adminThe Herald, September 13, 1979
LONDON. – Mr Josiah Tongogara and Mr Ian Smith came face-to-face yesterday and “embraced”, the Herald Africa News Service reports.
According to a member of the Zimbabwe Rhodesia delegation, Mr Tongogara went over to a surprised Mr Smith and “acted like he had lost a friend”.
Said the delegate: “Everyone, including the British, gaped in disbelief as the guerilla leader embraced Mr Smith.”
Mr Tongogara then asked how Mr Smith’s widowed mother, who still lives in Selukwe, was keeping.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
It is possible for adversaries to close ranks even after having been on opposite sides for a long time. President Mnangagwa shook hands with former UK prime minister Tony Blair when they met in Rwanda, recently.
Cde Josiah Magama Tongogara had a compassionate side despite being a tough fighter and accomplished army commander.
When Cde Tongo as he was affectionately called, reached out to Smith, it broke the impasse among the delegates attending the Lancaster House talks in the British capital.
According to renowned scholar Professor Simbi Mubako, Cde Tongogara knew Smith from his Gwenhoro farm in Shurugwi, because his parents were farm labourers.
White people were always suspicious of black people during the war and had a hard time accepting a reconciliatory gesture from someone they perceived to be their enemy.
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