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Pathisa Nyathi
AS Independence Day approaches, it is time to reflect on the arduous struggles that were waged in order for us to gain political independence.
A struggle like ours had people who applied repressive methods to ensure the black majority was denied independence at a time when the latter were not to enjoy the now much hyped about values such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights. The struggle, both political and military, was quite complex and to this day there are many of its aspects that remain glossed over. Sadly, those who championed the early stages of the armed liberation struggle are in the twilight of their lives.
Recently I have been intensifying research on the early stages of the armed liberation struggle. For many the struggle is associated with the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZPRA) which only came into existence following the 1971 split within the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu) and the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (Zanla) the armed wing for the Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu). This selective emphasis on the later stages of the struggle has led to the marginalisation of the genesis of the armed struggle which may be traced to the Zhi-i Campaign of July 1960.
The aim of the stone-throwing and arson campaign was to dislodge the white supremacist ruling regime of Prime Minister Edgar Whitehead. As expected, the effort came to naught. It was at that point that the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu)’s Youth Wing resorted to the Sabotage Campaign. From about 1962 Sabotage Campaign, also referred to as Zhanda, the Campaign brought together cadres who had left the country to undertake military training and those who received the weapons and distributed them within the country. Among those who did military training were the likes of Misheck Velaphi Ncube, Kennias Malazi, John Maluzo Ndlovu, Luke Mhlanga, Bobbylock Manyonga, Gordon Butshe, Rhodes Malaba, Clark Mpofu, John Chatagwe, Stanley Maduma, Israel Maduma, Moffat Hadebe and Charles Dauramanzi, inter alia.
Both in Bulawayo and in the rural areas throughout Rhodesia there were men who formed links with those bringing in weapons. In Bulawayo it was the likes of Stephen Jeqe Nkomo, Akim Ndlovu, Findo Mpofu, Dumiso Dabengwa, Ethan Dube, Bernard Mutuma and Thomas “Menyu” Ngwenya who were the major operators, among several others. In the outlying areas there were men such as David Lupepe, Antony Magagula, Fiyodo Dlodlo, Thobela, Welshman Hadane Mabhena, Misheck Makena Whinya Ncube, Cephas Msipa and many others. In Salisbury (now Harare) Enos Chikowore, (General Chedu), was a leading figure in Zhanda.
In due course the Youth Wing got disillusioned with Sabotage and approached the likes of Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo and Joshua Nkomo to allow them to wage the armed struggle. Initially the main wing was not convinced of taking the military route arguing Algeria had got her independence through sabotage. The youth began leaving Rhodesia to train in various friendly countries such as Egypt, North Korea, China and Ghana. Indeed, by September 1962 the first batch of weapons was smuggled into Southern Rhodesia in a Zephyr Zodiac by Abraham Nkiwane, Misheck Velaphi Ncube and Kennias Mlalazi. The last two had trained in Egypt in the same year alongside ten other cadres such as David Mpongo Khumalo. This comprised the famous Group of 12. The weapons, secured in the unsettled eastern part of Congo following the assassination of Patrice Lumumba by western-backed political opposition personnel and the military led by Mobutu Sese Seko.
However, our interest is not in the Sabotage Stage. We seek to unravel some less known aspects of the political struggle which were resorted to in order to beat the Rhodesian oppressive system. Freedom of association was curtailed especially when the more radical white commercial farm-oriented lot took power after the general election in 1962, the year that Zapu was banned. Meetings had to take place all the same. Zapu cadres, then operating under the banner of the People’s Caretaker Council (PCC) with effect from August 1963 when a split in the nationalist movement occurred.
In order to beat the system, PCC cadres met in the African Townships within their residences. Strategies were devised in order to dupe the police and in particular the Special Branch which was the oppressive arm of government. Ladies going to attend these clandestine meetings carried Bibles and sometimes hymn books. Curtains were removed in order for the cadres to spot approaching police. A red piece of cloth was tied to the gate post. It was all calculated to create an impression there was some bereavement within the family. Curtainless windows afforded attendees at the meetings to identify the police before they got too close.
When the police were spotted, the mood of the meeting all of a sudden changed. Bibles and hymns were retrieved and singing of funeral vigil songs ensued. In due course, the police began to associate such clandestine unsanctioned meetings with funeral vigils. The remnants of this colonially-induced strategy endure to this day in African residences when death has occurred. Curtains are removed and a red piece of cloth is tied to a gate post. The practice applies equally in the eastern suburbs and rural areas. Today the colonially-created practice is taken as a tradition and is set to continue into the future. This is one of those invented traditions that Professor Terence Ranger used to refer to.
In the early 1960s, especially in 1962, recruitment of Zapu cadres to train outside the country was on the spike. Some of these male cadres trained in China, Egypt, North Korea and Egypt. Only in the middle 1960s did cadres train in Algeria, Cuba and the Soviet Union. Trained cadres infiltrating the country sometimes got caught. These were tried and sentenced to varying periods of imprisonment in particular at the Khami Prison which was constructed in 1959 and also at Grey Prison. Death sentence was meted out at the same time. After completing periods of incarceration at Khami Prison, some of the political prisoners were sent to detention camps at Gonakudzingwa and Gwelo (now Gweru) Prison.
The detainees maintained contact with their followers both within Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and beyond. They sought to keep the cadres informed of the state of progress on the political and military fronts. Communication was thus of essence. Relatives of detainees were used as couriers during visits to see their detained relatives. Detainees used to grow plants which would be taken back home by their visitors. Detainees, unlike prisoners, did not do manual work as punishment. Many of them were registered with institutions such as the University of South Africa (Unisa) and the University of London and other institutions offering distance education. Many obtained university degrees while in prison. Cephas Msipa, Daniel Madzimbamuto and Willie Dzawanda Musarurwa were such individuals.
While working on the biography of Masotsha Ndlovu I got to know that his wife, while on a visit to see her husband at Gonakudgingwa was given a letter to take to Bishop Abel Muzorewa of the United Methodist Church and Reverend Canaan Banana of the Wesleyan Methodist Church encouraging them to lead a campaign against the Pearce Commission of 1972. The letter was placed in Mrs Ndlovu’s shoe and she duly took the letter to its intended recipients.
Detainees grew plants such as mangoes which they intended to give to their visitors upon their return home. Below the plants, but within plastic packaging, folded letters were placed. The visitors’ gifts apparently appeared to be mere plants and yet what was important were the letters targeting the outside world. Sometimes the role of jail guards is underestimated when undue emphasis is given only to those who carried guns. There were many critical players during the liberation struggle who have been ignored and sidelined. Some jail guards were important participants and collaborators in the struggle.
It is not just jail guards who were underground participants, but indeed many others were encouraged to join the police force where they assisted the cadres. Some worked for the Rhodesia Railways (now the National Railways of Zimbabwe) which played a major role in the transportation of metal trunks laden with weapons and ammunition being brought into Rhodesia. Bus conductors too were critical players as some metal trunks full of weapons and ammunition were taken to the more remote areas. As will be shown later, there were sympathisers who were recruited within the Ministry of Internal Affairs who issued paper identity cards that were used by recruitees in order to facilitate their travel to neighbouring countries en route to training camps in various friendly countries.
No sooner had the returning visitors to detention camps exited the detention precincts did they empty the soil and take with them only the letters to their intended destinations. Jail guards used to provide envelopes for the purpose. Alternatively, where envelopes were not readily available, the letters were folded in plastic paper and placed at the bottom of the plants.
Innovation and creativity were at play in order to beat an oppressive system and deliver independence to the black majority. Research reveals that most of the pioneering vanguard in the struggle have conveniently been sidelined and forgotten.
Online Reporter