They thought I was Ian Smith’s spy

LAST WEEK, CDE JUSTIN SHAWARIRA, whose Chimurenga name was Advance K.K. Chimurenga, recounted how he was inspired to join the liberation struggle by his two brothers who had crossed into Mozambique to fight the colonial regime. This week, he narrates to our Features and Arts Editor PRINCE MUSHAWEVATO his dramatic journey from quitting his job to crossing the border alone.

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Q: Our discussion last week ended with you having made up your mind to join the struggle. How did you leave your job and eventually travel to Mozambique?

A: I struggled to spend any more time in Salisbury (now Harare).

I felt infuriated with each passing second while still in Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia.

Meanwhile, my employers and fellow employees were unaware of my new-found motivation to join the struggle.

Our shift had five guys and they all wondered why I was unusually late for duty after accompanying my brother to Chitungwiza.

But they were in for a bigger surprise.

They expected me to put on my work suit and start work as usual, but that was not the case.

I went to Irvine’s office and told him I was quitting my job. Remember, Irvine was a senior manager at Palte-Harris milling company, where I was employed? He laughed, assuming it was a joke.

I was, however, dead serious and told him to calculate and give me my dues, if any.

That is when he asked if I was quitting to join the war and I said yes without hesitation.

However, it was a risky move because if he had reported me, I could have been arrested or killed by the colonial government’s security forces.

Q: You can carry on.

A: Irvine went on to call other supervisors and everyone else close to me to counsel and convince me otherwise, but it was all in vain.

They all assumed I was drunk, but back then, I had never tasted alcohol, though my brothers used to drink.

My cousin William Mandaza was on shift and was informed about the issue.

He thought someone had wronged me and tried to investigate. I was given my dues and left.

I bought two blankets with the money and gave one to my mother and took the other one to her rural home, giving it to my maternal grandmother, Mbuya Maringisa, who was in Rusape.

She accompanied me to kwaTandi in Rusape, because she suspected that I wanted to leave the country.

I told my grandmother about my plans and asked her not to tell anyone because I feared I would put her life and that of others in danger.

After that, I boarded a bus travelling from Harare to Mutare. I disembarked in Sakubva and started walking due east (direction of Mozambique) until I reached the Mutare-Machipanda road.

I continued walking until I got to the border.

There was a fence.

When I was close to the border, alone, I was stopped by an elderly woman, who warned me against going any further towards the borderline as the Rhodesian security forces were patrolling the area. She told me that they were killing and arresting people found in the area, but I disregarded her warning and advice.

However, I was cautious and followed a narrow path that appeared to be frequently used and led to the border.

As I drew closer to the border fence, I bumped into the Rhodesian forces.

Q: What happened next?

A: For some strange reason, they did not see me. I still wonder how they did not notice my presence. I guess I had some great protection from God and ancestors.

I briefly hid and then later on started to swiftly move further into Mozambique. After a while, I reached the Machipanda Police Station.

There were both Mozambican soldiers and police officers in the camp. I knew that if I was not careful, they would arrest me.

There was a river just below the camp, which I took advantage of to hide in the reeds. As I was hiding, one of the armed soldiers came and bathed. He, however, did not notice me.

Moments later, two armed police officers came and went through a similar routine.

Again, they did not see me.

When it got dark, I came out of hiding and proceeded with my march towards the eastern side.

When it was getting dark, I saw a light and went towards it. I reached a homestead, which I did not know belonged to a spirit medium who was protected by the Mozambican government.

I was immediately apprehended when I entered the compound. I was bombarded with questions as they thought I was Ian Smith’s spy.

I produced my identity particulars, identified myself and told them I wanted to join ZANLA. They took me to a big hut and made me sit in the veranda.

Q: What was their intention and how were you feeling?

A: I was not sure, but there seemed to be some traditional rituals taking place in the house. I was not beaten up or harassed. Instead, I was given water and food.

I was then summoned into the hut. I removed my shoes. The spirit medium told the guys who had captured me that I was clean and intended to join the struggle and link up with my brothers. She told me that I would indeed meet my brothers. There were soldiers and members of the intelligence at the homestead and they took me under their custody throughout the night.

The following morning, they took me to the Machipanda Railway offices, where there were some Frelimo soldiers’ offices.

One of the camaradas named Vance immediately christened me Vance, after listening to my tale.

He told me to use the name when my ZANLA colleagues came to fetch me.

I was told that two of my colleagues had been collected from the same point a few days earlier to join the struggle.

As we waited, one of the camaradas present seemed to struggle to call me Vance and ended up calling me Advance.

That is how I assumed the name Cde Advance K.K. Chimurenga, though others also called me Wage Tichatonga. The name was in reference to my courage to continue moving to Mozambique despite the setbacks I faced along the way.

After a while, a Land Cruiser with freedom fighters came to ferry me.

I got into the truck and we travelled to Pamumango, which was in Manica province.

While there, I met Cde Akim Mudende, who was a member of the General Staff.

He was part of the team that deliberated on whether we were supposed to be taken to Doroi or Chibawawa. I had joined other guys who were also awaiting deployment to training camps. We stayed there for about two days.

Eventually, we were transferred to Chibawawa, where we joined the likes of Cde Joice Mujuru, Cde Joseph Chimurenga, Lieutenant-Colonel (Retd) Joseph Khumalo, Mayor Urimbo, Amos Tsana, Peter Baya, Chengetai, Cde Mpofu, Cde Bhowas Matarusi, Cde Mupunzarima and Jumbo Jet (Mhonda).

There were both trained and untrained comrades at the camp.

 Next week, Cde Advance K.K. Chimurenga will take us through his memorable experiences in Mozambique.