Online Reporter
Mkhululi Sibanda, Assistant Editor
WHILE thousands of Zimbabweans will throng Maphisa Town in Matobo District, Matabeleland South Province, for the 46th Independence Day celebrations, almost a month away, only 15 kilometres from the now growing metropolis lies a village called Tjehondo.
Tjehondo once witnessed a fierce battle between ZPRA forces and the Rhodesian Army, whose echoes continued to reverberate long after the turn of the millennium.
While the clash might have seemed like any other encounter during the liberation struggle, accounts from villagers highlight the crucial role played by women in the armed struggle and their place in the country’s collective memory.
This week, Sunday News republishes the narration of two elderly women, Gogo Louisa Ndlovu and Eveline Ndlovu, who both lived close to the scene of the battle and bore the brunt of colonial forces. The story was first published on 27 May 2018. Below is their narration as carried then.
For two elderly women, Louisa Ndlovu and Eveline Ndlovu, now in their late 80s, the battle that took place at Tjehondo in Kezi around November 1978 between freedom fighters and Rhodesian forces left deep emotional and physical scars.
The two women found themselves on the receiving end of brutal Rhodesian soldiers when the forces descended on their village.
Gogo Louisa Ndlovu, now aged 90, was severely beaten by Rhodesian soldiers for failing to respond quickly when they called her.
Meanwhile, the homestead of Gogo Eveline Ndlovu (89) was set ablaze after some Rhodesian forces were accounted for by the ZPRA fighters on that fateful day.
A Sunday News crew caught up with the two elderly women, who said they would never forget the day ZPRA forces clashed with Rhodesian soldiers at Tjehondo, about 15 kilometres west of Maphisa Growth Point.
In fact, Sunday News was tipped off about the incident by a reader, Gibson Ndlovu, who, after reading about the Battle of Ratanyane also in Kezi in a previous edition, wrote to the editor saying:
“Please make a follow-up on a battle that took place near Tjehondo School in 1977/78 in which 11 or 12 enemy soldiers were killed. One guerrilla involved was called Mahlanvana (igama lempini), who, I am told, is found around Maphisa and Tjehondo. The battlefield was next to a homestead koSutha, close to Tjehondo Secondary School and near Councillor Phiri’s homestead. The Sutha homestead and another were burnt to a shell by the regime when they came to collect bodies.”
A Sunday News crew visited Tjehondo and spoke to Gogo Louisa Ndlovu, who said:
“I was here at my homestead when I saw an army truck parked near the road there,” she said, pointing to where the soldiers had been.
“One of the soldiers called me, but I thought he was not referring to me as they were at the neighbouring homestead. When I finally realised they were calling me, I went to where they were. To make matters worse, the Rhodesian soldier spoke in Shona and we could not understand each other, which worsened the situation. He accused me of being stubborn and they looked for an axe to cut a switch. You would think it was a thin branch, but it was a thick one. That is what they used to beat me up.”
Gogo Louisa continued:
“Just imagine being beaten by a man while my husband watched from our homestead. He quickly took the children and fled into the bush. After the beating, I staggered back home and found no one there. However, the two black Rhodesian soldiers were reprimanded by their white counterpart for beating an elderly woman.”
She did not stay long at home before fleeing to the bush, where she encountered guerrillas.
“Abafana beganga (the guerrillas) asked why I was in such a terrible condition. I told them I had been beaten by Rhodesian soldiers and pointed in the direction where they were,” she said.
“After some time, I heard the sound of gunfire. I later caught up with my husband, Ndabanengi Dube, in the fields. We did not spend the night at our homestead.
“We were accommodated in the next village and only returned the following day. You know, my child, there was a big difference in how we were treated by the Rhodesian forces compared to abafana. The guerrillas would politely ask for food and eat whatever was available, which gave us more determination to support them.”
Regarding casualties, Gogo Louisa said she was unsure of the exact numbers.
“What I know is that some Rhodesian soldiers died. When their colleagues later came to collect the bodies, that is when they set alight the homesteads of Sutha Ndlovu and Pillow Sibanda,” she said.
Her grandson, Mr Mlamuleli Ndlovu, said from what he heard from other villagers, the guerrillas followed a nearby stream, which had thick vegetation to where the Rhodesian soldiers had withdrawn and were preparing food.
“That is where the battle took place and the Rhodesians suffered heavy losses. That is why they burnt the Sutha homestead, because they believed the guerrillas had been hiding there. The homestead was very close to the scene of the contact,” said Mr Ndlovu.
Gogo Eveline Ndlovu, whose homestead (koSutha Ndlovu) was burnt down by Rhodesian soldiers, said she had been at home when she saw armed men crouching nearby.
“I was preparing to go and work in our fields when I heard a voice saying, ‘Gogo, Gogo.’ When I looked around, I saw armed men crouching. I was so frightened that I fell down. They asked what was wrong with me. There is a small river near our homestead and that is the route they had followed because it gave them cover,” she said.
“Then suddenly there was a burst of gunfire. We all fled from our home to the fields. From there we sought refuge at homesteads further away. The battle happened around 10am. Later that afternoon we saw heavy smoke coming from the direction of our village.
“I suspected it might be my homestead on fire and indeed it was. Our main house and five huts were razed to the ground by the Rhodesian soldiers. They also burnt our barn and all the grain was lost.”
She said the situation was made worse by the fact that her husband had just retired from work in South Africa and had brought several suitcases of new clothes for the family, all of which were destroyed in the fire.
“We were left with nothing. People had to donate food and clothes to us. God’s people are kind, my child. We started from scratch. Fellow villagers also helped us rebuild our homestead,” she said.
“We were accommodated by other people that night and returned the following day to find our home in ruins. It was terrible.”
One of the guerrillas who operated in the area, Cde Abel Nsewula, said although he did not take part in the battle, he and other comrades were only a few kilometres away at the time.
“We had split into smaller units that day because the Rhodesians had set up an area ambush. They had covered areas such as Marinoha, Lingwe and Mbembeswana. We had divided at a place called Mabonyane into groups of between four and seven,” said Cde Nsewula, who operated under the name Cde Sifiso Njalo, also known as Disco, in a telephone interview from his home in Gokwe.
“The comrades who fought in that battle were very few, perhaps four to seven. Among them was Stephen Maqhageni, who is now a Zanu-PF councillor in Sun Yet Sen under the Matobo Rural District Council, and another comrade known as Ngwenya.
“From what they told us later, villagers informed them that Rhodesian soldiers were preparing food near the homestead of Sutha. They then moved stealthily towards the enemy and discovered that a sentry posted in the direction they were approaching from had fallen asleep. That gave them the opportunity to scan the area carefully and strike with precision. They inflicted significant damage.”
Cde Nsewula, without giving exact figures, said a number of enemy soldiers died in the battle, which angered Rhodesian forces who later vented their frustration on villagers by beating them or burning their homes.
“During my operations in the Kezi area from early 1978 until the ceasefire, the Tjehondo battle accounted for many enemy casualties. However, the battle where we inflicted the heaviest losses was the Battle of Kafusi. Still, these two stand out,” he said.
He added that in the case of the Tjehondo battle, the guerrillas had little choice but to engage the Rhodesian forces.
“We were surrounded, and by engaging the Rhodesians, those comrades were creating a breakthrough so that we could put them on the back foot,” said Cde Nsewula.
Bongani Ndlovu