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In any army, there are highly trained people who are called commandos. In this week’s installment of ‘unsung heroes’, we walk with Cde Edson Muhondo’s journey in the liberation war. He was a commando on the side of ZANLA. John Khosa from Vheneka Village is a hardened patriot who is a veteran of the liberation struggle. In this question and answer session with him, we will hear his motivation for joining the war. FM stands for Freedom Mutanda while EM is for Cde Edson Muhondo.
FM: What motivated you to go to the front Cde Edson Muhondo?
EM: In 1975 we used to huddle together as we listened to radio Maputo that beamed from Mozambique. Our father told us that we mustn’t make noise while the broadcast was on. The announcers urged us to fight for our motherland. At the end of each broadcast, there was the refrain, victory is certain. It galvanized me into a liberation mode.
FM: Can you briefly tell us about your journey and those who went with you to the front.
EM: Lovemore Sithole, Mazheto, Nyabanga and I went to Espungabera via Machazi and the FRELIMO soldiers went with us as guides. Rain hit us badly because we went there in November 1975 when the summer season was in its midst.
FM: I understand you were trained by some of the luminaries of the war. Tell us about that.
EM: Oh yes. Cde Dominic Chinengo was my trainado; he is Dr Chiwenga, the ZDF Commander. Yes, there were Cde Lotty, Cde Takawira, Kasikai and Zhepe who died before independence after Chimoio was attacked.
FM: You were young when you joined the war since you were born in 1961. How were you able to evade going to school at Chimoio and be part of the comrades under training?
EM: I refused outright to be treated as a watoto; they deployed me in the security department at Chaminuka base for four months. While there I was introduced to training; later, I was one of the few people who were introduced to commando training.
FM: What is a commando Comrade?
EM: S/he is highly trained to make dangerous excursions in war situations. All I can say is that a commando disregards any hurdle on her/his way and normally succeed where conventionally trained soldiers may have problems with. It was at Pungwe that I got that commando training. I learnt the use of all weapons that you can think of. We trained to overcome high obstacles such as buildings and the like. In the training, we were led by Cde Lloyd aka Lieutenant Sibanda.
FM: After the training, where were you deployed?
EM: I was deployed in the Manica Province, Makoni detachment and in the Tangwena sector. 270 of us went for deployment and we were split into sections. My knowledge of heavy weapons made me a darling of many commanders.
FM: Tell us about your attack of Balfour Hotel in Rusape.
EM: That hotel catered for the whims and caprices of whites and blacks could not be allowed into that hotel. We blocked the Nyanga and Harare roads. We then attacked the hotel and a sizeable number of whites were killed. It marked our entry into the Tangwena sector.
FM: You had brushes with fellow Zimbabweans fighting for the other side as call up had been approved by the Smith regime as a panacea to contain the growing menace of guerrillas in the country. How did that happen?
EM: Along the Nyanga road, there was Skuz apo training base. That was now 1978 and there were some soldiers who were called Pfumo Revanhu. A big fight occurred where there were casualties on both sides but I stopped to think why the white man could make brothers and sisters fight each other yet the African grievances were he same. Then it dawned on me that there was a call up that impelled indigenous Zimbabweans to fight fellow blacks.
FM: How was your commando training invaluable to you?
EM: It hardened me and I could pin-point an enemy in a war situation. I remember when we attacked Adams’ Barracks, the Umtali General Hospital and the filling station close to the hospital, my expertise as a commando made things easier for us.
FM: Cde, in your narrative, you did not mention the ordinary person. Does it mean that these people were not very important in the prosecution of the war?
EM: No, the people were extremely important during the liberation war and without them, we would never have been able to win. As Mao Ze Dong would say, ‘the people are the sea and we are the fish’ so the ordinary people shared information with us. In the above mentioned contacts, the chimbwidos and mujibhas provided crucial information which made our job to be successful. Opening of new bases required people who had the information and it is when the ‘’sea’’ proved its usefulness to the fish. Where could we get food, clothes and morale among many other basic things? These people were there for us.
FM: In your many contacts with the enemy, were there times when you nearly died?
EM: War is kill or be killed. I must confess, I was fortunate that by the end of the war, I never got injured. On one contact, there was one comrade who died from our side and it is by God’s grace that my group did not have many casualties. It is important to note that as guerrillas, we had to respect the cultural aspects of the war.
FM: Cultural aspects? What do you mean?
EM: We were taught not to take liberties with women. There were areas that were regarded as sacred and we respected that. We consulted spirit mediums and traditional leadership of the area. I believe that saved us a lot.
FM: When did you lose a comrade in a contact?
EM: At Mushanzi aka Manyengavana base was attacked by Rhodesian helicopters. We came under heavy fire. The area has thick foliage and that’s how I survived but our colleague could not survive. I must hasten to add that I also helped female fighters to go to Buhera during the war.
FM: During the war, did you have time to interact with the top leadership?
EM: Cdes Tongogara, Tungamirai and Nhongo visited the sector regularly. Our provincial commander was Cde Tonderai Nyika. The latter is now known as Retired Major General Paradzai Zimondi, the Commissioner General of Prisons.
FM: It has been a long narrative. At the end of the war, what did you do?
EM: I was attested into the Zimbabwe National Army in 1981 and remained active until 2007 when I retired. I have a house in Chipinge.
Cde Edson Muhondo remains committed to the ideals of the liberation struggle. He stays at Vheneka Village in Chipinge district.
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‘‘War is kill or be killed. I must confess, I was fortunate that by the end of the war, I never got injured’’.
Online Reporter