Online Reporter
Continued from last week
The Sipolilo campaign
Soon after the Wankie campaign, the joint ZPRA/MK command and its sub-committees started to prepare for the Sipolilo campaign. The Reconnaissance team had recommended a crossing point where the Zambezi River is flat and wide between after the Mana Pools area and Feira, near where the Chewore River on the Rhodesian side flows in.
This crossing point, although less strenuous, had its disadvantages:
ν The 20 kilometre road from the Great East turnoff was only accessible with four wheel drive vehicles.
ν Crossing by canoe was going to be a challenge when they got to the circulating current of the river.
ν Since Wankie, Rhodesian low flying air force planes patrolled this part of the border along the Zambezi River between Feira and the Kariba Dam.
Therefore Commander Joe Modise developed a plan to construct a pontoon using sealed empty 100 litre drums with a wooden platform on top. This he argued would make crossing easier in particular for the transportation of heavy equip-ment and ammunition. This second detachment with Moffat Hadebe as the detachment commander would comprise two ZPRA platoons and ANC with also two platoons, with Ray Tichafa as the deputy commander. Johnson Melani was Commissar, deputised by Sly Masuku. Ralph Mzamo was Chief of Security, George Mthunzi was responsible for Communications while Felix Kayiya was Chief of Personnel. Kenneth Mzathi was Chief of Staff completing the command of the detachment.
The crossing happened in December/January but battles would only break out in March after the game rangers had informed the authorities that there was an intrusion into the vicinity by unknown people. They had established five bases, but communication was very poor as they could not quickly relay information from base to base since they had only one radio manned by a Cde Zilani in base 1. They were also far from the people, so they could not use locals to communicate.
The operational plan was to create a makeshift headquarters along the mountain range overlooking the Dande River. One of the ZAPU platoons would be permanently deployed there to protect weapons, ammunition and ration stores for future campaigns. They therefore needed heavy armourment such as mortars and heavy machine guns. The rest of the detachment would proceed south with another ZPRA platoon to accompany them across the Limpopo River.
While advance teams prepared storage places along the headquarters mountain range, the rest of the men would transport the equipment from the Zambezi to those mountains about 40 kilometres away.
When the whole detachment was at the crossing point area, it was decided to cross them in batches of platoons.
This process started during the heavy rains in January up to February. The pantoon idea proved to be a disaster as it was wrecked midstream by high current that swept off its entire load and dismantled it into pieces. Fortunately, the few cadres on board who were to guide it wore air jackets, so they were able to swim back to the river bank in time before the patrol planes flew over.
This time it had been decided that some of the ZPRA and MK commanders should accompany the Luthuli detachment up to its Pyramid headquarters on the mountains. The following were selected from ZPRA, Abraham Nkiwane, Dumiso Dabengwa, Jabulani Ncube plus other reconnaissance team members. From
MK, Joe Modise, Walter Msimanga, Zola Zembe and other cadres were selected. This team walked the whole day and arrived at the Pyramid headquarters just around sunset. Their strategy was to inspect the location of the headquarters, acknowledge its suitability and to spend a week with the detachment commanders to ensure they were clear about their assignment.
However, after a few days of inspections and discussions, the detachment commanders felt they had had enough of the High Command and suggested that they return to Lusaka. They would keep the High Command briefed through coded radio communication. We had no choice but to take their polite orders. We further left room for courier messages from either side should there be need. About 10 days after our departure, the detachment had their first contact with the Rhodesian forces.
For about a week, our people back home had witnessed an unprecedented call-up by the Smith regime of all members of their security forces and their reserve, with orders to report at their brigade headquarters.
Meanwhile, the detachment had also noted the frequent spotter plane flights above their area. As a result, they took a decision to evacuate their headquarters shelters and move to an area where they would be better placed to defend themselves.
Reports on the Sipolilo campaigns have been recorded from the detachment commanders and other participants. Herewith an example of one of the encounters recorded from the Rhodesian High Court trial of the detachment’s deputy commissar.
Bulawayo, Friday, 16 August 1968 Sly Masuku, the Rhodesian-born African who claimed he shot two Rhodesian soldiers, troopers Christopher Wessel and Reginald Binks, in self-defence during anti-terrorist operations last March, was sentenced to death by Mr Justice Davies at the High Court, Salisbury (Harare).
Giving judgement, the judge referred to a claim by Masuku’s counsel, Mr N Scobie, that the attack made by the security forces on the anthill in which Masuku and six armed companions were hiding on the day of the incident, was unlawful, because the men were given no chance to surrender.
The judge said he considered that Lt Reid-Daly, who led the attack, was perfectly entitled to act the way he did, and the fact that the men were not at first called to surrender did not make it unlawful.
The judge said Masuku was one of a considerable number of people who had crossed into Rhodesia from Zambia armed with modern weapons. He had admitted that the objective was to train others in the use of fire-arms “so that eventually a rebellion would break out”.
But also to get a fairer picture of the Wankie and Sipolilo campaigns, listen to what political leaders from both ZAPU and ANC had to say. In the ZAPU report of the Central Committee to the 1984 Congress of 12 to 15 October, Joshua Nkomo had this to say:
One of the most important experiences of the armed struggle was contained in the Wankie/Sipolilo campaigns of 1967 and 1968. Using the experiences of the 1960s these became the first large scale operations ever launched in Zimbabwe, which involved several men. These campaigns were planned and jointly led by ZPRA and MK commanders.
Their full history is yet to be told like so much of our rich history of the liberation struggle. But we would like to mention two important aspects of these campaigns. In the first place, because of the scale of the fighting and the outstanding courage of our fighters, these battles had a profound effect on the people of Zimbabwe. They showed that it was possible to tackle the enemy on our own soil with modern weapons and inflict serious damage on the regime. They showed that the racists were not as invincible as they claimed. In the second place, these military campaigns provided invaluable lessons for the future conduct of the armed struggle and gave us concrete experience of battle conditions in our country. This experience was analysed by our military commanders and political leadership and provided basis for the new strategies and tactics which we then adopted.
OR Tambo on the ANC side acknowledged the outstanding display of courage at Wankie and Sipolilo.
How the enemy were rendered panic stricken by the relentless courage of our combined forces, who on the banks of the Zambezi before they marched into the hostile Rhodesia, were armed in memory of our great leader, the late President.
General of the ANC, Chief Albert Luthuli; and who are known since then and for all posterity as the Luthuli Detachment.
In battle after battle, the racist forces were overwhelmed by the courage and fire power of our gallant fighters instance after instance, the coward enemy broke ranks and fled, abandoning weapons, their injured and dead. Many members of that indomitable detachment fell in battle in Wankie and on the Eastern front. Their names are inscribed in the roll call of honour of our revolution. On this day every year, we pay special tribute to those illustrious combatants who fell on sacred fields of Zimbabwe with the warrior cry “Victory or Death!’’ on their lips.
A complimentary write-up of Moffat Hadebe memoirs is being edited for publication. The Sipolilo battle campaign narrative will be shared amongst us as a National heritage pride. The 1967 Wankie campaigns signalled to the International.
Community the magnitude of the efforts strengthen the military and combat capacities of ZPRA and MK in Rhodesia and South Africa whose geo-strategic position for the West meant they could not be allowed to fall into “Communist” hands. As the war intensified, the cold war vestiges weakened the centres to hold leading to round-table talks. Rhodesia was losing the war.
We recognise the heroic deeds of our military men who laid down their lives for freedom in Southern Africa.
THE THINKER-Volume 80/2019
NB: Dabengwa, a former Zapu head of intelligence and Cabinet Minister in Independent Zimbabwe died on 23 May 2019 and was declared a National Hero.
