Online Reporter
CDE AMBROSE MUTINHIRI continues narrating his war-time exploits. He recounts to our Features and Arts Editor PRINCE MUSHAWEVATO how his training in the Soviet Union — as part of the first group to do so — transformed him into one of the most effective commanders of the liberation struggle. He also explains how this training changed their fighting strategy against the Rhodesian government.
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Q: Last week, we concluded our discussion when you had departed for the Soviet Union — the first group of six from Zimbabwe to train there. Could you please elaborate on that experience?
A: To be frank, it was a challenging period. However, being young, I considered it more as an adventure. Individuals like Robson Manyika, who were older and had left families behind, naturally had a different perspective.
My driving force was a strong desire to acquire new knowledge and skills that I could impart to my fellow comrades upon my return.
“In essence, Manyika was respected by everyone in the group, including Ackim Ndlovu, the group leader. When we faced challenges, he acted as a unifying force, keeping the group together throughout our training. Ndlovu (Ackim) was a capable leader, but he was also short-tempered. He was easily provoked and frequently clashed with the Russian trainers.”
Our training encompassed various aspects, including politics, the use of explosives (both conventional and homemade, utilising everyday household items), firearms and intelligence gathering.
We dedicated considerable time to the intelligence component, learning to identify the indicators of a country ripe for revolution.
Regarding weaponry, we focused on small arms, rocket launchers and explosives.
We were instructed on calculating the necessary explosive intensity to demolish structures, such as bridges, and on creating booby traps.
Q: How did Robson Manyika, being a senior member, interact with the rest of the group and the Russians? In fact, can you tell us more about him?
A: Robson Manyika was a courageous individual, but he also possessed a brotherly — perhaps I should say fatherly — affection towards me.
He displayed a level of maturity that surpassed everyone else in the group.
The Russians held him in high regard, even during training.
He excelled at numerous tasks that his peers found challenging.
As for myself, I was at the ideal age for training.
I rarely encountered difficulties and was enthusiastic about every drill.
In essence, Manyika was respected by everyone in the group, including Ackim Ndlovu, the group leader. When we faced challenges, he acted as a unifying force, keeping the group together throughout our training. Ndlovu (Ackim) was a capable leader, but he was also short-tempered. He was easily provoked and frequently clashed with the Russian trainers.
Their conflicts often stemmed from his belief that they were no different from the Rhodesians we were fighting, due to their shared white skin.
I recall an instance when the Russians were discussing the Great Patriotic War and their contributions, highlighting the millions of fighters they lost while defeating the Germans.
Ackim took issue with their self-praise.
He consistently reminded them that black soldiers had also fought on their side against Germany, albeit within colonial armies.
He wanted the Russians to acknowledge their contribution.
He also disagreed with their political ideology.
We were being taught Marxist-Leninist principles, and he opposed what was being presented.
He was not a blank slate like some of us.
He had gained significant knowledge before going to Russia, which led him to challenge the teachings on Marxism and Leninism.
I do not know much about his academic background, but I know he worked in Bulawayo, which exposed him to a wide range of issues.
Q: Please continue.
A: After our training, we returned to Dar es Salaam.
Zambia had just gained its independence in October 1964, transitioning from Northern Rhodesia.
We initially went to Dar es Salaam before proceeding to Lusaka.
ZAPU, under the leadership of Chikerema, who headed the external wing, did not have a formal military wing.
However, he (Chikerema) established a section called the Department of Special Affairs.
This department was later led by Ackim Ndlovu.
Having returned from training, we were placed under this department.
When Ackim became the head, I was assigned to training.
I was tasked with training additional personnel, so I went to Tanzania and initially settled at a camp called Kongwa.
It was a reception camp, housing five liberation movements — the ANC of South Africa; SWAPO of Namibia; MPLA of Angola; Frelimo of Mozambique; and ZAPU from Zimbabwe.
This camp served as a receiving point for fighters arriving from various parts of the world, including the Soviet Union, China and Algeria.
We received our first group, consisting of 70 fighters, from Algeria at the camp.
My responsibility was reorientation and standardisation of our tactics.
Essentially, my task was to ensure that, despite having trained in different locations, I would retrain them to establish a uniform standard and pattern.
Q: Who assisted you in this training programme and did you immediately deploy back home?
A: I worked with Albert Nxele. He served as our camp commander and I was the second-in-command within the ZAPU contingent.
The overall camp was under the supervision of the Tanzanian People’s Defence Forces (TPDF), headed by a major in the Tanzanian armed forces.
It was at Kongwa that I began interacting with numerous comrades from other liberation movements, including those from South Africa, Mozambique, Angola and Namibia — among them, Jacob Zuma.
I was responsible for training the group that crossed into Rhodesia’s Wankie (now Hwange) for the renowned Hwange battles.
This group was a combined force of ZAPU and ANC’s uMkhonto weSizwe fighters.
I retrained all of them.
My youth and strong performance during training led to my selection as the training leader. Among the 70 fighters returning from Algeria was John Dube, who later commanded the group that crossed into Hwange.
Dube passed away later, though not in battle, succumbing to an illness.
These 70 fighters were part of a larger group of 90, which included Nikita Mangena.
They went to Algeria in 1965.
After completing basic military training, the Algerians offered advanced training to 20 officers selected from the group.
Mangena was among those who remained for this advanced training at the academy.
Returning to the Wankie battle, it was a combined operation with South Africa’s ANC.
Q: What was the plan behind the Hwange battle?
A: The overall objective was to engage the Rhodesians in combat.
Upon crossing into Zimbabwe and reaching Hwange, the comrades were to divide into smaller groups and employ guerrilla warfare tactics.
The ANC comrades, who had joined us, were to fight their way through Zimbabwe, proceeding to South Africa.
During that period, the ANC had trained a substantial number of cadres who were becoming increasingly frustrated by their prolonged stay in Tanzanian camps, including Kongwa.
They (ANC fighters) were not being deployed back home to fight the colonisers.
At Kongwa, they constituted the majority of fighters in the camp.
We numbered around 70, while they were in the hundreds.
We learnt valuable lessons from the Hwange battle.
We realised that deploying large concentrations of fighters was not an effective approach.
Smaller, highly mobile groups employing hit-and-run tactics proved to be the most successful strategy.
This became the standard strategy we used throughout the liberation struggle.
We did suffer casualties, but overall, the mission was a success.
The Hwange battle significantly shook the Rhodesians.
They did not believe that a black man could pull the trigger against a white man.
But for the first time, they experienced that reality. Their reaction betrayed their disbelief.
They deployed sniffer dogs as if they were tracking unarmed criminals, only to encounter ambushes and other forms of resistance.
We learnt from our experiences and so did they.
Q: What happened after this mission?
A: Following the Hwange battle, I moved to Morogoro in Tanzania.
This was in 1967.
Morogoro later became our largest camp.
Our initial group consisted of 200 fighters, and I served as the chief instructor there.
It was at this time that Nikita Mangena joined us, also as an instructor.
The group of 20, having returned from Algeria, all became instructors, but I held the position of chief instructor.
We trained our first group and subsequently a smaller group of approximately 100 people.
Obert Mpofu, who was then the secretary-general of the party (ZAPU), was part of this second group.
Rex Nhongo (Solomon Mujuru), the late General Jevan Maseko and many others were also among them.
Training was my primary area of operation.
I trained a significant number of cadres.
Next week, Cde Mutinhiri will recount a period when the liberation struggle faced a critical setback and reveals the solution that ultimately revitalised the fight for independence.
