Chronicle Editor
WE continue our interview with former freedom fighter Dr Peeps Gonde who is also a Colonel (Rtd). Dr Gonde, now an academic and senior proctor at the National University of Science and Technology (Nust), abandoned his education at Thekwane High School in October 1976 and in the company of others, a majority of them relatives, crossed the border into Botswana en route to Zambia.
In our previous edition, Dr Gonde told our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) how he left school for Botswana and the tough initiation into military life at Nampundwe Transit Camp in Zambia. Today he resumes the conversation with his selection to undergo full military training at Mwembeshi, also in Zambia.
MS: Last time you spoke about being moved to Mwembeshi, please tell us about your training there.
Dr Gonde: With your permission I would love to start with the organisation structure that we found at Mwembeshi that is the command element, the instructors and the military subjects that they took us in. I should also mention that we were the first group to train and finish our guerilla training at Mwembeshi.
Before there was the Group of 800, but they did not stay long there as they were moved to Mgagao in Tanzania during the amalgamation of ZPRA and ZANLA to form the Zimbabwe People’s Army (ZIPA).
MS: Alright, let’s go to the organisation structure that was at Mwembeshi.
Dr Gonde: The Camp Commander was the now late, Eddie Sigoge with the now also late, Mike Reynolds (Brigadier-General Charles Grey) as the Chief of Staff. Cde Reynolds did not stay long there as he was moved probably to the ZPRA Headquarters and in came now National Hero, Cde Stanley Gagisa Nleya as the Chief of Staff.
In the medics there was Cde Mbeya, that is the former Midlands Provincial Medical Director, Dr Milton Chemhuru who worked in that department with Cde Boston. After Independence Boston who was Captain Ngwenya served at One Brigade and is now late.
The logistics was under Cde Cephas Khupe (late Colonel Shadreck Sibanda) who at some point was Zimbabwe’s military attaché to France. That one was a very interesting guy to us as the recruits as he would rarely laugh or smile.
He was big and tough. Working with Cephas Khupe were Cdes Ntatshana and Jockey who was fond of saying “ndino kukandzura”. The Political Commissar was Cde Emmanuel Sibanda working closely with Khwela (the late Colonel Kenneth Chitambo). Also in the commissariat department was Cde Malandu.
The people I have mentioned above were part of the senior structure or High Command of Mwembeshi. As for instructors we had Cde Mamba taking us for physical training and judo, Boston physical training and first aid, Gagisa physical training and tactics that is guerilla warfare, Jack Daki Mpofu was for tactics and what a fine marksman he was. Daki could bring a flying bird down with a single shot.
Also there was Magadlela (Tennyson Thambolenyoka Ndlovu) who took us in physical training and guerilla tactics, Billy Mzamo in engineering and tactics, Emmanuel and Khwela political science, Mapara physical training, bayonet charge and tactics. As for Khwela he was a very energetic instructor who when teaching us political science was as if he was possessed.
We had two female instructors, Grace Noko and Bvundzayi. There as well was Robin Antipas for signals and we would rarely see him as he lived outside the camp, something that is consistent with people in that area.
Ethan was an intelligence officer while other instructors were Cde Phinda (late Lawrence Makwarimba) and Cde Maseka who was for tactics and regular warfare. Maseka had small eyes and when one crossed his path he would move closer to his target and in broken SiNdebele would say “rolu luyashanya.” We enjoyed that threat of his.
MS: How big was your group?
Dr Gonde: We were about 1 200, but when we went to Mwembeshi others had already started training that was Company A to D which could have been a strength of a detachment. All in all we had companies A to H populated with between 120 and 150 recruits. Among us were female recruits.
MS: How did you find the training?
Dr Gonde: It was very hard, imagine coming home and being used to a soft life and all of a sudden you are thrown into the deep end in which the training is punctuated by very hard physical drills. One needed to be extremely fit.
The instructors will take us at around 4.30am every day for physical exercises which will go up to 7am. When we took a break at around 7am we will go for tea that was taken with amanyunyumane (fat cooks) if there were available. At times we will have porridge.
MS: Take us through the training programme.
Dr Gonde: When being led on road runs there was no specific route, but the instructors preferred hilly areas. When we got to the foot of the hill, they will order us to take position number 9 that was the frog jump, and then climb the hill in that state.
When we got to the apex of the hill they would order us to roll down. We will be rolling down and getting into contact with logs, stones and all sorts of things you can imagine. From there we will start running again. The tough physical training was to prepare us for the future.
It was meant to make things a bit easier for us in the operational areas. You have to appreciate that after deployment ZPRA guerillas had the unenviable task of negotiating through the Zambezi Escarpment. They had to traverse through that rough terrain and unlike our enemy, we fought the war on foot.
While traversing through the Zambezi Escarpment the guerillas would be carrying heavy kit bags, ammunition, mines and grenades. Some would have been deployed to Tsholotsho, Hurungwe, Gwanda or Beitbridge. They would have to cut through the country in that state, so if the training had been soft we were not going to cope.
Therefore, the training was meant to prepare us for the difficult tasks ahead of us. It was worth it as in the face of hardships in the operational areas the guerillas would stand against them. The guerillas would face all the hardships and prevail and that is what happened in the execution of our tasks.
Going back to the daily training routine, after tea or porridge depending on what was available the instructors would between 8am and 1pm take us back to the physical exercises in the hilly areas. We would be carrying logs which we were issued with immediately when we started our training so that we got used to carrying the gun.
The instructors wanted us to get accustomed to handling the gun and it was a serious offence to be seen moving without that log, it was as if it had a serial number. We would also do drills in bayonet charge and judo. Then after lunch we would go for classes under trees where we were taught political science.
MS: You went through many hands as mentioned above, but in your opinion who was the toughest instructor?
Dr Gonde: It was Stanley Gagisa, he was very fit and agile. During training, I was also part of the recruits that were chosen to be in the medical corps. The head of our group was Cde Sambulo Maphosa, who we had been together at Thekwane Mission.
I am not sure what criteria the camp authorities used to choose us. Our duties involved handling minor cases such as treating those suffering from malaria and not so serious wounds. The more serious cases were handled by Cde Mbeya and his team. We were just basic first aiders. After three months of our training programme 30 of us were chosen to undergo an extra training regime in commando.
MS: What criteria was used in that selection process?
Dr Gonde: Again I don’t know.
MS: Do you remember the names who were in the group of 30 being given extra training as commandos?
Dr Gonde: Besides myself, there were three very tough and fit comrades, Charles Pilime, Lagon and Garidi. Those three were very strong physically. There was also Bhuzhwa, now Major-General Nicholas Dube, who interestingly once commanded the One Commando Regiment after our independence.
Major-Gen Dube is also Zimbabwe’s former Ambassador to Mozambique. While being trained as commandos there was a day we might have irritated Stanley Gagisa who was in charge of the programme. So when we were about to go for lunch at 1pm he ordered the 30 of us to go and pick a signage that was 15km from the camp and bring it before the end of the lunch break.
It was a tough task and after running for a kilometre or so we realised that we would not make it in Gagisa’s time. As a group, we suggested that Charles Pilime, Garidi and Lagon should carry the cross on behalf of the group. They agreed to do that and left us on that spot.
In no time they were back and we then joined them back to the camp. With our knees up there as we got into the camp, Gagisa could not help but smile thinking that we had all made it to the signage post. We had pulled a fast one on him.
l To be continued next week with Dr Gonde talking about his deployment after completing training at Mwembeshi.
Online Reporter