I was cornered by Rhodesian soldiers and shot in leg

CDE TAYLOR GWIRAMBIRA, whose Chimurenga name was Elias Chimurenga, last week chronicled how his group successfully travelled from Manicaland to Mashonaland East province, after crossing the border from Mozambique into Zimbabwe. In this week’s instalment, he shares with our Features and Arts Editor PRINCE MUSHAWEVATO how their arrival significantly changed the course of the struggle in Hwedza.

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Q: Our previous conversation ended when you arrived in Hwedza. Could you please share more about how you settled there and eventually started your operations?

A: When we reached Hwedza, there were already several senior comrades in the area, including Makarudo, Alberto, Tawanda and Nyika.

They were leading the Hwedza detachment, which was the only one in the region at the time.

Our arrival significantly boosted the detachment’s strength, with 250 trained fighters joining the battle at once.

Due to the increased numbers, Hwedza was eventually divided into two detachments — Hwedza-Svosve and Hwedza.

I initially operated under the Hwedza detachment before being deployed to Hwedza-Svosve.

Our first battle/ambush was at Makwarimba, led by the provincial security officer, Danga Safore. He wanted to assess our fighting skills, so he planned an ambush for us there.

This location eventually became known as “paButcher” due to the numerous ambushes that took place and significant losses suffered by the enemy.

Q: Can you give us an insight into what happened at “paButcher”?

A: We attacked a Rhodesian soldiers’ convoy, marking our first major battle and victory in the area.

Subsequently, we engaged in another significant battle at a nearby school.

We held a night vigil there and received a message summoning us to our gathering point (GP); the current Vice President, (Dr Constantino) Chiwenga, had summoned us.

The meeting, held at his rural home, focused on battle strategies.

While continuing our night vigil, we realised that leaving the area without firing our weapons might lead villagers to believe we were there for “recreational” purposes. Therefore, we decided to conduct another major ambush the following day, three kilometres from the school.

Strangely, a thick fog enveloped the area the next morning, affecting visibility.

Undeterred, we proceeded to our ambush position, inadvertently setting part of the ambush within someone’s homestead due to the fog.

As we awaited our target, a bus arrived from Hwedza Centre. Some of our comrades mistakenly assumed it was part of the enemy convoy.

Q: You can carry on.

A: They were poised to strike.

Fortunately, before anyone opened fire, I realised it was a public bus and shouted for everyone to hold fire.

Although the bus had entered the kill zone, my comrades swiftly complied.

As the fog began to clear, the enemy’s convoy approached. Guns blazed and we decimated the enemy.

I recall Cde Evermore’s exceptional skill with the Mortar 60 weapon.

He seemed almost possessed while in action, consistently hitting moving vehicle trailers with his mortar rounds.

He had a special gift of dropping mortars inside the enemy’s vehicles.

During this attack, the enemies were so surprised that they only managed a few retaliatory shots before being completely overwhelmed.

We calmly exited our attacking positions, finding the enemy dead.

The homeowner, a woman, was deeply shocked by the incident.

She is still alive today.

She had been sweeping her yard when the assault began, and her young child had followed her outside. Upon hearing the gunfire, she sought cover but then returned to retrieve her child.

I would love to visit her someday and have a conversation.

The child is now an adult.

This incident occurred in 1978.

As we were retreating, someone threw a bomb.  The origin of the bomb is unknown and no one from our side suffered serious injuries. Shortly after, fighter jets approached our position.

Unfamiliar with the terrain in this new area, I spotted a large rock formation (ruware) and led others through it to seek cover in nearby trees.

Unfortunately, the pilot in the plane had spotted me.

Q: What was going on in your mind as you bolted?

A: I intended to seek cover and then counterattack.

As I continued running, I realised that the distance between the rock formation and the nearby mountain area was greater than I had anticipated.

At the end of the rock formation was a cliff. I made a desperate decision; jumping off the cliff, risking injury or death, was preferable to being captured alive by the enemy.

I leaped and landed on a tree, breaking one of its branches. My weapon became entangled in the branches.

When I fell to the ground, I sank into years-old debris of accumulated dry leaves and passed out.

After regaining consciousness, I noticed the helicopters were still circling. The branch holding my gun mysteriously broke and my weapon fell beside me. I retrieved it and began to manoeuvre away.

Meanwhile, the enemy had stopped pursuing me, believing I was dead.

I checked for injuries but found none.

I was safe.

I started walking, attempting to find my way back to the battlefield and eventually reached the GP. I survived to fight another day.

Another battle took place at Zenda 1, paSanganai. We were stationed there, and I believe someone betrayed us.

The enemy arrived in lorries, slowly moving and dropping off their soldiers.

War collaborators provided us with information about their presence.

A nearby mountain served as their camp. At sunset, after receiving intelligence, we decided to attack them.

However, it was a suicidal mission, extremely risky. We traversed through farms and approached the mountain from behind.

Upon reaching the mountain, we encountered Rhodesian fighters on the road, placing us in a difficult situation.

We were uncertain about the number of soldiers in the area. To gain a better attacking position, we needed to climb one of the mountains, but that was also a dangerous proposition.

Q: What was your final decision given such a predicament?

A: We threw caution to the wind. Cde Herbert Mutamburi, armed with a bazooka, fired. We also had lance launchers. We ran through a bambara nuts (nyimo) plantation, going towards a mountain adjacent to the enemy’s position.

As we charged, a whirlwind appeared from nowhere. Cde Lax, our section commander, reached a white man with a NATO rifle. The white man was relaxed and unaware of our presence. He (enemy) fired a single stray bullet before being shot in the head.

A fierce battle ensued.

Our position made it difficult to use firearms effectively, so we were instructed to employ grenades.

Cde Herbert was seriously injured, possibly due to panic, as he was unprepared for combat. The lance proved decisive in our victory. As we believed the battle was over, a fighter plane approached in the                                      darkness.

We used a searchlight to illuminate the sky for a few minutes and flush it out. After the battle, we learnt that we had decimated a group of mercenaries.

We participated in several other battles in the area with comrades like Cde Hilton.

However, I was later injured in a battle near Mount St Mary’s School.

I was responsible for deploying troops and initiating the attack.

Due to a miscalculation, I found myself in a position where I could not return fire. There was also a group of soldiers in the area and we were not aware of their presence.

When we began firing at the trucks, they immediately joined the battle and counterattacked us. The battle became more intense than anticipated and some of our comrades retreated. I remained behind with a colleague.

I was unable to cross the road or join our colleagues, as I had been cornered by the enemy. As I attempted to manoeuvre out of a drain, I was shot in the leg and it broke in two places.

 Next week, Cde Gwirambira will share what happened to him after the serious injury.