The untold story of Altena Farm

Lovemore Ranga Mataire Senior Writer
Had it not been for the valiant conduct of Chief Murwira Chiweshe Mukorekore of Centenary, the effective commencement of the Second Chimurenga could perhaps have been stalled or its top architects could have been sent to the gallows before firing a single shot. Chief Chiweshe Mukorekore’s name deserves a special place in the annals of the history of the Second Chimurenga in being the first contact with leaders of the first group of 45 cadres to enter Zimbabwe from Tete Province in Mozambique.

When the group of 45 freedom fighters entered Zimbabwe through Dande from Mozambique, they immediately split into two groups. One of the groups led by Cde Rex Nhongo stayed in the Centenary area undertaking reconnaissance while others made incursions into several areas beyond Mt Darwin.

The 45 cadres had crossed the Mukumbura River bordering Mozambique on November 11, 1972 timed to coincide with the Unilateral Declaration of Independence celebrations in the country.

A few days before the crossing into the then Rhodesia, there had been light showers. The trees and bushes were green. Water was now available even in small streams. At the launch pad at Chamboko base in Mozambique, the group was addressed by a spirit medium- Sekuru Chidyamauyu. There was a pool of water close to the base and the spirit medium asked all the combatants to immerse themselves in the pool which had some herbs. It was this sort of ritual that emboldened the comrades to believe in their own invincibility.

The group commanded by Cde Nhongo got into Dande while the other led by Cde Kenneth Gwindingwi left for Mutoko. The Mutoko area was named the Chaminuka Sector while the Mt Darwin/Dande area was called the Nehanda Sector. These two sectors were called M.M.Z — Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.

The thinking was that the combatants were to infiltrate into Zimbabwe from either Malawi or Zambia through Mozambique but this later changed.

The group that went to Mutoko was disrupted before it had reorganised itself into smaller units. They probably overstayed at a place near a dam and the Rhodesian forces pounced on them killing some of the comrades while others were captured with the rest retreating to Mozambique.

Recounting the whole infiltration episode, Cde David Todhlana who was part of the original 45-member-group said the one commanded by Cde Nhongo regrouped on top of Mavuradonha Mountain near St Albert’s Mission and later split into two, one led by Cde John Pedzisa and the other led by him.

“It was planned that Cde Pedzisa’s section would identify a target and pounce on it on Christmas Day. Cde Pedzisa’s section headed for Sipolio (Chipuriro) while my section headed to Mt Darwin area. My group was assigned to identify a target and pounce on it on December 27, two days after the attack on Sipolio. It was also agreed that after hitting the targets each unit would operate independent of the other and there would be no more need for coordination,” Cde Todhlana said.

After this meeting Cde Nhongo went down the mountain to Dande to provide linkages with the rear and deploy reinforcements. Cde Nhongo’s first contact when he went down was Chief Chiweshe known in the area for his indefatigable attitude towards settler colonial rule and had been stripped of his chieftainship.

While undertaking reconnaissance Cdes Rex and Mayor Urimbo stayed at the chief’s homestead for almost three months pretending to be his in-laws from Rusape coming to collect part of their sister’s bride price.

It was during their stay at the chief’s homestead that they were led to the spirit medium of Mbuya Nehanda to proclaim their mission. The spirit consented to their mission and had to undertake several passages of rites rituals before starting the war.

Current Chief Chitemamuswe, Matthew Chitemamuswe whose father provided a sanctuary for the two comrades recounted how as a 15-year-old his father (the chief) had a close shave with Rhodesian authorities who visited his homestead early one morning a few days before Altena farm was attacked.

“Cdes Nhongo and Urimbo had been staying at our homestead for about two months as my uncles when one morning we had an ominous visit by black detectives from Centenary. One of the detectives is the current Chief (name supplied). You always knew there was trouble when (name supplied) paid a visit for he was infamous for being a ferocious barking dog of the Rhodesian authorities,” said Chief Chiweshe.

He said when the two detectives arrived at their homestead, they were all busy in the fields together with the comrades.

“I was leading one pair of an ox-drawn plough while Cde Nhongo controlled the ploughshare. My father was leading another pair of cattle behind with Cde Urimbo holding on the plough when the two black police operatives arrived at our homestead.”

Chief Matthew Chiweshe said everyone at his father’s homestead had been tipped to say that the two comrades were uncles from Rusape. So when the CID operatives arrived at the homestead, they went straight to the young man leading the first set of cattle and asked about the identity of the two men holding plows.

“I told them they were my uncles from Rusape. My version tallied with my father’s. With a clear sigh of relief, the CID operatives told us reports of guerillas being sighted in the area and warned us to report any suspicious movement of people. Rex was very short-tempered and shouted at the CID operatives that he was not a criminal but had merely visited his sister,” Chief Chiweshe Mukorekore said.

After that incident the two comrades decided to change their hideout. They dug a big hole on the edges of a nearby river where they stayed for about two-weeks. The chief’s wife would occasionally pretend going to the garden with a container of food for the comrades. Before placing the container at some distance visible from the dugout, she would make a code indicating that the course was clear and the comrades would come to collect the food.

Although the initial plan was to attack Altena Farm soon after Christmas, the comrades changed course and instead chose December 21.

Why Altena Farm

Altena Farm was a tobacco farm run by Marc de Borchgrave. The farmer was infamous for his crude treatment of black workers with his farm often referred to as the slave yard.

One day, one of his workers who had heard about vana mukoma being in the area visited one of the homesteads where they were said to have been imbibing the traditional brew.

The man was so fascinated by vana mukoma who surprisingly looked like ordinary villagers. He had one too many and forgot to attend work the following morning.

The following day, Borchgrave inquired about the whereabouts of his worker and was told he had visited one the homesteads known for serving traditional beer. When he got to the homestead, Borchgrave savagely attacked the worker in full view of some of the comrades including who included Cde Pedzisa and put him prostrate on the horse and rode away. It was that incident that changed everything. The comrades were so angered by the incident that they couldn’t wait for Christmas Day, the day of the planned attack. And in the wee hours of December 21, 1972 and after cutting telephone lines and setting up landmines on roads leading to the farm, the comrades attacked Altena with assault rifles and 7 rocket launchers.

“I am sure they wanted to send a clear message to the other farmers. I don’t think Boschgrave was prepared for the assault for he is said to have bolted out of the house on foot together with his wife and two children using an rear exit. One of the fired bullets caught his son’s leg but they managed to escape to the nearby farm which is about 15 kilometres away. I think the comrades realised later that he had escaped,” said Chief Chiweshe.

After the attack the comrades made a strategic retreat and waited for the Rhodesian security forces to react. What shocked them most was that the comrades had been able to enter the country and expertly plan the attack without any detection.

A few weeks after the attack, the Rhodesian authorities launched Operation Overload, which rounded up more than 8 000 villagers in the wider Centenary area and put them in protected villages commonly referred as “makeep.”

The villagers were accused of harbouring and supporting the guerrilla fighters. The protected villages resembled concentration camps as everything was regulated with specific times for doing certain chores and curfew. A number of villagers lost their lives during the forced movement. Domestic animals were not spared while thousands were also looted.

In less than three weeks, more than 60 000 Africans had been forced out of 189 villages into 21 “concentration camps”. Operation Overload was a deliberate counter-insurgency operation intended to deprive the freedom fighters of food, intelligence and recruits.

The situation became volatile and Chief Chiweshe and his wife had to sneak out of the country to Zambia to join the freedom fighters. The Chief and his wife left without a word to relatives or immediate family members and announced their whereabouts through a radio broadcast from Zambia urging people to join the war.

“I know history has not been fair to my father. But everyone here including those 45 comrades is aware of the role played by Chief Chiweshe. He is arguably the first bona fide chief to ever join the struggle. He was lucky to have survived the whole war ordeal but came back home with his right side paralysed,” said a tearful Chief Chiweshe Mukorekore.

His father later died in 1986 whereupon he was installed as chief, one of the youngest chiefs in independent Zimbabwe. He was only 24-years-old. But 36 years later, the chief’s soul is still restless. He constantly shrugs his shoulders in resignation to his father’s fate — one of the many unsung heroes of the Second Chimurenga.