adminFeature Brigadier General Abel Mazinyane (Retired)
HE trained in Morogoro/Tanzania and was later attached to Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and stationed South of Beirut (Lebanon) at a PLO camp called Jalub which was 10 kilometres from Hebron (Israel). With him were four other comrades Elisha Gagisa/Stanely Nleya (group leader), Ananias Gwenzi, Elias Ndou, and Joel Dambudzo. The attachment lasted for about nine months 1974-1975.
We used to think that ZPRA military training was the toughest guerilla training South of the Sahara. According to guys who went to Lebanon it was child’s play compared to what they went through there, no wonder why the already very tough ZPRA training became tougher when they were posted to the department of training. After all these guys did not only go for training under PLO, they took part in battles. Their camp in Jalub was regularly bombed by the Israel airforce.
In 1977, Assaf was posted to operations, and immediately promoted to deputy chief of operations. As deputy chief of operations he was responsible for deployment. This meant that he transported troops from training or holding camps for trained personnel to the front. This was a very taxing duty but Assaf executed the task with vigour and enthusiasm. He was full of energy and very daring.
One of his duties included co-ordinating ZPRA units (that were being deployed closer to the SA border with Rhodesia) and Umkhonto Wesizwe (ANC) groups that were being deployed through Rhodesia. The ZPRA high command in general and ZPRA operations department in particular did a splendid job in co-ordinating these joint operations with our Umkhonto Wesizwe colleagues. Newly deployed units had to be co-ordinated with ZPRA units already operating inside Rhodesia who were to receive and guide them through their operational areas. The new units were passed from one operational area to another until they reached their operational destination.
Gagisa (Stanley Nleya) who was one of the deputy chief of operations calls it a “nightmare”, considering that the country (Rhodesia) was swarming with Selous Scouts who were roaming the countryside pretending to be guerillas to cause confusion. Failure to organise proper co-ordination, new units could clash with friendly forces or worse still fall into Rhodesian army traps. A lot of praise should also go to our regional commanders, their field commanders and men for their military efficiency and discipline. Without their excellent military training our operations and battles would have been like street fights.
I travelled with Assaf to Angola to officiate at a passout parade of our first group of soldiers trained in Angola at a place that was called Boma, now Luena. In our delegation was Alfred Nikita, Harold Chirenda (Masengo), Assaf and I. The late VP Joshua Nkomo (guest of honour) and his secretary were to follow later.
The parade went well except that before the ceremony there was to be a mock attack by the entire 2 000 troops using live ammunition. I was not for the idea for security reasons. Assaf was excited by the idea. Up to today I still suspect that he had a hand in this. But I also think he wanted to assess properly how well the Russians and Cubans had trained these soldiers. As ZPRA Chief of Intelligence my concern was the security of the President. Like all my colleagues in the operations department he believed in blowing up things. Take it from me, during this mock attack there was a lot of blowing up of things.
Assaf died in 1978 near Kabanga mission South of Kalomo town in Zambia when his convoy of ZPRA trucks taking troops for deployment was attacked by Rhodesian racist forces. This gallant fighter was buried in a mass grave close to where he died.
It was after this attack that Alfred Nikita/Rogers Mangena, ZPRA commander led some members of the ZPRA High Command (Sigoge, Jack Mpofu-Daki, Enock Tshangane, Donki and others) to clear the area of the enemy and bury the fallen comrades. It was on their return after completion of the above task that the ZPRA commander met his death.
Online Reporter