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WE continue our interview with former freedom fighter Cde Jephat Christopher Mukombwe aka Cde Farai Nherera who operated in Mwenezi in Masvingo and some parts of Midlands Province during the armed struggle.
The Hwange-born Cde Mukombwe was one of the seven ZPRA guerillas who opened up operations in Namande and Mazetese areas of Masvingo Province soon after leaving Mozambique where they had been based during the Zimbabwe People’s Army (ZIPA) period, which was an amalgamation between ZANLA and ZPRA.
The noble move to unite the two liberation forces did not hold long, resulting in the two going separate ways but still having the same objective of freeing Zimbabwe from the colonial bondage.
In his narrations to our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) Cde Mukombwe has previously spoken about how he was recruited while a fisherman along the Zambezi River by the guerillas who took him to Zambia in 1973 then eventually in Tanzania for training at Morogoro.
After training he and others were sent to a ZANLA camp, Mgagao to join their guerilla colleagues and eventual deployment to Mozambique under ZIPA. After ZIPA he and six others opened a front in Mwenezi where they started training locals as a way of reinforcing their unit. Today Cde Mukombwe gives an account of the battles he was involved in. Below are excerpts of the interview. Read on . . .
MS: Let’s continue our interview by you taking us through the operations you were involved in.
Cde Mukombwe: At first we concentrated our activities around the Namande, Maranda and Mazetese areas but after successfully training the locals we started covering Mberengwa, Zvishavane and by the time of the ceasefire period I had been promoted to company commander covering parts of Filabusi such as Gwatemba and in the neighbouring district of Zvishavane.
As for our initial operations we started engaging in contacts with the enemy forces in 1976 where we would ambush the Rhodesians. Our first full contact was when we mined a road near the Mwezha Range which is near Chegato Mission in Mberengwa District. A Rhodesian Bedford truck hit the mine we had planted and it was thrown into the air. There were heavy casualties there but we did not assault.
It was a typical guerilla operation of hit and withdraw. We were very satisfied with what we had done. The mine had been planted by Cde Thatha Sibanda and the unit involved in that operation was the seven of us who had moved out of Mozambique. From Chegato we disappeared and returned to Namande which we had set as our headquarters. Soon after that we also had another successful contact at Mlelezi in Mwenezi koMaranda.
Then came another contact where Cde Phifani, one of the local trained cadres that was in Namande went up the mountain to check at our base and before he could reach the spot he saw some movements of the enemy forces.
He came back to tell us about the presence of the enemy. We encircled the enemy and again it was a successful operation as a number of Rhodesian soldiers were killed. There was one white Rhodesian soldier who was spotted by the villagers running for dear life with fear all over his face.
He then went straight to the homestead of a man who was called Siwela and hid in his barn, esiphaleni. When we made a follow-up and got to the Siwela homestead, Siwela refused to tell us about the presence of that soldier.
He said he had not seen such a person but the white man was there hiding in his barn. If you go to Namande today those who were old enough at that time might tell you about that incident.
MS: Was any form of punishment visited on the man?
Cde Mukombwe: What happened then was that after habouring the Rhodesian soldier, an enemy chopper arrived at the homestead and picked that soldier. The man’s secret was then out.
We did not kill or punish Siwela who was also a teacher. As comrades we forgave him because some of his sons had also left Rhodesia to join the armed struggle. Then we also had a big battle koMhuru and the night before I had a bad dream with birds droppings falling on us while we had taken shelter under a tree. To me that was a very disturbing dream because we were supposed to have gathering point (GP) the following day.
I told the comrades about my dream and explained that the ancestors were revealing to me that we would be attacked by the Rhodesians. I told them that the birds represented the Rhodesian aircrafts while their droppings were the bombs. As we moved to where we were supposed to meet it seems the Rhodesians were watching our movements from their OPs (Observation Points) from the top of the mountains.
On that day I was in a unit of more than 10 guerillas, a majority of them new arrivals from Zambia. It so happened that on that day there was a traditional beer drinking session at the Mhuru homestead. Up to now I still believe we were sold out by some people to the enemy.
The situation was also complicated by the fact that the new unit from Zambia that had trained at Mlungushi was a bit relaxed. Those comrades were part of the 80 that had arrived in our operational area together with Cdes Reeves Nyandoro who had been promoted to the rank of regional commander for SF2 which covered Masvingo and was deputised by Cde Thathani.
To our zone they brought 80 conventionally trained cadres to reinforce us. However, on that particular day Cde Reeves was not there as he was in the Marirazhombe area.
MS: So what was really happening. How did the battle pan out?
Cde Mukombwe: Since I said there was a beer drinking session koMhuru some comrades decided to take some sips there.
However, I warned them against doing that but they took my warning very lightly. I am talking about conventionally trained people who believed in engaging the enemy openly while some of us were proper guerillas.
But on the ground we had agreed to practice advanced guerilla warfare because conventional warfare demanded that a unit be properly armed with weapons such as those that cater for air defence.
Since the comrades were reluctant I left them koMhuru, they could have been 10 I left at the Mhuru homestead. After moving for a short distance I saw the Rhodesian soldiers coming my way. There was no time to go back and warn others, so I hid somewhere and the Rhodesians walked past my position.
I then continued walking and I came across a man who was wearing a coat, ijazi. I asked him to give it to me and he duly complied. I put on the coat so as to conceal my weapon.
After a few minutes I heard the sound of a helicopter and it came my direction. There were cattle there which I then pretended to be driving and that helped me as the Rhodesian forces took me for a herdboy, umfana wenkomo. A white soldier bellowed instructions from the helicopter, saying if I was a gandanga I should surrender.
However, I kept my cool and they flew away. That was a close shave. The helicopters proceeded to the Mhuru homestead where heavy fighting ensued. They bombed the main house where the comrades were and we lost five in that attack.
To be concluded next week
derick.khumalo