Prisons and detention centres as sites of sacrifice

Gibson Mhaka-Zimpapers Politics Hub

WHILE Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle is often synonymous with life in the bush, the often-overlooked prisons and detention centres of the Rhodesian era served as equally crucial sites of resistance, where political detainees transformed confinement into a continuation of the fight for freedom.

These “corridors of silence” became unexpected crucibles of defiance, intellectual ferment and strategic planning, playing a critical role in the broader struggle.

They vividly capture some of the gruesome experiences endured within these state-controlled confines.

Thousands of African nationalists, including prominent figures like President Mnangagwa, the late former President Robert Mugabe and the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo, endured harsh conditions in various Rhodesian prisons and restriction camps.

These included Khami Maximum Security Prison, Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, Salisbury Prison, Gwelo Prison, Gonakudzingwa Detention Centre, Sikombela and WhaWha Prison.

As political prisoners, they were not only important historical subjects in the telling of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle but also crucial symbols of the movement itself.

In a powerful walk down memory lane, significant as Zimbabwe approaches Heroes’ Day commemorations on August 11, Vice President Kembo Mohadi recently returned to Khami Prison, the place that once housed him during Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle.

He transformed the historical site into a stage of reflection, resilience and revolutionary fire. Standing in the shadow of his old cell blocks, VP Mohadi declared: “These walls hold memories of our collective struggle. Each cell represents a chapter in our nation’s fight for freedom and dignity.”

VP Mohadi, then just 25, was jailed in 1975 for distributing arms in Rhodesia.

He was sentenced to 15 years and became inmate number 73/75.

He shared cells 28 and 61 with fellow freedom fighters, while President Mnangagwa was detained in Cell 44.

The visit was more than ceremonial. It was emotional. It was real.

“This is where we grew up,” VP Mohadi said.

“Not eating your chips and fancy foods. It was a place of pain, but also one where the revolution lived and grew stronger.”

He revealed how prisoners kept the liberation war alive inside the prison walls, forming a covert “High Command” that secretly passed messages to Lusaka with help from sympathetic wardens.

“I was in charge of intelligence inside,” he said.

“That’s how we kept the fight alive, even behind bars.”

VP Mohadi also revealed how he narrowly escaped the hangman’s noose.

This reprieve came after a comrade, arrested with weapons in Gweru, cleverly tricked the Rhodesian regime into believing he had defected.

“I was meant to be hanged, but I survived,” said VP Mohadi.

As he reunited with fellow former detainee Cde John Maluzo Ndlovu, the dusty corridors of Khami echoed with a rare kind of silence, the silence of men who had suffered, survived and risen.

Still at Khami, Cell 44 in “B” Hall of Khami Remand Prison holds significant historical weight.

This cell served as the incarceration site for President Mnangagwa, during his six years of political imprisonment at Khami Maximum Security Prison.

He was detained as a teenager, at the age of 18, for contravening Section 37 (1) (b) of the notorious Law and Order Maintenance Act.

His prison number was 841/66, and it was into Cell 44 of “B” Hall that he was bundled.

This period of imprisonment is said to have played a significant role in shaping his political views and his eventual rise to power.

President Mnangagwa’s imprisonment, along with that of many other brave individuals, transformed the cell into a symbol of resistance and hope.

The cell stands as a symbol of a relentless fight against oppression and the quest for freedom.

Its history serves as a stark reminder of the injustices of the Smith Regime and the resilience of those who dared to challenge it.

Detention camps such as the notorious Gonakudzingwa in Masvingo province, Sikombela and WhaWha in the Midlands province, also remain a vital part of the country’s collective memory.

These sites capture the harrowing experiences of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle-era political prisoners and detainees who were incarcerated during the fight for independence.

Geographically mapped and strategically designed, these three camps aimed to systematically drain revolutionary leaders of their fighting spirit.

Sikombela primarily served as a ZANU detention camp, housing prominent nationalist leaders such as the late former President Mugabe, Cdes Simon Muzenda, Enos Nkala, Eddison Zvobgo and Edgar Tekere.

These leaders were detained at Sikombela at the height of the struggle, while their counterparts from ZAPU were largely confined to WhaWha and Gonakudzingwa.

Gonakudzingwa in the Chiredzi district of Masvingo province was established by the oppressive white regime in April 1964 after WhaWha in Gweru was set up in February of the same year and later Sikombela in Gokwe South district in Midlands province in June 1965 for purposes of muzzling and curtailing the revolutionary movements that were growing in the early to mid-1960s.

Leaders of the revolution mostly from ZAPU who were detained at the notorious detention camp include, but are not limited to, Cde Joshua Nkomo, Cde Naison Ndlovu, Cde Josiah Chinamano and his wife Ruth, Cde Joseph Msika, Cde Jane Lungile Ngwenya, Chief Mangwende, Cde Njini Ntuta, Cde Willie Musarurwa and many others.

The detention camp was established in the extreme eastern parts of the country near the border with Mozambique in the Chiredzi district of Masvingo province.

It was located within the expansive wildlife zone of Gonarezhou, an area that was and is still famed for being home to big fauna such as elephants, buffalos, lions and rhinos. According to Dr Munyaradzi Bryn Munochiveyi, in his book “Prisoners of Rhodesia — Inmates and Detainees in the Struggle for Zimbabwe Liberation 1960-1980”, Gonakudzingwa, by any measure, was unattractive for human habitation.

Temperatures could reach peaks of 118 degrees Celsius.

The area was exceptionally dry.

It had an altitude of 1 000 feet and was consequently hotter than the rest of the country.

Malaria was endemic in the region.

Because of its geographical location that was made worse by its arid conditions, the detainees believed and accepted that it was more of a deliberate ploy by the Rhodesian authorities to make them suffer in the camp than just a matter of mere accident or coincidence.

The late Father Zimbabwe noted in his autobiography with a deep sense of humour how his colleagues and friends, Cde Msika and Cde Stanislas Marembo, had developed a habit of taking an early morning walk around the detention camp.

He wrote: “One morning they met a lion, a big male on the path and they came flying home. The animals (that lived around Gonakudzingwa) were dangerous but not hostile by intent . . . it was their jungle, not ours. But nobody was going to escape while they were around.”

Designed to break spirits and isolate leaders, these facilities inadvertently fostered an environment where resistance evolved from individual acts to collective, organised defiance.

Just like the prisons, these detention centres carry an equally vital and often overlooked history in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle.

They were not merely places of incarceration but crucibles where the resolve of political prisoners was tested and, ultimately, strengthened.

The experiences within their confines — the intellectual debates, strategic planning and the sheer endurance in the face of adversity — were integral to the broader fight for independence.

As Zimbabwe approaches its Heroes Day commemorations on August 11, it is crucial that these sites of detention, alongside the more commonly recognised prisons, are remembered and honoured.

They are monuments to the sacrifices made, the resilience displayed and the unwavering commitment to freedom that defined a generation.

Acknowledging their significance ensures a more complete and accurate understanding of the multifaceted nature of the liberation struggle, recognising that the battle for freedom was fought not only in the bush but also within the very “corridors of silence” designed to suppress it.

Crucially, prisons became intellectual spaces where political prisoners developed and refined critiques of colonial rule, undermining its legitimacy from within its very confines.

They smuggled documents and letters, maintaining vital links with the outside world and shaping the narrative of the struggle.

The experiences within these prisons highlight a powerful, often hidden, aspect of the liberation war.

Political prisoners, far from being passive victims, actively challenged their incarceration, transforming sites of repression into terrains of struggle.

Their fortitude and ingenuity behind bars played a significant, though sometimes unrecognised, role in the broader fight for Zimbabwe’s independence.

The prisons and detention centres of the Rhodesian era were not merely places of suffering, but vital fronts where the liberation struggle was sustained and advanced through intellectual defiance, unwavering resilience and covert organisation.

By remembering these sites and the brave individuals who transformed their confinement into a continuation of the fight, we honour the full spectrum of courage that led to Zimbabwe’s independence, ensuring their profound contribution remains etched in the nation’s collective memory for generations to come.