Sundaymail Editor
LAST week, veteran freedom fighter CDE ELIAS CHIRAMBAI, whose Chimurenga name was Jikinya Masendeke, shared a pivotal moment in his life. A harsh encounter with his employer, a white fisherman, sparked a fire within him that led him to join the liberation struggle. This week, Cde Chirambai sits down with our Features and Arts Editor PRINCE MUSHAWEVATO to delve deeper into his experiences during the fight for freedom.
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Q: Our previous discussion ended when you had been integrated back into camp after some thorough bashing for perceived mischief. What happened next?
A: We joined camp and waited for further communication. After some time, Comrades Robert Mugabe, Webster Shamu and Eddison Zvobgo visited the base.
The trio addressed us, highlighting the training plan that was to be followed. Those who came from Nyadzonya were deployed to East Africa, to areas like Mgagao. This group was composed of people who had joined camp earlier than us.
We briefly remained behind and formed what was then called the Z Battalion.
After a couple of days, the camp commanders told us that our group was fit and ready for deployment. Our first mission, we were told, was to fetch firewood in a nearby bush.
We complied, but little did we know that we were actually being transferred for training. As we wandered in the bush, fetching firewood, we walked straight into some trucks that were waiting for us. The drivers had been instructed to take us to Tembwe.
Q: You can carry on.
A: When we got there (Tembwe), we were very hungry. We hatched a plan to steal a porker from one of the nearby villages. Out of the four guys who were part of the plot, I volunteered to slaughter the pig because of my previous experience.
I took a log, hammered it hard behind the head and it died instantly. We carried the porker into the bush and started a fire that was encircled by some wet grass.
Because of fatigue and hunger, we fell asleep while preparing the meat. Some of the grass caught fire and burnt one of our colleagues, whose name I am now forgetting. He was wearing a work suit-like gear, which was not easy to tear off.
Resultantly, we struggled to remove his garb and he was severely burnt in the process. We carried him back to the camp. Upon arrival, we all developed cold feet. We did not know how to explain his injury to the camp leaders.
Food raids were not allowed.
The consequences of our rogue behaviour were going to be dire in the event that we got caught. So, we decided to go to a nearby river with the intention of joining our colleagues when they came to bathe.
The idea was to join them and silently sneak back into camp.
Q: Did the plan work?
A: Not really. We waited for them by the river. As we pondered our next move and what to tell them, there was an airstrike on our camp.
We took cover, in the process leaving behind the injured comrade by the river.
Cde Charle fired the first anti-air missile in retaliation. He successfully hit an enemy’s helicopter and it dropped.
When others were busy bolting out of the camp, which was clearly the target, we were busy going in a different direction.
For a moment, we did not think about the danger in the sky.
Our minds were preoccupied with getting back into the camp without anyone noticing that we were not around.
But we later on realised that we were walking towards danger. The camp had apparently turned into a death trap because of the attack.
We turned back and took to our heels, vacating the base. We followed the direction that the first group had taken.
But that proved to be a blunder as we ran into an ambush. The first group was slow to react to the ambush. They were shot at, injured and some killed. The enemy aircraft was dropping more soldiers in the area. We managed to avoid further attacks by swiftly changing direction and going towards kwaChari.
This was an area where the comrades who had been attacked at Doroi were supposed to regroup.
Q: What was going on in your mind during all this?
A: I knew we were in trouble, but I kept on telling myself that I had to survive. I still needed to get a proper chance to fight the enemy back home.
After changing course, we met some camaradas and they gave us a place to stay while they established communication with our counterparts.
We took refuge there for two days, before our commanders sent some trucks to ferry us to a base in Chari. But upon arrival, again, the enemy struck. It was like déjà vu!
We were on the run again, together with the likes of Cde Makasha, who was the leader.
The following day, he (Cde Makasha) instructed some of the survivors to go back and scout the camp for injured comrades and assess the level of damage.
We were told not to eat anything there.
There were some mangoes and other foodstuffs that we had abandoned.
He also advised us not to use formal paths as we risked walking into booby traps. We went and searched the place, but there was nothing. We did not have casualties during this attack.
Q: By then, did you know what the situation was like in Tembwe after the attack?
A: When we reported back, Cde Makasha ordered us to go back to the Tembwe base on a similar fact-finding mission.
What I witnessed this time around was heart-breaking. Many comrades were lying dead. Women who had taken cover in the barracks struggled to get out and ended up being burnt alive. The number of casualties was just too much. Some of the bodies were already decomposing. Because of the numbers involved, we could not place stones on each grave as per our cultural tradition. We ended up using sticks as stone symbols.
After the search mission, we reported back to the camp and told them we did not find any survivors. All these sad encounters happened before we had an opportunity to get proper military training. After a few days, trucks were sent to ferry us to Tete for training.
Q: How was the training?
A: It was not easy, but we endured. We faced all sorts of challenges, but remained resolute because of the ultimate objective we had.
In 1976, upon completing our training, we travelled back home via Mupatawegwenya, Nyanga, where we navigated through Chirimanyimo before getting to Mutanda.
In Mutanda, our first mission was to attack a Rhodesian forces camp in Nyamaropa.
The mission was successful.
Impressed by our exploits, our leaders selected those they deemed fit and deployed us to the front. Their message to us was, “Go and fight while enjoying ice creams”, which simply meant taking the battle to towns and cities.
Next week, Cde Chirambai will share some of his most daring exploits at the warfront.
Online Reporter