‘The whole school left for the war’
FOR the next couple of weeks, we will be having lively discussions with Cde Albert Nguluvhe, a former ZIPRA cadre who, as a student, abandoned his studies and crossed into Botswana before proceeding to Zambia where he received military training. A former Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) director for security under the First Republic, Cde Nguluvhe, whose Chimurenga name was Miles, was among the group of about 400 learners from Manama High School in Gwanda District, Matabeleland South, which was recruited by ZIPRA cadres and crossed into Botswana en-route to Zambia for military training. Although a few of his peers boarded one of the buses sent by the Rhodesian government to transport them back home, Cde Nguluvhe was one of the brave sons and daughters of the struggle who refused to board the buses and went on to train, and later on fought for the liberation of the motherland. Among the Manama learners who abandoned their studies and crossed with Cde Nguluvhe into Botswana were the late former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Lieutenant-General Dr Sibusiso Moyo (Rtd), and Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) Commander Air Marshal Elson Moyo. During and after the war, he was one of the few cadres who had the rare opportunity and privilege of working closely with Cde Joshua Nkomo, one of Zimbabwe’s founding fathers. Read on as our Senior Reporter TENDAI CHARA (TC) chats with Cde Nguluvhe (AN), who spoke passionately about his war experiences. ********************************** TC: Cde, if you can introduce yourself and tell us about your early background.
AN: My name is Albert Nguluvhe and I was born in Beitbridge, near the Zimbabwe/ South Africa border. When I was born, I was given the name Boy. My mother was not educated and when the nurses announced to her after my birth that she had given birth to a baby boy, she thought that the nurses were saying that my name was Boy. She went on to register Boy as my name. I later on changed the name to Albert. Besides being called Boy, I was also given a tribal name Mashudu, which means luck in the Venda language that we speak. The circumstances that led to me being given the name Mashudu were that two of my mother’s first children had died during infancy.
I was the third-born and the first one to survive infancy, hence the name Mashudu, meaning the lucky one.
My mother’s name is Emma Ndou and my father is Fhurani Mutete Nguluvhe. In our area, we speak Venda and we practice the Venda culture. According to tradition, my forefathers lived on the South African side. If you follow the South African television drama Muvhango, a lot about the Venda culture is highlighted. Muvhango means to quarrel and I think my grandfathers were quarrelling and fighting over chieftainships, resulting in some of them crossing over to the Zimbabwean side of the border. My grandfather settled just near Beitbridge Border Post. I am told he was a hunter and had many wives.
I was born on November 11, 1958. It is very difficult to ascertain my actual date of birth since, like I said earlier, my parents were not educated and did not know exactly when I was born.
I grew up looking after my father’s livestock. My parents, however, took my education seriously. My mother was the second wife and I was her first-born child. Like the other boys, I would wake up in the morning to herd cattle and attend to other livestock before going to school.
Luckily for me, the school that
I attended, Chapongwe Primary School, was only about 500 metres from our home. I was told my grandfather was the one who contributed towards the construction of the school. I grew up like any other boy, looking after livestock and hunting. My home area is very remote. In 1968, I started my Sub
A. I went up to Standard Three before moving to the Lutheran Churchrun Beitbridge Mission for my Grade Six and Seven.
During that time, there were only two schools in Beitbridge District that were offering Grade Six and Seven classes. The other school was Zezani. Since there were few schools offering Grade Six and Seven, those few that would have excelled would be allowed to continue with their education.
From Beitbridge Mission, I then went on to do my Form One at Manama Secondary School in Gwanda. That was in 1975. Manama is another Lutheran Churchowned mission school. It was difficult for one to get a place at Manama since there were few
schools that offered education up to this level in our district, hence the competition for Form One places was tight. The other schools were Tegwane, Masase and Musume.
All these are mission schools. For one to get a Form One place at Manama, that person was supposed to have gotten one or two units at Grade Seven. I did well and managed to secure a place. When I got to Manama, the current Airforce of Zimbabwe (AFZ) Commander Air Marshal Moyo was a class ahead of us. I was also in the same class and shared the same desk with the late Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Lieutenant-General Dr Sibusiso Moyo (Rtd). We were in the same Form One and Form Two classes.
At home, my parents were involved in politics for ZAPU. My father was vice chairperson of the ZAPU local branch and his younger brother was the treasurer. They would collect money from members and send it to ZAPU headquarters. I remember my father visiting Cde Joshua Nkomo at Gonakudzingwa prison, where he was incarcerated.
During that time, and as I was growing up, I had an understanding of what was happening politically.
In early 1975, a group of Form Four students at Manama High School abandoned their studies and went for military training in Zambia via Botswana.
During that time, we were also reading about exploits of such legendary liberation war fighters as Cde Kid Marongorongo. We were a bit politically conscious about the need for us to go for military training
and help liberate the country.
TC: When was your first interaction with the freedom fighters?
AN: I first came into contact with freedom fighters towards the end of 1976. They were ZANLA cadres who were on a reconnaissance mission and they wanted to open a war front in the area. I was coming from the fields when they called me and asked a lot of questions.
We later on gathered that the comrades wanted to spend about a week in the area without the knowledge of all the locals except my father.
Later on, the all-night vigils began as the freedom fighters taught the masses about the ideals of the liberation war.
Then one day, the liberation war fighters somehow sneaked into our school and addressed us.
TC: Before we proceed, what was your first impression of the freedom fighters?
AN: At first I was scared of them. We were made to believe that the liberation war fighters had magic that would make them disappear. With time, I got used to interacting with the freedom fighters.
TC: Take us through your journey to Botswana and subsequently Zambia.
AN: A group of ZIPRA cadres visited our school one evening and addressed us. We were asked why we were still in school when some boys and girls of our age were already fighting for the liberation of the country. We told the cadres that all along we were actually waiting for them to take us for training.
It was around at around 7pm and the freedom fighters told us to follow them and go for military training. The whole school left for the war.
We were about 400 students and teachers. The comrades did not give us time to pack our belongings. We had to leave with whatever items that we had on us.
From Manama, we walked and arrived at a place called Thuli, where we were divided into two groups. One group was travelling through the bush whilst the other one was using the road.
After travelling throughout the night, we reached the Shashe River and crossed into Botswana.
◆ Next week, Cde Nguluvhe will take us through his gripping journey from Botswana to Zambia. Do not miss it.