I almost became a victim of a parcel bomb

We conclude our interview with veteran nationalist Cde Stephen Topani who in our last week’s edition spoke about how he and his colleagues used musical shows to raise money for the country’s nationalist parties in their confrontation against the Rhodesian colonial government. In our last week edition Cde Topani, also known as Siphuma also spoke about how they started their political activities in Gwanda Town, a then small settlement together with the likes of prominent nationalists such as Cdes Samuel Munodawafa and Sikhwili Khohli Moyo.

Below he continues with the conversation with our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS). Read on…

MS: You spoke about working in Bulawayo at the Main Post Office and how you were made to sign forms barring you from taking part in political activities.

Cde Topani: That time the regime was tightening screws and also people were beginning to gather courage and confront it. My close colleagues such as Samuel Monodawafa were detained for political activities and then came the strike which was called Zhii which became a sort of national shut-down. That strike was unprecedent. When Zhii broke out I was at the Colleen Bawn in Matabeleland South where we had gone for a musical show. Despite the fact that there was chaos all over, I and my band were safe because we had the protection from the youths. Zhii affected the whole nation and here in Gwanda some people were arrested and it was during that time that I was given a tip-off that the police were keen to arrest me, so I skipped the border into Zambia.

MS: Who tipped you off?

Cde Topani: I was tipped off by a police officer, a black man who was sympathetic to the cause of the liberation struggle. Within the colonial government security system, we had people who were genuinely for our cause. When I left the country, I was a member of amanene (domestic workers) where we had a banking club, so I told them that I was going to Zaire now DRC for music lessons because I didn’t want them to know my real intentions. They gave me my share of the money which I used for transport. I boarded a train to Zambia and arrived at Broken Hill now Kabwe where I continued with my music with another musician who took me to his house. I stayed there and then got a job.

I then started sniffing around for political activities and was told that there was United National Independence Party (UNIP) and African National Congress (ANC) which were holding meetings, but because of fear of the security forces those meetings were being held in the bush.

I then started attending those meetings and I discovered that there were some Zimbabweans who had come to Zambia in the early late 1940s and 1950s. Among that group of Zimbabweans was the family of now State President, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa. It was during that time that ZAPU structures were being formed in Zambia and we joined with the likes of Hopeful Nkiwane who worked for the railways, Zondo, Philip Chivi and a Sibanda fellow. I have forgotten others. In 1964 Zambia gained its independence and it was then that ZAPU and ZANU, which had been formed in 1963 following the split in ZAPU set up offices, which became public.

MS: What really was the purpose of those structures in Zambia?

Cde Topani: Our work involved organizing resources from the Zambians. The Zambians gave us facilities such as camps where our people were to live. When those camps such as Mboroma were set up we were there. The camps were carefully chosen because there were supposed to be places with water and vegetation which provided security.

We worked closely with some Zambian Cabinet Ministers such as Minister of State for Security, Chamananse. I was in the ZAPU district committee for Kabwe. In our committee there was Hassan an Arab who was a teacher at the Zambian college. We also worked closely with Mr Shoniwa, a Zimbabwean who was a magistrate in Zambia.

MS: Then as the war intensified there were a lot of bombings, were you not scared?

Cde Topani: No, no not at all. It was during that time that our help was needed most. In fact, when the Mkushi Camp for female combatants was bombed in 1978 I was part of the party delegation that went there when things were still tense. Among the people I was with were Nkiwane, Zondo and Sister Mpala, a nurse. We took the injured girls to the hospital and I was one of the people who was driving. I could have made three trips.

MS: Besides such incidents as the bombing of Mkushi, what other painful experiences did you go through?

Cde Topani: I was greatly affected by the deaths of two nationalists, Cdes Herbert Chitepo and Jason Ziyapapa Moyo.

Chitepo, who was the ZANU Chairman was killed by a bomb planted by the enemy under his car while Moyo was sent a parcel bomb. As for Chitepo he was working for the unity of our nationalists’ forces and Moyo was also a torch bearer and courageous man from the ZAPU side. Those two died under very painful circumstances. Myself I almost became a victim of the parcel bomb as well.

MS: What happened?

Cde Topani: I also received a parcel from Botswana like was the case with JZ. First, I thought it was from my brother whom we used to write each other. Because of the JZ incident I looked closely at the hand writing on the envelope and I doubted it. There was something wrong and I thought against opening it. I took it to the Zambian soldiers who then took it to their facilities for scanning. They then came back to me and said I was very lucky; I had been saved by my quick judgement and instincts. When they told me that it had been a parcel bomb, I was shocked.