BOOK REVIEW: Tongogara in his own words: Ideals of the struggle

AS I have always said, Lancaster is our second front, brought about by the freedom fighters. And so far what I see, that has been achieved by the liberation forces of Zimbabwe is… they have brought about the birth of a new Zimbabwe.

By Andrew Moyo

That is one. Two, they have buried the so-called racial supremacy, and this is important, that in the near future, the people of Zimbabwe will be proud to have their new Zimbabwe… and this will never be reversed anymore.”

These were the words of General Josiah Magama Tongogara in 1979 as the war of liberation neared its end.

Yesterday the nation celebrated its 35th anniversary as an independent country.

Roughly eight months from now, the nation will mark 36 years after the death of a legendary figure of the liberation struggle, the Chief of Defence of the ZANLA forces, Josiah Tongogara.

Although external forces have been trying for years to infringe upon our independence and sovereignty – which came at a cost – through various devices and schemes, our leadership has remained firm in protecting the values which General Tongogara and thousands of Zimbabweans died for.

While General Tongo’s exploits during the war may have been documented in history books and other manuscripts, a recent publication, “Tongogara in His Own Words”, gives a clearer picture of the ideals he believed in.

The first four chapters were written by Tongogara himself during breaks of the Lancaster House negotiations of 1979 with the help of his friend, the late David Martin.

The fifth chapter was an interview by Zimbabwe News published in the second half of 1978. Therefore this chapter also came from the man himself.

General Tongogara highlighted land redistribution, indigenisation, political freedom, democracy as well as education for all as his reasons for dedicating his life to the war.

For the greater part, he relayed to his briefing notes which he used while educating new recruits so as to enlighten them about what they were fighting for.

Reading this book, one gets a glimpse of the liberator, the struggles that he, alongside other Africans, encountered growing up under colonial rule and the reasons that drove him to take part in the struggle for independence.

His historical and geographical knowledge was vast, as exhibited in the first chapter in which he documents the characteristics of the Zimbabwean terrain, climate, population as well as its historical background, from the period of native occupation, white settlers and the events leading to the second Chimurenga. He describes the Zimbabwe ruins as a symbol of history and past glory, concrete evidence of a people with a rich culture and a viable government of their own long before any white settler set foot on Zimbabwean soil, driving home the idea that Africans had the ability to govern themselves without interference from westerners.

“For us, of course, the Zimbabwe (ruins) is and has been the creation of our forefathers who were politically and economically independent. It is that political independence which the colonialists took away which we are fighting for,” says Tongogara.

The formation of ZANU, challenges they faced as a political movement, ZANLA’s relationship with ZIPRA forces as well as elements from within the movement who were compromising with imperialists are also detailed in this volume. He highlights that grievances that drove him to join the party (ZANU) were mostly based on the question of oppression, which he had seen from his parents, other Zimbabweans and particularly in the deprivation of land. This book is jam-packed with detailed scenarios and incidents that transpired from the time Tongogara was growing up. It covers the hash conditions he had to live in under colonial masters and his migration to Zambia in search of secondary school education since he had been barred from proceeding by the Inspector of Schools as his views were seen as dangerous and subversive.

As I flipped through the pages of this eye-opener, I realised the importance of measures our leadership has been implementing over the years and how they tally with the ideals from which the struggle was born.

Pre-empting all the contents of the book would be unfair to the next reader. It is a must read if you are to understand the hurdles that gallant sons and daughters of Zimbabwe had to go through for us to enjoy the prevailing freedom.