adminFreedom Mutanda
Education is the sine qua non of development; thus, from 1980, the government saw to it that the generality of the people got basic education; the ZANU PF election manifesto put education as one of the key drivers of the economy and the party garnered a landslide victory in the watershed plebiscite.During the war, at training bases, the party had an elaborate education system that taught the young ones, watoto, some basic education championed by Dr Dzingai Mutumbuka ably assisted by Cde Fay Chung.
Cde Thandiwe Sigauke, whose nom de guerre is Perseverance Magamba, is one of the cadres who taught children under the auspices of ZINTEC, a brainchild of Dzingai Mutumbuka, the first Minister of Education in independent Zimbabwe.
Indeed, it was not uncommon in the early 1980’s to hear people say, “Hauna Mutumbuka.’’ Loosely translated it meant one was not educated.
Interestingly, there are among us some who believe up to now that Cde Dzingai Mutumbuka is the Minister of Education. His policies had a profound effect on the Zimbabwean psyche for years.
Refusal to accept punishment
Born on 16 June 1958, Cde Perseverance Magamba, did her secondary education at Gazaland Secondary School which was established by the late great scholar, Dr Gideon Maforo Mhlanga who was affectionately known as G.D.
When she was in Grade 10, in April 1975, she crossed the Tanganda River to go and wait for the Blue Line bus whose driver had money for her sent by her mother for bus fare as the holidays were around the corner.
She did not ask for permission; to make matters worse, her friends accompanied her to the bus stop. Mrs Maforo, the school deputy head, was furious. She took Thandiwe to task; the latter had to uproot a baobab tree as punishment for her wayward behaviour; remember, Gazalanda Secondary School had opened its doors in 1970 and expansion was still going on.
Young Thandiwe refused to do the punishment. She decided to skip the border and join the war.
A history of struggle
Cde Perseverance Magamba’s father, a land development officer in Southern Rhodesia, had been seconded to Tanganyika in the early sixties and worked closely with the nationalists there. She liaised with Dr Sydney Sekeramayi. Winfield Hofisi Sigauke, her father, supported the revolution passionately albeit away from Zimbabwe.
“My father supported the revolution. In my youthful foolishness, I thought if I go to Mozambique, I will be reunited with my father. Therefore, I didn’t accept the punishment and deemed it to excessive for the minor transgression I had committed. I used the Mount Selinda exit point. We decided as a group to use the darkness of the night to act as a camouflage.’’ She narrated her story.
As soon as they stepped into Mozambique, FRELIMO soldiers took them since they had expressed their willingness to go and train to be their country’s liberators.
Initially, there was suspicion emanating from some cadres who had not gone beyond Grade 7 as they felt the educated comrades belonged to the bourgeois class. However, that issue was amicably resolved by the commanders present.
“Some cadres felt that I was too educated to be part of the war effort. Soon the commanders put the matter to rest. I was among the first group of guerrillas to open up Chibawawa Camp in Mozambique. The High Command vetted those who had gone as far as Form 2 and those who had gone beyond Form 2. I was drafted into the PoliticalEducation group where Cde Mao trained us to be eloquent speakers about the party ideology and the reasons for fighting against the imperialists. We went to Chindunduma Base at Chimoio as political commissars.’’ Cde
Thandiwe emphasised the impact her education had on the posting.
Thousands of little children went to the war front yet they couldn’t participate fully in the training and the actual fighting due to their tender ages. To help these young ones adapt, the party established a Ministry of Education headed by Cde Dzingai Mutumbuka and Cde Fay Chung was his deputy.
“I was drafted into the Ministry of Education as a teacher. Among the students I taught is Nyabanga who is now an Education Inspector in Bikita District. One of our supervisors was Cde Ephraim Chitofu who used to head the district office of the Ministry of Youth in Chipinge.’’ Cde Magamba who is also known as Thambisa said.
How she survived the Chimoio attack
Cde Perseverance Magamba was there when the settle regime’s soldiers rained bombs on defenceless Chimoio residents that fateful day.
“I was at Chindunduma base when the ‘Mukwende’ (bombs) fell upon us as if rain had been unlocked from the heavens. The chalkboard in my class room fell. I ran in my bid to escape but I had to ensure that the watoto had escaped as well. For four days I stayed in a cave; I was among the dead. It was scary but what could I do? Yaive hondo. Up to now, I can’t fathom how I survived but here I am as I lived to tell the tale,’’ Cde Sigauke has some scars to show for her near death experiences at Chimoio.
After the Chimoio massacre, she stayed at Gondola Camp and later went to Mavhudzi where she continued to teach up to 1979.
“At Mavhudzi, ZINTEC was introduced by Cde Mutumbuka to train us who have been teaching the Watoto since 1976. He was preparing us for life after independence. T Education 1 was for Secondary School teachers while T Education 2 was for Primary School teachers. I was a T E 2 qualified teacher.’’ Thus, she became a qualified teacher while in the bush. Cde Dzingai Mutumbuka realised that desperate situations required desperate measures.
Training to be a military cadre
Following the Chimio attack by Rhodesian soldiers, the High Command decided to train the teachers. To that end, Takawira 2, a military base, was set aside for the purpose of training female combatants. She went for military training from Mudzingadzi.
“I had to walk from Mudzingadzi – a distance of 10-15 kilometres-alongside fellow comrades. Our instructor was Cde Joshuaras Misihairambwi.
“For six months, we trained. At one time, a group of Renamo fighters attacked us and we retaliated heavily resulting in the rebels taking to their heels. At the end of our training, we had to return to our education unit but at the behest of our instructor Cde Joshuaras, I remained behind. On noticing that I wasn’t among the returnees, Cde Mutumbuka came and asked for me to come back to teaching. From then on, I became the Head of Department Economics as I had done the subject at Gazaland Secondary School back in Zimbabwe.’’ Cde Magamba revealed her post during the war.
End of the war and a return to ZimbabweThe Lancaster House Conference marked the beginning of the end of the protracted war that had made Mr Ian Douglas Smith eat humble pie as he had to take back his infamous words, “Not in a thousand years will blacks get majority rule in Rhodesia.’’ Cde Thandiwe Sigauke had to go back to Zimbabwe after the cease fire which came into effect from December 1979 as the combatants went to the assembly points.
“We used the Nyamapanda route to Zimbabwe with our watoto. Some of them had grown into fine young men and women. Chindunduma School had been founded in Shamva. It was for the watoto. I continued to teach until February 1 1981 when my husband requested me to join him in Harare. He was then working as an aide to Cde Dzingai Mutumbuka, the new Minister of Education in independent Zimbabwe.’’ Cde Perseverance Magamba talked about her early days after independence.
Always an educationist
With her T Education 2 qualification, she taught at Warren Park 1 Primary School and continued with her passion to give light to children.
“I also attended In-Service Training at Seke Teachers’ College; I was among the first group of graduands to be awarded Diplomas in Education. In 1997, I decided to return home where I started off teaching at Machona Primary School. Over the years, I founded Munepasi Primary School and finally retired in 2010 when I was a Deputy Head at Maronga Primary School. I owe my life to the liberation struggle where I cut my teeth as a teacher under Cde Mutumbuka’s Ministry of Education and his ‘bush’ ZINTEC programme which has made our nation to be the pride of Africa.’’ She is passionate about education for sure.
Hopes and dreams
After retiring, she worked as Head of Department in Catering at Greenfuel but she gravitated towards farming to empower herself.
“I am now into full time farming. I have a 50 ha farm of macadamia in the highlands. My hopes and dreams are wrapped in the implementation of the agriculture aspect of ZIM-ASSET which will catapult this economy into a high performance trajectory.’’ Cde Magamba’s parting shot was loaded with meaning.
Indeed, education has always been the bedrock of the liberation movement in Zimbabwe before and after independence.
Give feedback on the Unsung Hero series to [email protected].
Online Reporter