adminI met Dr Simon Muzenda in Zambia. But, of course, generally, I had heard about him in Zimbabwe before we went to Zambia. He came from Gutu and I was born in Zaka. In fact, our families are related – distantly. His mother is from the same clan as me, so he called me sekuru. I had known about his leadership in the nationalist movement when he was still in Zimbabwe. We then got to work closely together in Zambia.
He came to Zambia in 1975; sent by the UANC. He and John Nkomo of Zapu (and he being sent by Zanu) were to represent the ANC in Zambia.
I was already in Zambia at the time, teaching at the University of Zambia, and he found out that I was busy collecting relief and legal defence for Zanu leaders who had been detained over the death of Cde Herbert Chitepo.
Immediately, Dr Muzenda joined the task. Though he had been sent by the ANC, the question was on how he was going to relate with the people in detention.
But he had no difficulty; he identified himself as Zanu, slowly discarding the cover of being UANC. He had always been Zanu, but identifying yourself as such in Zambia was dangerous at the time.
I had a committee that I called The Takawira Trust. I had formed it to raise relief money for the families of those who were detained in Lusaka and money for the detainees’ legal defence.
So, we immediately made Dr Muzenda a trust member. We raised money in Zambia and abroad, and as time went on, Dr Muzenda assumed leadership of the whole organisation of Zanu in Zambia.
He would take me or the others to visit the comrades in detention.
Some were detained in Kabwe; a group that included Tongogara, Ndangana, Rugare Gumbo and Kangai – quite a number of them were detained at the same place. It was to visit them; talk about politics, how things were going outside, how their families were, how the party could be reorganised.
The detainees themselves asked us to co-ordinate everything through Cde Muzenda who had been an executive member of Zanu since the party’s foundation.
So, he became the only Zanu leader with an executive position in Zambia.
We found out that the few Zimbabweans who remained loyal to Zanu were very generous, committed and gave quite a lot for the party to be reorganised.
For example, Cde Muzenda did not have a car and a member of Zanu in Kitwe, Simon Chireshe, bought him a brand new Fiat.
Dr Muzenda used this vehicle to co-ordinate support among various members and to do work that needed to be done.
He really became the new face of Zanu in Zambia. In that respect, he was co-ordinating with Cdes Mugabe and Tekere who were then in Mozambique, and it was very difficult to do so; it was not easy.
Nevertheless, they did co-ordinate.
I remember Cde Mugabe used to send proposals of how the party could be reorganised in Zambia and outside.
He was the Secretary-General, but mind you, the party, as a whole, was in disarray. Although he was the Secretary-General, he was in Mozambique and, at one time, was himself detained, as it were.
He was not able to move around and organise, and these letters which he used to send to people like Cde Muzenda became the source of reorganisation of the party; rejuvenation of the party.
It became very clear that some members of Zanu’s old leadership could not be trusted anymore. Sithole, himself, in particular, had then completely renounced the armed struggle and had renounced Zanu. He claimed to be Zanu when it was convenient, but would publicly say Zanu no longer existed.
Indeed, Sithole went further to actually write a circular, telling some of the units Cde Muzenda was organising that, “There is no Zanu anymore. I have dissolved Zanu. I am the president of Zanu; I have dissolved it and you should all join ANC.”
So, there was that kind of confusion, yet Cde Muzenda, in co-ordination with Cdes Mugabe and Tekere, was saying, “Zanu still exists!”
Those in detention were saying, “Continue with the struggle; the struggle must continue. Although we are detained, those of you who are outside must continue with the struggle. We will join you when we come out.” There are letters to that effect, which were written by the detainees to Cde Muzenda, which were, in the end, meant for Cde Mugabe who was the highest ranking official outside.
That’s what Cde Muzenda did during that period until the Zambian government started to respect him.
At one time, the comrades who were detained in Mboroma invited Dr Muzenda there.
The comrades were about 1 000 and had been rounded up when Chitepo died.
Mboroma is a long way off from Lusaka.
He remained there in the camp for two weeks after these comrades asked him to do so. The conditions were terrible.
There was very little food and hardly any medicine.
But, he didn’t mind; he shared the same hardships with the comrades who, in turn, were impressed with him.
What was even more impressive was that the Zambians didn’t intervene as they respected Cde Muzenda.
They let him stay there.
Eventually, he became the official spokesman of Zanu in Lusaka.
The official spokespersons for Zapu were John Nkomo, JZ Moyo and others.
When it became clear that the comrades in all the camps were against Sithole and Muzorewa, they were asked who their leader was and they said Cde Mugabe.
The frontline leaders, particularly Julius Nyerere and Samora Machel, then decided that the war should be resumed by fighters not led by Muzorewa, and that Zanu and Zapu fighters should unite.
Co-ordination of all of this was done in Zambia through Cde Muzenda and in Mozambique through Cde Mugabe.
I used to move around with Cde Muzenda during the negotiations with Zapu. I had a university house that was convenient for our meetings.
They would meet, actually deciding in the end to form what became Zipa. There are many claims about how Zipa was formed. It was formed by very broad consultations of the leadership, including those who were in detention – Tongogara and company – and those who were outside led by Cde Muzenda, and the Zapu side, led by JZ Moyo and John Nkomo.
Dr Muzenda was always very diplomatic, but firm in the way he did things.
He was clear in his head where he was going. He was able to unite people within Zanu itself; those who were in detention and those outside.
There were groups he won back; those who were no longer sure whether they still wanted armed struggle or not.
He was also diplomatic in dealing with the frontline states, including the Zambians. There was no time when the Zambians fell out with him publicly.
Later, it was decided that all Zanu comrades who were in Zambia should leave for Mozambique. The comrades said they wanted to be evacuated and the man who was sent to organise this evacuation was Cde Muzenda.
He was able to organise aircraft which were paid for by the Organisation of African Unity. He escorted the comrades in groups to the airport. I was there with him, and he would fly on each flight that left Zambia.
It was not easy.
Some spirit mediums who were there said: “Tikakwira mundege, vadzimu vedu vanobhururuka vakaenda zvachose.”
Cde Muzenda sat them down, talked to them as an elder himself and was able to convince them (to board the plane).
That was the kind of person Cde Muzenda was; practical and down to earth.
He knew the psychology of people; the young, the elderly and traditionalists.
I worked with Cde Muzenda at official level and at all pre-independence conferences.
The first one was the Geneva Conference. Cde Mugabe himself came through Zambia and collected us and Tongogara who had just been freed from detention and had won his court case.
In Geneva, Cde Muzenda was Cde Mugabe’s right hand man and again that brought a lot of respect and unity to the party. Cde Muzenda was also there at the Lancaster House Conference which ended in Independence.
After Independence, I knew it was his and others’ influence that got me to come back home and join Government.
It was Cde Muzenda who rang me, telling me to pack my bags and come back.
I did just that because I had confidence in the man. I was in Government for about 10 years. Later on I went to the bench and into foreign service, and I always consulted him because I knew from him you would get a very candid and clear explanation of any situation, any problem.
One knew – I knew, too, that Cde Mugabe knew that – that Cde Muzenda was a dedicated nationalist.
In the struggle, he had confidence that Independence would be won.
He sacrificed himself and, in many ways, his family. Two of his daughters died in the camp in Mozambique. He took his family with him; he never sent them overseas to school. His outlook was: “If other people’s children are suffering and risking death, why not my children? What about mine?”
The greatest lesson we can draw from him is love for one’s country; love for freedom, dedication and determination.
Achieving that freedom is not just something one wishes for.
One should be prepared to sacrifice freedom and comfort in order to achieve that great vision.
In that respect, Cde Muzenda was far ahead of many people who were more educated, who spent years and years in universities and schools.
His views were very clear. He never lost sight of his goal. His eyes were always on the ball — all the time.
Online Reporter