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We continue our discussion with CDE HAMUNYARI MAKADZANGE (HM), who was a prominent war collaborator in Rusape during the liberation struggle. In this instalment, CDE MAKADZANGE recounts to our Deputy News Editor LINCOLN TOWINDO (LT) her espionage exploits that helped liberation fighters mount formidable attacks on enemy positions.
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LT: What happened following your escape from the attack on the homestead where you and the freedom fighters had taken refuge?
HM : After leaving the base, we headed home.
When we arrived, we noticed that almost everyone in our village had been thoroughly beaten and tortured by the enemy during a raid. The Rhodesian soldiers had also beaten up my 100-year-old grandfather who had refused to disclose our whereabouts.
He later died as a result of the beatings.
Later on, another group of freedom fighters arrived in our village.
This group had the likes of Cde Chicago, Damburambabvu, Peri Peri and Action Mawuto Kufahakurambwi.
I was immediately directed to work with this group.
My main duty was to undertake spying missions and deliver letters with sensitive messages to other freedom fighter groups in far-flung areas.
I was small in stature and that gave me an advantage over other girls.
My diminutive stature would deceive the enemy into thinking that I was an innocent little girl and not a spy for the “terrorists”.
On occasion, I would be sent on missions to faraway places.
For example, I would be asked to deliver a message to a place as far as Zengeza from central Harare.
Before the mission, I would be dressed in a school uniform that was identical to the one worn by pupils in the area where I was being deployed.
I would also be given a book and a pencil.
If I was delivering a letter, the commanders would first slaughter a chicken.
They would then take a small piece of cotton wool that would be drenched in the chicken’s blood.
I would then be asked to tuck the bloody cotton wool into my undergarment.
The letter would then be placed in a small plastic wrapper, which I would hide in my undergarments.
So, whenever I ran into Smith’s soldiers, they would conduct a thorough body search.
But whenever they wanted to search in my undergarments, they would notice the bloody cotton wool and assume I was menstruating and would release me immediately.
LT: How did you undertake spying missions on enemy positions?
HM : Sometimes I was sent on spying missions inside enemy camps.
In most cases, my mission would be to map the entire camp, and establish the location of the armoury.
I remember this one mission I undertook, where I was asked to don a white garment in order to look like a member of an Apostolic sect.
I also had my head clean-shaven.
I was sent to the camp with a basket of leaf vegetables and tomatoes to sell to Rhodesian soldiers.
Inside the camp, some Rhodesian soldiers who were hiding in trenches called me over to where they were.
I was stunned into terror and froze.
They assured me that they only wanted to buy vegetables since they were hungry.
Now, what was very difficult about such missions was that you could not write down or take note of anything you observed behind the enemy lines on a piece of paper.
You had to memorise everything — the number of soldiers inside the base, the types of weapons they were carrying and most importantly, the position of the armoury.
I had to memorise all of this during the little time the soldiers were selecting and paying for the vegetables.
After selling all my goods, I would return to the base.
Back at the base, the commanders would ask me to recount what I would have observed.
But firstly, they would try to ascertain whether or not you had sold out their position to the enemy.
To do this, they would interrogate you and, in some cases, the hard-nosed ones could even beat you up just to make sure you were telling the truth.
After they made sure you had not sold out, you were asked to draw on the ground an outline of what the enemy camp looked like from the inside.
You had to precisely redraw everything from memory, including the soldiers’ exact positions in the trenches and where all their buildings were.
After that, you would be asked to leave. The commanders would then start planning for an attack on the enemy position.
LT : I notice that you are walking with a slight limp on your left leg. Were you injured during the war?
HM : I will never forget the year 1977.
It was in the month of June, when I was asked to deliver a letter to freedom fighters based in Hwedza, in an area called Mount St Mary’s.
The comrades wanted to convene a meeting of all the commanders based in that particular sector.
I was sent to Magumbeze Base, where I saw some senior comrades, including the likes of Peter Chimurenga, Siyadhuma and Mike Mutare, who was the section commander.
After I had handed over the letter, and before they could even go through the letter, the base was ambushed.
Rhodesian helicopters began dropping bombs on the unsuspecting freedom fighters.
Many fighters, mijibhas and chimbwidos were killed during that raid.
By God’s grace, I escaped and survived the attack.
What pains me the most is that all those who were killed in that raid were not given proper burials.
Their bodies were taken away by the Rhodesians to Marondera. We were later told that their bodies were dissolved in acid.
I lost a cousin in that attack.
The Rhodesians, however, failed to take with them the body of this one comrade named Dingiswe.
We were later told that whenever the soldiers tried to carry his corpse, it would burst into flames.
So, they left the body behind.
The body was only taken for proper burial after three days when the comrades had returned to salvage what had remained of their base.
It was during that raid that I was injured on the left leg.
I attempted to jump over a barbed wire fence, and the wire tore through the upper part of my left leg.
The wound was so deep that you could actually see a part of my thigh bone.
But I did not even notice the extent of the injury because I was running for dear life.
Behind us were soldiers who were firing directly at us.
I was then hit on my backside by a large bullet fragment.
The fragment left a large wound on the left side of my backside.
I continued with my escape in spite of my injuries.
I ran until I reached a place called KwaMombe.
After I sat to rest for a bit, that is when I noticed that I had blood all over.
The comraWe continue our discussion with CDE HAMUNYARI MAKADZANGE (HM), who was a prominent war collaborator in Rusape during the liberation struggle. des who had escaped along with me began figuring out ways to help me.They started by trying to remove the bullet fragment but failed.
For several days, all they could use to treat my wound was traditional snuff.
They would just insert snuff into the wound, which was never stitched up.
They continued doing the same thing until the wound healed.
Next week, Cde Makadzange continues her narration, recounting how the deployment of Selous Scouts in her area changed the outlook of the war.
Tinaye Agere
Online Reporter