All in one, basic soldier, father figure

Captain Luke Mafere
AN old adage in Shona goes, “Munhu akanaka haararame.”

Literally translated, it means a good person does not live long.
Looking at the legacy that you left behind within the formation and the organisation at large, I feel you lived your  days to  the  fullest.
When I look at all the projects that you had initiated, some of which you left unaccomplished and some you left half through, both organisational and personal projects, my heart bleeds because I am certain that both from an individual perspective and national perspective you had great vision and passion for life.

I remember how you would always fondly refer to me as “your mouth” and always wanted me to speak last at most functions that we had because you said it simply accorded me a chance as ‘your mouth’ to correct whatever could have been said in the wrong way before, during and after the function.

I am in a way very convinced that this will not apply at this platform that you have set for us because heroes like you will forever be spoken about.

I seek, however, to humbly narrate the few instances that I and most service men witnessed in our tour of duty with you.
Instances of humour, laughter, professionalism and the passion that you had about the soldiering profession! I will never forget how I personally first met you way back in 2002 when you were the Deputy Commander at 3 Infantry Brigade and I was serving as a platoon Commander at 31 Combat Group based on the outskirts of Dangamvura .

A major training exercise hosted by 3 Brigade was at that time set for Nyanga and it was traditional to conduct what we refer to as reconnaissance in the military.

I was lucky enough to be one of the young officers chosen to be part of the team that accompanied you to Nyanga. When we got to Headquarters 3 Infantry Brigade we were late and we were told that you had already left despite the fact that we were supposed to leave together.

Your driver who had also arrived late was also at the gate, contemplating his next move.
Calls were made to you and you told us to follow to Nyanga, using whatever available transport and we did just that.

On our arrival in the general area of Nyanga, it was biting cold and we naturally assumed that we would find you in the comfort of the Officer’s Mess at All Arms Battle School (our school of further military training in Nyanga), but alas, you had hardly passed through that place.

On placing another call, you told us to drive to the exercise starting point and when we got there, behold you were already pacing up and down the starting point all by yourself; I took it already identifying the important facets to the forthcoming exercise.

I would have thought we would find you in the comfort of your car, with the air conditioner on in the biting weather conditions waiting for us to arrive. Sir, was I in for my first major surprise in my military career?

To see a full Colonel applying such hands-on style of command and that alone remains both humbling and scary. I was young, but this experience was a wake-up call for me in many aspects.

The senior officers we had went into panic mode realising that you were way ahead but we had missed the time tremendously.
That was when I discovered your soft and fatherly character because from then no one was rebuked. You wore your characteristic smile and beckoned the reconnaissance to continue. You were indeed a man of strict time and punctuality Sir.

More surprises were to follow about your down-to-earth character General Sir.
After the exercise we passed through your in-laws place of residence near Nzungu Ndamenya township kwambuya nasekuru Chatindo and the whole team did the customary greeting of the in-laws in true Chimanyika style led by you of course.

You were indeed a master at the African culture and traditions that you seemed never to have thrown away even after scaling such dizzy heights.

The greatest and most humbling fact is how you then went on to introduce us to your in-laws one by one and other junior officers present like the then Lieutenants Tapuwa Chansika and Phillip Kaseke (now Majors).

This always reminds me of how good you were at remembering names because we had only met you for the first time that day. It was your humbleness, respect and consciousness to your relatives in this case that still remains etched on my mind, not to mention how you never forget a single name of the officers present, a team that numbered up to eight.

This drill I later got to learn was to be repeated not only in Nyanga for your in-laws, but everywhere else we went together around Manicaland where we would pass by your relatives. At every chance you got you would pay courtesy calls on them even after a tiring commitment.

This indeed General Sir was larger than life.
Even though your brother Freddy Bandama left people in uncontrollable laughter at your burial including His Excellency President Mugabe with his deep comic Ndau language and expressions that Thursday morning (17 July 2014) at the National Shrine, I understood exactly how he and many others of your relatives felt.

Your son Captain MacDonald Bandama confided in me that to the Bandama family it felt like a carpet had been drawn off their feet leaving them in unimaginable discomfort.

Two days before your internment at the National heroes Acre, I met two other officers and workmates, Major TapiwaMakaya of Harare and Capt FungaiMaraire of Gweru. They reminded me of an incident that transpired way back in 2004.

We were all green-eyed by then at the tender ages of 24 and attending what was called the young officers course at the Zimbabwe Military Academy (ZMA).

You were then the Commandant of ZMA and traditionally the opening address came and went without any major incident.
It was on one of the days when we were in our lecture room that you came in much to the surprise of all members present in the lecture room and asked three students to come to the front of the class.

The officers you selected served in different corps and I remember clearly that one of them was Lieutenant Cyprian Tairodza, now Major presently serving in Masvingo.

The part that excites my friend Capt. Maraire is when you asked “What is wrong with these three gentlemen?” Maraire does it so well.
Wild answers would follow. We gave answers like the fact that the gentlemen were from different corps, wore different colour berets and the like.

The most humorous answer was given pointing out the difference in height of the students, their weight and so on.
Those were wrong as you then went in front of each student and corrected the way they wore their head dress. Apparently they were not laid to the correct positions and who would have thought General Sir, that you would bother about the correct position of a beret on a soldier’s head because we all considered it minor.

Major Tairodza up to this day lays and wears his beret to the correct position you taught him that day usually characteristic of the Presidential Guards troops.

In my experience with you in the last days of your life it remained your most area of concern, basic soldiering.
I remember how at times you would stand at ‘Mkwati Building’ ,reception and entrance to Headquarters 3 Infantry Brigade offices simply to correct both officers and men on their dressing and turn out.

I remember too that all officers and men would always make sure they are correctly turned out before they came to see you lest you would correct them and personally showed them how to dress the military way.

Your public relations were also unparalleled General Sir.
I recently bumped into Sekuru Ngwenya, a car dealer from the streets of Mutare, who used to patronise the officers Mess during your time.
He like most of other young men and old men from all over the province among them Engineer Nyahora of Zinwa Mutare, doctors at Mutare General Hospital, like the young Doctor Para Mhlanga, your farm neighbour and former ZNA medical practitioner Doctor Tatire, nurses, great business people in Mutare like Mr Matangaidze in short those in the civilian world testify to how you always made them feel at home.

In fact most of them did not know that soldiers do have places to sit and unwind after a hard day’s work that we call messes.
During your time the mess was a hive of activity.

That’s just how approachable you were by both internal and outside publics. Retired Captain Tendai Chitowa and Manica Post sports scribe Mr Ray Bande speak of how passionate you were of the Buffaloes Football Club project, a fact, Sir, which I can personally testify to.

In short you touched the lives of so many people in one way or the other with your humility and warm heartedness.
At the end of it all General Sir, we all say the void you left will be hard to fill mostly at 3 Infantry Brigade where we used to meet you everyday and you used to write us the famous “Come Speak” tag on a daily basis.

You were also so fond to see officers in general and all soldiers furthering their education and used to say the country is ‘literally filled’ with institutions of higher learning.

You used to say time will come when it will be a crime for all of you young men and women to be ‘court martialed’ for not having first degrees on your walls because unlike you and other comrades who had spent 16 protracted years fighting the oppressive settler regime we had no excuse not to learn.

As a result, a lot of officers you inspired like Captain Terrence Matambo have scaled dizzy heights aiming for masters degrees now.
Many others to whom you imparted your advise are set to make use of your free advice.

As the hands on Commander that I knew you to be you also had just completed your master’s degree with Great Zimbabwe University.
You will indeed be sadly missed General Sir.

Hambakahle, fambai zvakanaka, Rest in peace Son of the soil.

Captain Luke Mafere is the Public Relations officer for 3 Infantry Brigade.