adminFreedom Mutanda
HIS real name is Cde Can See Mapuranga. He slowly shook his head as he recounted how, as a beardless 16 years old young man, fresh from writing his Rhodesian Junior Certificate examination, traversed the length and breadth of Zimbabwe in pursuit of independence.
Thirty nine years after that daring move to Mozambique, he feels that the spirit of a revolution swept him to make that defining decision and in his small way, he helped in removing the chains of colonialism that stopped indigenous people to truly enjoy the abundant resources that the country possesses.
Today, he is the Head of Gideon Mhlanga High School, one of the leading schools in Chipinge district and is a proud holder of an Honours degree in African Languages and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education that he successfully studied at the University of Zimbabwe.
These are the qualifications that his late brother wanted him to acquire soon after he came back from the front and joined the newly created Air Force of Zimbabwe in 1980.
Tall and broad shouldered, Cde Mapuranga looks every inch the soldier he is.
His deep smile belies his guerilla background. One is tempted to recall Caius Cassius’ words, he doth bestride the whole world like a Colossus in his description of Julius Caesar, the Roman General, who governed over Rome before the conspirators led by Brutus assassinated him. Indeed, he has a soldier’s demeanour.
Looking back, he feels his brother did him a world of good by his insistence that only education-continuing from Form 2-would make him a man who would be a vital cog in the development of the Mapuranga clan.
Where did the journey to become a tovarash begin? By the way, tovarash is Romanian for comrade.
At Mount Selinda Institute, where he did his Form one to Form 2, many students listened to the Voice of Zimbabwe beamed from Maputo in the newly independent Mozambique. Therefore, Cde Mapuranga and three of his class mates, that he was not at liberty to name, decided to do something about dislodging colonialism soon after they had written the final paper in November 1976. The quartet came from the same village under Chief Musikavanhu, Mariya Village.
Unbeknown to the young Mapuranga, his friends’ parents had got wind of their intentions and had surveyed the trio in such a manner that they could not leave their parents’ places of residence. When he arrived at the rendezvous, there was no-one there; for four hours he waited for them to no avail. At about 5 pm, he decided to go to Zamuchiya en-route to Mozambique.
During pungwe meetings, guerillas such as Magorilla and Hondo had talked about a place called Espungabera where they would meet other men and women who also wanted to be trained as combatants. To that end, although he was 16, he knew that Zamuchiya would lead him to the training bases.
To his greatest horror, mosquitoes had a field day on his body and blood throughout the night he slept over at Zamuchiya village before he reached Chikwekwete Camp where Frelimo cadres manned it. They quizzed him as they suspected that he could be a spy bearing in mind he was a small boy notwithstanding his above average height.
One of the Frelimo officers took his clothes and shoes. Whether it was a test or not he can’t tell but it worried him that his best clothes had just gone and in a flash; he had to make do with the old clothes dumped on him by the kamaradha.
For five days, the officers questioned him on his motive; however, other would-be trainees came in the intervening days. That’s when more than 50 of them went to Espungabera. It took them three days on foot to reach that place.
‘’There was no room for cowards and the faint hearted. We stayed at Espungabera for a month while more and more would-be trainees came. We were more than 2000 of us and waiting to be trained. Food scarcity was corrosive. By this time, ZANLA commanders had taken over from the Frelimo. It was at this place that we received political education. Commanders made us engage in military drills.”
After a month, he was transferred to Chibawawa Refugee Camp.
“We went there on foot and it took us five days. The more than 2000 men and women had to walk during the night and rest during the day.”
Cde Mapuranga underscored the need for the commanders to be wary of attacks as they moved in large numbers. Commanders had to plan the journey meticulously lest the enemy would ruthlessly kill them. Chibawawa was a refugee camp and not a training camp to many observers.
“Imagine we crossed the Budzi foot bridge and it took us a while to do so as crossing it in large numbers would present a security headache for the commanders. Moreover, unarmed. 15 000 people were at Gukurahundi Camp and as usual, food was a big problem. Times were hard as the Zvimatekenye epidemic spread through the camp. I became a member of The Red Army that was responsible for production for the rest of the camp. We grew vegetables to feed the multitude.”
Zvimatekenye came from fleas that pierced the foot and lay eggs inside the foot.
The flea got into the foot and turn back; it laid eggs and these eggs could multiply and in no time, a person could not walk.
One may squash the eggs but the pain was unbearable.
There were deaths from lack of food and one would have thought people would go back home in the face of such adversity but NO they remained resolute. His colleagues from Mount Selinda Institute including those he had left at Mariya arrived at Chibawawa. Owing to his Form 2 level of education, he was chosen to be trained in Romania with other men and women. People went to be trained in schedules.
Many would-be trainees loved to be trained as it was another way to flee from the biting food shortages that were occasioned by the unusually high numbers that came for training. The “Vatoto’”, a word given to the very young, suffered a lot from food shortages.
Takawira Base2 was the place where those who were destined for Romania would be given basic military training. They were then at Chimoio. He was happy as training brought him closer to the front; that was the reason why he had walked hundreds of kilometers to get to Chibawawa. Tragedy struck at Chimoio two months after they had started basic military training.
Rhodesian Chimoio Attack
“Around 7am or thereabout, I am not very sure, Dakotas, helicopters and surveillance planes flew low over the Chimoio camp. They flew at a low level. They started bombing. We had no firearms as we were under training. The anti-air responded. Bombs rained on the kitchen to make our hunger more pronounced.”
Liberty Madyiwa, Cde Mapuranga’s war name ran and ran until he found himself in a game park. He reckons it was spiritual intervention that made him survive after he fell asleep in the game park.
“I woke up with a start. A gigantic snake slithered away into a thicket. What horrified me was that the reptile actually moved over my body but did not bite. Incredible, isn’t it? I should have died even before I had gone to Romania for training.”
With his colleagues, three of them, he stayed in the game park. They re-gathered at Gondola where they stayed for a month. They had to go to Doroi refugee camp. Cde Mapuranga said Nehanda suffered the greatest causalities during the Chimoio attack. Women bore the brunt of the massacre. He stayed at Base 5 at Doroi where there were five bases.
Desperate to be trained as his training had been interrupted by the racist attack, Cde Mapuranga fled to Mudzingadzi training camp; he was arrested and returned to Doroi. Fortunately, he was identified again and selected to go to Romania. They had a brief stopover in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
“For six months, we trained in heavy artillery because of the stage of the war we were at.
We specialised in anti-air and I was among the best. Grueling it was. In early 1978, we returned to Mozambique and I was deployed in the Tete Province in the Sipolilo (Guruve) area under Perctin section in the Dande area.”
A platoon was composed of 30 guerillas and he was in charge of security. Andrew Hondo was among the commanders in that area and Cde Perence Shiri was in the top hierarchy of the command structure. He remembers an attack he could easily have died.
“We met every morning for a strategic meeting.
I argued with another combatant until our commander told me to go back to base. I went with other cadres and we were involved in a contact. The Rhodesian infantry had support from the air. We couldn’t help in time and their eyes were gouged out. Was it God or was it my ancestors, I can’t tell but the argument helped me survive certain death.”
There were other contacts where they emerged victorious but he emphasized the notion that war is not a picnic. The smell of death is forever in the air.
Asked on the role of the spirit mediums during the war of liberation, he nodded vigorously.
“Spirit mediums told us about impending events. They reiterated the oft spoken about need to shy away from sexual relations with women. At times, we got communication from eagles. If they fought each other, a fight was imminent. Definitely, our spirit mediums and indeed our ancestors helped us get our independence.” Cde Mapuranga reminisced.
In 1979, ceasefire came and he went to Alpha Assembly Point where there were more than 15 000 combatants. He was attested into the army, to the Air Force, to be precise. He was suspicious of the other white officers. At New Serum, 40 former Zanla and Zipra combatants were trained to be Air Force personnel.
“My brother insisted that I should go back to school and I did. I had passed my RJC way back in 1976 and I returned to Mount Selinda where I resumed Form 3. They made me their Headboy.
“I proceeded to Bernard Mizeki College for my ‘A’ Levels. I successfully obtained my B.A Hons in 1987 and here I am.”
He didn’t tell me that he is now a head but that is obvious. He has been chosen to be the War Veterans Vice Chairperson for three terms in Chipinge. He has a 15 hectare farm in the Chipinge highlands. Notably, he is a proud owner of two houses one of which is from the $50 000 gratuities that the Government gave him in 1997.
As a proud family man, Cde Mapuranga does not lose sight of the immense sacrifices of those that he fought alongside with who failed to make it home.
He urged the Government to continue to preach the gospel of peace that the country enjoys today as a result of the protracted war pitting the guerillas and the mean military machine of the Rhodesians.
As for the future, he hopes to write his memoirs and participate actively in the race to free Zimbabwe from economic imperialism that dogs the country today.
He strongly feels that there would be an economic rebound.
Online Reporter