Call for documentation of Chidobe, Kalisosa Battles

FORMER freedom fighters from Hwange district in Matabeleland North are appealing to the Government to create a platform for them to document some battles that took place around Victoria Falls where more than 30 freedom fighters perished in 1979.

They said the Chidobe and Kalisosa battles outside Victoria Falls are not documented yet this is where freedom fighters killed many Rhodesian soldiers after shooting down a plane and bombing the Rhodesian military trucks using landmines.

A total of 32 freedom fighters, including some detachment and platoon commanders, perished during the Kalisosa battle.

Speaking at the Hwange District Independence Day celebrations last Thursday, some former freedom fighters said a platform should be created where they can narrate history and document the battles.

Cde Christopher Ndlovu, whose war name was “Soweto Fuyana”, said citizens should reminded that the country’s freedom did not come on a silver platter.

“We appreciate the recognition especially us who were part of the battle here. This is a platform to tell young people that independence did not come cheaply. We need to honour people such as the late Caleb Mabhena who contributed immensely to the liberation struggle,” he said.

Soweto, Dominic Lubasi and Davision Ndlovu better known as Skuza, were some of the freedom fighters who participated in the two battles outside Victoria Falls.

“This is an important opportunity we have been waiting for all these years. We want young people to understand our history and they are fortunate because we are still alive to explain to them,” said Cde Ndlovu

“There are important parts of history that are left out because we are never given the platform. After 44 years, people still do not know that we have freedom fighters who perished here.”

Cde Dominic Lubasi said: “We want to remind you in Chidobe that there is a battle that was fought nearby in Kalisosa where 32 freedom fighters perished. This history needs to be documented so that our children know what happened.”

Cde Lubasi said he fought 32 battles during the country’s struggle for independence.

“Parents of those 32 fighters never saw them again. Let’s document this so that our children are taught the correct narrative of our liberation struggle because if we don’t do that, our history will be lost and the future generations will not know about this country,” he said.

Cde Skuza, a sector commander who almost lost an arm during the Chidobe Battle, implored Zimbabweans to be guided by the country’s founding principles.

“This war was an Umvukela for our land as initiated by our forefathers like King Lobengula. All Zimbabweans irrespective of their tribal and cultural differences fought and the ultimate goal was to liberate Zimbabwe, but sadly today we have some people who segregate each other based on tribal grounds. Let’s not be divided, we are one people,” he said.

“I was a sector commander operating here under Colonel Tshipha who was the regional commander. So, when I am here in Chidobe, I evoke painful memories of the Kalisosa Battle during which we lost some of our cadres.”

Cde Skuza said he was in BH39 in Ndlovu 29 when they sent a reinforcement to back up Todd who had a detachment of 100 fighters when the battle with Rhodesia soldiers started towards Kazungula.

“Chidobe and Kalisosa battles are linked because they were fought at the same time as we tried to rescue our men in Kalisosa. We were preparing for a high-magnitude war, and that’s why we were now fighting as detachments,” he said.

“We lost Cde Humphrey who was our artillery commander here in Chidobe.”

Cde Skuza said citizens should respect villagers and traditional leaders who collaborated with freedom fighters during the liberation struggle.

“Our men had planted a landmine which hit a Rhodesian military truck and they fought the whole day resulting in our detachment commander Todd dying. The Rhodesian military commander who was a major from Hwange also died there, and many of our comrades perished,” he said.

Cde Skuza said there are numerous battle sites across Matabeleland North where liberation fighters brought down Rhodesian military war-planes, killing dozens of the enemy forces. Zimbabwe is home to many sites, cemeteries, and monuments memorialising one of the most traumatic events in the region — the First and Second Chimurenga/Imvukela wars that brought about the country’s independence.

Some of the popular battlefields in Matabeleland North include the famous Pupu Battlefield Memorial Site in Lupane where 33 officers and men of the ill-fated patrol sent by Major Patrick William Forbes to look for the fleeing King Lobengula were killed in a desperate battle against overwhelming numbers of Ndebele warriors, and Mbizha in Hwange among others.

The Second Republic is determined to honour and immortalise the contributions made by Zimbabweans in fighting for the country from the days of the first Umvukela/Chimurenga, which inspired freedom fighters that delivered the 1980 victory.

President Mnangagwa is on record, saying the Government was also seized with the identification and promotion of liberation sites in foreign lands that hosted the country’s liberation movements.