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THE execution of the country’s liberation struggle was not only confined to the hair- raising theatre of the battle field when armed freedom fighters engaged the racist Rhodesian forces. Besides the armed guerillas there were villagers who organised logistics for the fighters and politicians who mobilised the masses.
For such activities some of the politicians found themselves locked up in the notorious prisons and detention centres of the colonial regime. One of the people to face such unbearable conditions because of his political activities against the Ian Smith regime was Cde Mordecai Nemato Mlotshwa who spent a better part of his youthful life in the Rhodesian prisons and detention centres. Cde Mlotshwa found himself as a guest of the racist regime at Gonakudzingwa, Connemara and Whawha until his release in 1979. He shared the cells with nationalists such as the late firebrand Sydney Donald Malunga, Naison Khutshekhaya Ndlovu, the late Arthur Chadzingwa, Isaac Sihwa, Amos Mkhwananzi, now Vice-President Phelekezela Report Mphoko, Albert Nxele and Norman Mabhena. In our Lest We Forget Column we feature the political life of Cde Mlotshwa by plucking out an extract from his recently published biography tiltled: Cde Modercai Nemato Mlotshwa: A Biography of the Man written by Aubrey Muchemwa Nyamakura Moyo. Below are extracts of the biography:
Modercai Nemato Mlotshwa joined the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu) early 1963 and was elected as the youth organising secretary for the Nketa Branch. In the same year, the colonial government declared 30 days of the state of emergency and arrested 50 leaders of Zapu including the 21-year-old Mordecai. The leaders who were detained included Isaac Sihwa Nyathi, Albert Nxele, Report Mphoko Ndlovu, Norman Mabhena and Amos Mkhwananzi to name a few.
The reasons for the declaration of the state of emergency were that Cde JM Nkomo had attended a meeting which was organised by independent African states in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from where the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was formed, hence at that meeting State leaders passed a resolution and agreed on the creation of the high command of African liberation movements which was propounded by Nkwame Nkrumah, the President of Ghana and supported by all leaders present.
At that time unionists were influencing workers to take industrial action in order to correct the ugly situation of colour bar.
Influential leaders of the time were John Mthimkhulu, Isaiah Ntokwe Moyo and Enos Mdlongwa. Residentially, there was an action group by the name of Umgandani, which worked closely with the Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura). The leaders of Bura were Sydney Malunga, Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu and Mazonko Ncube. They challenged local government discriminatory laws. During those years, the Bulawayo City Council Chambers were for councillors serving the eastern suburbs only. The African Chamber was called the Advisory Board.
The education system was also discriminatory and some teachers spoke against that and those included people like the late Edson Ncube, Elliot Ndlovu and Brother Mpala.
In 1965 the Ian Smith government was busy preparing to declare the Unilateral Declaration of Independence. Meanwhile, Zapu and Zanu trained cadres were also busy penetrating the country with materials of war for sabotage activities. This was no longer time to meet and discuss but to damage government properties. The tense situation pushed Mr Desmond Ladner Burke, the Minister of Law and Order Maintenance to declare an overnight swoop on all active youths. As a result they were arrested and detained at Grey Street Prison for nine months before being issued with a restriction order to Gonakudzingwa, a restriction area. When they had been serving for the third year in Camp Four, Mordecai was chosen camp security personnel.
His security duties were known by the president of the party, Dr Nkomo. Other people who were also involved in security duties with Mordecai were William Dlamini from Harare, Hananda from Gweru, Liton Khanye from Nkayi and Josiah Nkomo from Bulawayo.
When Mordecai was released from Gonakudzingwa to his home, the Ian Smith government served him with another restriction order which confined him within the radius of Bulawayo. Whenever, he wanted to visit his rural home in Nkayi, he
would seek permission from the nearest police station of those days. At most, he would not stay for more than 30 days. It, however, did not deter him from being devoted to the struggle and if anything he became more hardened.
In 1965 he formed a team comprising five youths for the express purpose of communicating with the leadership at Gonakudzingwa and with Dumiso Dabengwa in Zambia through Botswana for recruiting purposes. The team played a very important role in facilitating consultations between the president, JM Nkomo and his executive members who were still politically active in Bulawayo, namely, NK Ndlovu and CC Ngcebetsha especially during the visit by the British consultation team of the Pearce Commission.
Before the arrival of the Pearce Commission team in Rhodesia, NK Ndlovu and C C Ngcebetsha arranged consultative meetings with two members of Zanu party, advocates Edson Zvobgo and Edson Sithole in Harare. Enos Mdlongwa and Josiah Nkomo, Mordecai Mlotshwa accompanied NK Ndlovu to the meeting. The meeting took two days in session-discussing the formation of a joint committee of the Caretaker Council named the African National Council (ANC).
The ANC’s purpose was to negotiate with the Pearce Commission delegation. It’s formation signalled the beginning of talks between the British government and Zimbabwean nationalist leaders. Although Bishop Abel Muzorewa diverted the name ANC to his party, the purpose remained focused on the achieving of independence to the country.
In 1972, there was a dispute within the Zapu leadership involving JZ Moyo and Chikerema in Zambia, which led to the closure of party offices and stopped the functioning of training camps. The situation was so bad because some of the members sent there for training were arrested at Livingstone and deported to Rhodesia. Some of the deportees were Gibson Nkomo, Linos Ndlovu and Nemrod Khumalo who, incidentally, was killed in the cells.
Soon after Josiah Nkomo offered to go to the old man in the bush (Gonakudzingwa) and on his return he was in possession of a letter from Joshua Nkomo to President Kaunda. Strike Mnkandla volunteered to deliver the letter to President Kaunda and come back with a reply. However, he never returned. Another letter needed to be sent to President Kaunda and this time it was decided that Mama MaFuyane and Mama Msika should be used to request for a similar letter to deliver to President Kaunda.
A second volunteer was needed and this time it was Shadreck Mafu who went and returned with the reply. Afterwards, another operation was given to Jane Ngwenya who went to Zambia under the disguise of a scholarship offered to her by the University of Canada when in actual fact she was going to join those who were defying the instructions of Zapu President JM Nkomo.
The recruitment of cadres continued in 1973 with volunteers flowing as liquid to Zambia for training. Unfortunately, in early 1974, our channel was trapped and closed by the Rhodesian Military regime police force. They invaded the Zapu office and all the documents with strategic information and also kidnapped Mthimkhulu, who was occupying the house nearby and killed him in cold blood.
The late Mthimkhulu was a link receiving recruits from Rhodesia. He was a teacher in Botswana and his hometown was Bulawayo in Mzilikazi Township, and was younger brother to John Mthimkhulu – a former trade unionist. Ethan Dube was also kidnapped and killed as well.
Following the invasions by the Rhodesian forces in offices in Botswana. Mordecai was arrested and detained at Nyamandlovu Police Station for three months, under harsh and brutal conditions he was interrogated on a daily basis and tortured. He was tied to a ring naked for seven days without food; it was cold and raining and was attacked by malaria. He was forced by the officer- in-charge of Nyamandlovu Police Station who was British to scrub urine which had stained the floor and could not come out. He then was removed from solitary confinement. A sergeant came to his rescue and took him to the clinic.
The white officers came to interrogate him again and removed him from the group to re-confine him. Another comrade by the name Malumisa had gone with the recruits and his brother. Malumisa had already sold out Mordecai and at interrogation Mordecai retorted that what they had been told was “bull s..t” and it therefore failed to attract a further charge. The advantage that Mordecai enjoyed was that he had a close connection together with the others to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo and educationally Joshua taught them inter-political relations, economics and political history.
Those of lowly grades were given the opportunity from standard one upwards and black board facilities were availed and they were fully tutored. At Connemara Prison Mordecai taught Grade Sevens and assisted in Economics and Commerce those doing GCE O-levels students they also enjoyed during their breaks or relief socially, football, volleyball ,crazY 8 ,casino, chess etc for Camps 3 and 4.
On 31 May 1974 he was served with a detention order to Whawha Prison. In 1976 he was transferred to Connemara and was then taken back to new Whawha. He was released in 1979 on 22 December and was given an order to report to Mabutweni Police sub-station once a week until 18 April 1980; when the Independence of this country was attained.
Online Reporter