by Louis Farrakhan will resonate with them ” But if I thought on it, I would like to be remembered as a brother who loved his people and did everything that I know to fight for them the liberation of our people.”
My sincere gratitude goes to Lyndon Kashangura and Chioniso Makuvaza Piteri for sharing stories about their parents.