Online Reporter
This week, CDE CHARLES MAKHUYA, who used the Chimurenga name Njabulo Moyo, provides a first-hand account of the horrific massacre of Zimbabwean freedom fighters. He tells our Society Editor PRINCE MUSHAWEVATO how the Rhodesian Selous Scouts, aided by apartheid South Africa, carried out a surprise attack on the Boma training camp in Angola. He describes how the unexpected assault unfolded and how freedom fighters subsequently responded.
*****************
Q: Our discussion last week ended when you had successfully completed training in Angola and you were being deployed. Can you carry on from there?
A: A lot was happening at the time. There were thousands of people training in Angola. After training, some recruits had to travel to Zambia, where some of our Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) commanders, like Brigadier-General Ambrose Mutinhiri (Retired), were based. From there, they would be deployed back to Zimbabwe to join the war.
It was during these deployments that disaster struck in Angola. (Briefly pauses)
Q: What happened?
A: During a war, you must always be prepared, but this time, the enemy — Rhodesian soldiers, assisted by apartheid South Africa — attacked when we least expected it. We were caught off guard. It was on Monday, February 26, 1979, at 7.20am; enemy planes were on us. They bombed us systematically and it was a disaster.
In the days leading up to the attack, recruits had become suspicious of some aircraft we saw hovering around our camps. This specific ZIPRA training camp that was attacked, Boma, was located in a training area used by Cuban and Angolan pilots. The enemy used this space to fly their small spotter planes.
The Cubans were also flying their MiG-21 fighter jets in the area.
Somehow, the enemy obtained information that our base was located in this region. I believe they managed to successfully disguise themselves as Cuban and Angolan military pilots on the day of the attack.
Q: How exactly did they carry out the attack?
A: The attack began on a misty, rainy morning. Five planes were used for the fatal assault.
They struck as approximately 1 000 trained personnel were about to board vehicles to be taken to a nearby town for a flight to Zambia and other destinations. The attack was systematic and severe. Within five minutes, the entire camp was destroyed in a single run.
The planes bombed the area and then disappeared. Afterwards, the camp looked as if it had been deserted for 20 years.
The enemy used a variety of weapons, including bombs which released chemicals that burnt flesh on contact. They also deployed cluster bombs that, upon impact, would release smaller explosive balls and others that unleashed a shower of lethal metal fragments.
The attackers had expected to find the trained fighters in a convoy, which they intended to completely wipe out.
Fortunately, our movement had been delayed.
Q: You can carry on.
A: Had we been attacked in a convoy, the number of casualties would have been much higher.
The enemy would have easily eliminated the entire group. However, because we had time to run and take cover, the damage was minimised. Still, I am pained by the events of that day. We lost many comrades, some of whom I was very close to. Others were seriously injured or maimed.
We buried at least 136 Zimbabweans in a mass grave, along with five Cubans and one Russian.
The number of deaths later rose to as high as 450, as others succumbed to their injuries in hospitals in Luanda.
I later read a book by the commander of the Selous Scouts, Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Reid-Daly, who said they had intercepted a signal from Angola to ZH (Zambia House) the day before the attack.
The signal indicated that the trained comrades were ready to move out of the camp at 7am.
On the morning of the attack, the Selous Scouts, who were stationed in Kariba, successfully blocked the signal from Lusaka and communicated directly with our guys at the Boma camp.
The military radio mascots are the same internationally, hence they were able to intercept the signal.
Q: How did you react after the attack?
A: Initially, we were completely confused. We could not believe this had happened.
We were trying to figure out if it was the Rhodesians who had attacked us or if it was a mistake by the Cubans who had bombed our camp thinking it was a rebel camp belonging to Jonas Savimbi.
To add to the chaos, as we were moving away from the site, some comrades started shouting that a ground force from South Africa was on its way to finish us off.
Naturally, we knew this would be a disaster, so we tactically retreated to higher ground.
Once there, we saw heavy dust clouds, which confirmed that military vehicles were indeed heading towards our camp.
This incident happened just a few months after the South African military had overrun Kassinga in Angola, where they had targeted a SWAPO refugee and training camp. That attack had killed hundreds of civilians, mostly women and children. With that in mind, we were certain that South Africa was coming to finish us off.
Next week, Cde Charles Makhuya will describe what happened after the military trucks arrived at their camp, which had previously been bombed by enemy aircraft.
