In battle, we were like a well-oiled machine

THIS week, CDE ELIAS CHIRAMBAI, whose Chimurenga name was Jikinya Masendeke, continues giving his riveting account of how he joined the struggle for freedom and independence to our Features and Arts Editor PRINCE MUSHAWEVATO. He talks about his experiences at the front, sharing tales of both bravery and sacrifice.

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Q: Your first mission upon deployment after training in Mozambique was a success. What do you attribute this to?

A: A lot of factors were at play. Remember, we were attacked on several occasions in Mozambique before we even started training.

This gave us a feel of what to expect back home and what needed to be done. Also, I feel Cde Agri Chaminuka and Cde Jack Bendaz trained us well. We were like a well-oiled machine.

Q: After being instructed to take the battle to towns and cities, what happened next?

A: We were first deployed to Rusape, in Nedetso. When we got there, we moved towards Headlands on foot. While travelling, we got tired and decided to hijack a vehicle.

As we were pondering on how best to go about it, a fuel (petrol) tanker came along, travelling along the highway.

We had a guy who specialised in the bazooka. His name was Blessing and he is still alive; currently staying in Macheke.

He aimed his weapon at the truck and it slowed down.

However, the white driver did not stop.

Instead, he started to accelerate towards us. We scampered for cover.  No one was hurt, but the truck destroyed our bazooka, which had been left on the road.  I had a light machine gun on me and fired towards the truck, but the driver still did not stop. I do not know if the driver made it to his final destination or the truck later exploded.

We could not follow up.

After a while, we saw a white woman, who was in the company of her son.

We hijacked their vehicle, a lorry, to be precise.  The woman begged us not to kill her as she was not into politics.

She told us that she was a farmer and did not want to cause trouble.

We promised not to harm her and kept our word. When we were getting close to Macheke, we instructed the white woman to drop us off a few kilometres before getting into the small town. We ordered her not to tell anyone about our presence in the area and that if we were to be attacked, we would look for her.

However, she still reported us to the Rhodesian authorities.

Q: What was your mission in Macheke?

A: When we got to Macheke, we stealthily moved into one of the suburbs at night and instructed the povo (public) to cook sadza for us. We rested for the remainder of the night.

Early in the morning, we climbed a mountain that was on a ranch.

We wanted to carry out as many attacks as possible in the area.  Just as we were getting settled, there was a young boy — I think he was in Grade Three then — whom we had asked to carry some of our drinking water.  We immediately instructed him to go back home since he was young.

Meanwhile, the Rhodesian forces had started trailing us after a tip-off; I think from the white woman we had briefly hijacked the previous day. They were following our tracks and had caught up with us. Before the boy left, he was hit by a bullet on the leg and fell down.

Q: How bad was the boy’s injury?

A: He was injured but later got medical assistance. The guy is still alive and currently stays in Macheke. A short moment after the first shot, the Rhodesians then opened fire.

They later got air support.

Takangoona denga rese razara mahelicopter.  We did not engage them because we were not prepared for the assault and we were also tired after walking a long distance the previous day.  The only best option for us was to escape.

On this particular day, we accepted defeat.

There was not much we could do.

However, we knew we would have our day.

The incident terrified locals and it took time for things to settle. I was summoned by our commanders, who instructed me to bring order to the area. I complied.

My team and I patrolled the Samukange area, including other bases in Dohwa.

While there, I got involved in a battle that still lingers in my mind.  I was now commander of two sections, and I got information that there were some Rhodesian soldiers who were at the Dohwa Shopping Centre.  I knew this was a good payback opportunity.  I led my troops there to attack them.

However, the enemy forces were also in the process of moving in our direction. They also had a similar mission — to attack us.  We found ourselves in a tricky situation that we often referred to as “maguka maguka” (meeting engagement).

We strategically moved to Mbuya Nyatanga’s homestead. The family supported the struggle, but the lady had just lost her husband.

We wanted some intel from there but when we got into the homestead, we realised enemy fighters had already invaded the place and were waiting to pounce.

They got in using the other side.

Q: What happened next?

A: Our mortar man, Cde Maropa, who was also a section commander, had the biggest weapon, thus had to be well-protected.

He was my responsibility. I had to cover him when he ran out of ammunition. As we drew closer to the homestead, the enemy opened fire.  Cde Maropa fired back, dispatching a 60mm mortar round.

Unfortunately, he was immediately neutralised after he got hit on the leg.

It was a serious injury.

He bellowed in pain.

Swiftly, I moved to his position and carried him to safety behind a stone.

I took the mortar weapon from him while the other comrades continued firing.

I had not been trained to use the weapon but as a fighter, I had a rough idea of what needed to be done.  I opened fire and unleashed a mortar. Our firepower was so strong that the enemy soldiers decided not to advance. I managed to move the injured comrade to where our other colleagues were.

I took him to Cde Tendai, who is now called Chibanda. He was our medic and very young back then.  Cde Tendai and I jointly carried the injured cadre out of the combat zone.

A few metres away, we met another colleague, who also assisted us.

As we moved, we saw a cart that was parked in the bush.  It belonged to an old man by the name of Kundishora and was being used by a young man who was fetching firewood.

The firefight had disoriented both the young man and the oxen. We then placed the injured comrade in the cart and covered him with leaves. We instructed the young man to take him to the village, but he had to avoid going through the bush as he would be shot in crossfire.

 Next week, Cde Chirambai will continue sharing his story about the encounter at the homestead and how they eventually assisted their injured companion. He will also narrate other key battles that took place at the time.