Online Reporter
CDE DAVID MUSHANGWE, who used the nom de guerre Cde Lobo, last week recounted his experiences at Nyadzonya, where hunger was a constant companion, and then at Mgagao in Tanzania, where the sight of a properly organised military camp brought relief to a hungry and weary batch of young revolutionaries. This week, Cde Lobo opens up about the remainder of his transformative stay at Mgagao, the rigours of military training and eventual deployment to the front. He tells Zimpapers Politics Hub’s KUDA BWITITI how a misunderstanding with ZIPRA forces led to his detention and how a call from President Julius Nyerere secured his freedom.
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Q: Cde, tell us more about life at Mgagao.
A: Mgagao was a proper military camp. For young men and women who had fled the brutality of the Rhodesian regime, Mgagao was more than a camp — it was a cradle of discipline and hope.
The setup was great, especially compared to what we had experienced at Nyadzonya. Mgagao was a proper military camp with all the amenities required. We had proper meals. We also started doing proper studies, going to classrooms like real students.
It was at Mgagao that the real transformation began — from the hunger we had faced at Nyadzonya and Machiza to properly armed liberators.
Q: You have indicated that the training at Mgagao was comprehensive. Please tell us more about this.
A: There was international solidarity that fortified ZANLA. We had instructors from the ZANLA side, the TPDF — that is the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces — and there were also Chinese instructors.
Coming from all these three sides, the training was really comprehensive. We were trained to be proper soldiers, but also enlightened with political orientation so that we understood exactly what we were fighting for.
The three sets of trainers coordinated remarkably well.
The Chinese were very impressive, particularly in terms of physical fitness.
I was very disciplined and had a good aptitude, so much that I was appointed a platoon commander.
Our company commander was one of our trainers. When we finished training, I was nominated among the best students. There were about 36 of us who were nominated. During training, I specialised in mortars, machine guns and medicine.
Q: How were you nominated among the 36 best students?
A: My company commander was impressed with me, and he recommended my nomination.
I specialised in mortar, machine guns and medicine. My trainer in medicine was Dr Ziso.
You know, when we moved around during the liberation struggle, every military company had to have a medic. Being selected among the best came with added responsibility. I had to take another instructor’s course to train other recruits. I spent a further three months at Mgagao attending this special course.
Others who were not selected in our group went straight to the front to fight.
It was during this advanced phase that I also trained in anti-aircraft weaponry — a skill that would later prove vital.
As the war intensified, Mgagao became too small.
Multitudes of comrades were coming for training.
So, we were asked to go to Nachingwea, another camp in Tanzania.
At Nachingwea, the liberation leadership proposed an integration of ZANLA and ZIPRA forces. There were five camps at Nachingwea, each holding about 1 000 combatants. Among the selected group at Nachingwea was a young Herbert Nyanhongo, who in post-independence Zimbabwe would become a minister.
But the integration never materialised. The ZIPRA forces said they were not comfortable living with us.
Earlier, there had been a misunderstanding sometime before at Mgagao, when we fought with the ZIPRA forces.
The fallout was serious. We were put in detention for some time for what had happened to the ZIPRA forces. To make it worse, we were placed in a maximum-security prison.
Q: How were you saved from prison?
A: It took the intervention of Tanzania’s leadership to resolve the standoff. The then-governor of the area came to check on our welfare. When he called President Julius Nyerere, he ordered our release. We returned to Mgagao.
From Mgagao, we were then deployed to Mudzingadzi Camp in Mozambique. There, we were welcomed by liberation icons General Josiah Tongogara and Cde Rex Nhongo (the late Cde Mujuru).
But when they arrived, they sensed something was wrong. General Tongogara said our camp had been infiltrated.
Q: How did the commanders know that the camp had been infiltrated?
A: They had their way of knowing such things. General Tongo and Cde Mujuru actually did not tell us who had sold us out, but they said they had information that the enemy would come. So, we prepared for battle.
The commanders mobilised food and other supplies.
We covered a radius of about four kilometres. The warning was clear — enemy forces were coming. But the freedom fighters were ready.
We were armed and prepared. We had our ammunition — anti-aircraft weapons, bazookas, mortars, AK-47 machine guns and Lancers.
When the enemy soldiers finally arrived, the revolutionaries met them with disciplined fire power. We fought a protracted battle and won. We killed many enemy soldiers. The fact that we were well-armed contributed greatly to our victory.
I can say that battle was a bloody baptism — the moment training met reality, and the struggle for Zimbabwe’s independence moved from the parade square to the frontline.
Next week, Cde Lobo speaks about one of the most famous periods of the war of liberation, when he was involved in the bombings of the Salisbury (now Harare) fuel tanks.
