Chronicle Editor
Brigadier-General Abel Mazinyane
I met Cde Jack Mpofu born Makhethi Ndebele in early 1972 at a logistic base in an area we called DK.
I occupied this base with Lenny who was with the logistics department under Ree who was to be VP Mphoko in Zimbabwe. It was only the two of us at the base.
Jack and Matshimini (Roger Ncube) were brought to our base to prepare for operation “xhoxhoza” of the war. I was to be the third member of the three-man team and I was a rookie who had just gone through Morogoro Training Camp in Tanzania.
Matshimini and Jack were old seasoned fighters.
We carried out mock attacks on a mock-up railway placed in a deep ravine to muffle and distort the sound caused by rifle firing and explosives.
Overseeing the rehearsals were Alfred Nikita Mangena (ZPRA Chief of Staff), Mphoko (ZPRA Chief of Logistics), JD (ZPRA Chief of Operations), and Gordon Munyanyi/Tapson Nkomane Sibanda (ZPRA Chief of Intelligence).
This was a strategic operation to demonstrate ZAPU’s triumph against the political crisis of 1971.
It had to be successful from DK, the team was moved to a ZPRA country house (CH) outside Livingstone Town for launching into Rhodesia.
A day before crossing into Rhodesia, Jack had an asthma attack.
He refused to be taken to Livingstone for treatment saying he would go to the hospital after the mission, I don’t know what was done to him except that we crossed into Rhodesia the following day.
I felt he and Matshimini did not care about their lives when it came to their dedication to the liberation struggle.
On the crossing into Rhodesia, Matshimini who was the mission commander ordered us to remove our boots and walk barefoot.
A few days before we crossed Matshimini had been walking barefoot.
Jack did not complain, he took the order calmly.
I complained bitterly in silence.
I had been issued new boots for the mission. New boots my foot.
At the target, which was the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo railway line I was the engineer to plant the explosives to welcome the Rhodesian train and Jack was assisting me.
When I went under the small drainage bridge to seek the explosives Jack and Matshimini stood guard.
While occupied with placing explosives and connecting the electric power source to ignite the explosives for the explosion, the moon came up.
We had arrived at the target at 1am. When the beam of the moon penetrated under the bridge where I was working, I concluded it was the train approaching or the enemy.
I dived from under the bridge and rolled away from it for fear that if it was the train it might trigger the explosives or if it was enemy soldiers firing under the bridge was likely to blow me to kingdom come.
While I was huffing and puffing Jack with calm asked if I had finished.
I lay there not comprehending the attitude of my colleagues.
Then Jack said “get back and finish, we are late.”
That was Jack for you acting as if there was no danger.
On our way to our crossing point, the Rhodesian Air Force was already active .
We reached the Zambezi River without incident.
The vegetation on the river bank gave us good air cover and attracted the locals, baboons and monkeys. We cohabitated well under the circumstances.
During the intensive bombing Jack had to break intensity. He would point to a baboon and say to me, “That one looks like you.” Maybe with my face disfigured by thorns, he was right.
After waiting for rescue for three days from our colleagues on the opposite bank it was agreed that someone should cross to the Zambian bank of the Zambezi to look for the canoe. Jack volunteered to do the task. A raft made of pieces of dry logs and life jackets was quickly assembled.
Jack went on it using the butt of his rifle as an oar. He had not gone far into the river before the raft capsized, taking Jack under. I ran along the bank calling his name. It was dark. He emerged a few metres downstream still holding his gun with the raft.
I told him to let me hold one end of his gun so that I could pull him out. He struggled against the Zambezi strong currents until he came close to the shore. I then grabbed the barrel of his gun and pulled him out. I later reminded him after independence that he should thank me for having pulled him out of the Zambezi despite him giving me the barrel instead of the butt of his gun.
He could have accidentally shot me as his hand was around the trigger area. After the rescue we spent time removing thorns from one another’s heads and faces. The crossing point was a thorny thicket.
I later travelled with Jack to the Soviet Union. He was going to Ukraine, I was going to Moscow.
Online Reporter