‘The voice of Jane Ngwenya turned people into warriors’

IN a bid to neutralise Zipra operations in Mashonaland West Province, Rhodesian security forces devised a strategy where they demanded that whenever local villagers came into contact with freedom fighters, they had to beat up drums as a way of alerting them to the presence of guerillas.

At first the strategy worked as the guerillas were always caught up in surprise attacks by the enemy forces but when they realised what was happening, the Rhodesian forces found themselves on the receiving end. Our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) last week spoke to one of the freedom fighters who operated in Hurungwe District, Mashonaland West Province, Cde Karabo Mashasha Selome pseudonym Cde Regai Matshudula and in a series of interviews to follow, he gives an account into the devious ways the Rhodesians employed to counter the freedom fighters. In today’s instalment, Cde Selome talks about how he joined the armed struggle and his training period. Below are excerpts of the interview.

MS: Cde Selome, before you give us an account of your participation in the armed struggle, may you take us through your background.

Cde Selome: I was born Karabo Mashasha Selome on 21 February 1957 in Gwanda District, Matabeleland South in an area called Gungwe, which is under Chief Mathe. We are of the Sotho origin and the name Mashasha is our clan name. From our clan maybe the most famous or well-known person is Andrew Ndlovu, the former war veteran’s leader. Andrew is a son to me, I am his uncle, singoyise. He also uses the name Mashasha if you have noticed.

Away from my family history, I grew up in Gungwe and went to the local school, Gungwe and also Samlodi. I did not proceed with my studies after my primary school and so I got a job working for Reverend Hobane’s family in Gwanda District. From there I moved to Bulawayo where I worked for a white family in Waterford suburb. It was during my stint there as a domestic worker that I started hearing stories about the armed struggle. It was in 1975.

MS: What was being said and by who?

Cde Selome: This white family that I was working for had a son, in fact an adopted one. This son was then conscripted into the Rhodesian army, in what was commonly known as call-up then. I can tell you that I saw with my own eyes how some of the whites resisted being taken for call-up, they would hide from the authorities. So it was during this period that I learnt of how hot the war had become. If felt the urge to go and join the armed struggle. So when I went for the December holidays in 1976, I did not return to Bulawayo as that was the time I left the country for Zambia via Botswana to join the armed struggle.

MS: Take us through your journey to join the armed struggle.

Cde Selome: Before I narrate my journey, I think it is also important to mention that some white families had by 1976 started leaving the country for other countries in fear of the black majority rule. It was clear to some of them that it was an uphill task for them to win the war. After leaving Bulawayo, I got home in Gungwe to find that even among the villagers the spirit of the revolution had swept through them. The atmosphere was charged with the revolutionary spirit.

There was a man called Brown within our village, he was a staunch Zapu member and locals used to go and gather at his homestead to listen to the news from his radio set. That is when we heard the voice of Jane Lungile Ngwenya calling upon people from all walks of life, even those in the employ of the Rhodesian government to leave their jobs and join the armed struggle in Zambia. I can tell you the voice of that woman moved a lot of people. Her message turned people into animals and warriors. Myself I also used to go the homestead of Brown with some local boys and that is when we made a decision that we had to leave for Botswana on our way to Zambia. So, when the time came, I left in the company of my elder brother, Leavitt and the Watenga brothers who were our neighbours, Wellington and Ezra.

In fact, we had to sell a dummy to our younger brother, Elliot and a nephew of the Watengas, Peter who wanted to join us. We felt they were still too young. When we left our home area it was at about 1am and we managed to cross the Shashe River on the same day before noon. On the Botswana side we got to Gobajango and went straight to the homestead of our aunt who was married in Botswana. My aunt pleaded with me not to proceed to join the armed struggle, saying it did not bode well for siblings to join the war at the same time.

I refused and she let me proceed. From her homestead we were taken to Selibe-Phikwe by government trucks. When we got to Phikwe we were taken to the police cells as part of security measures. However, we did not spend the night there, as we moved to Francistown. We could have spent just a week in Francistown as we were flown to Lusaka in Zambia. From Lusaka International Airport we were driven to Nampundwe Transit Camp and that is where we came face to face with reality, that now we were in a war situation. It was during that period, around January 1977 that we learnt of the Manama Mission incident where guerillas had rounded up pupils and drove them across the border to Botswana.

MS: So you managed to meet the Manama children?

Cde Selome: They found us at Nampundwe, both girls and boys. The girls were later on moved to another facility. The coming in of those from Manama saw some of us re-united with a number of people from Gwanda, there were quite a number of people we knew. It was at Nampundwe that the elementary military exercises were introduced and it was not child’s play. The instructors there such as Teddy and Finish were rough, we would be woken up early in the morning and taken through rigorous military exercises.

MS: Where did you do your proper military training?

Cde Selome: From Nampundwe I was taken to the CGT1 together with my brother. A number of people from Manama were also trained there at CGT1, in fact they formed part of our group. The camp commander there was the current commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), General Philip Valerio Sibanda (PV) who was called Ananias Gwenzi. The instructors under PV included comrades like Makanyanga, Goronga and Godfrey. Although tough the training went on well for six months. There were at least four companies in our group. After training, which was still in 1977 we were immediately deployed to the front.

We were being deployed in units of 30 to various operational areas and myself I was deployed to BL One, which covered areas around Kariba. When I moved there one of the commanders asked me why I looked like one of the newly trained guerillas who had been deployed in the area earlier on, he meant my elder brother as we had trained in the same group at CGT1. I lied to the commander and said I was not related to the mentioned person. He was not convinced and looked for my brother and asked him the same question. My brother owned up and said we were siblings. It was then decided that my brother should be moved to BL Two.

MS: By that time you were still across the Zambezi River on the Zambian side?

Cde Selome: Yes. Preparations were being made for us to cross over to the Rhodesian side.

To be continued next week