Ezekiel Hleza was born at Kafusi in Kezi and grew up in his home

village of Madipuduhudu in Gwanda. He attended Makokwe Primary

Shool and Manama High Shool before proeeding to the !niversity
of "imbabwe. He teahes at #shelanyemba High Shool in Kezi. $
father of one daughter% he has published two novels in isi&debele.
D O N T C R Y F O R M E
'ediations
(or )mmaulate 'umo Kwashira
*ho felt that the story of +ane and ,ihard
*ho walked on a rok
and left their footprints
was not -ust the story of Mkushi
but the story of all Mankind%
(or .isalobuhle &omaswazi Hleza% my daughter/
my mother Selinah Si0onyiwe Mlilo/
Solomon 1Mahlalebophile2 Hleza% my father/
)n loving memory of my sister ,eginah%
Miziyabo Mlilo/ my unle%
unle +onas 1Mnyamana2 Hleza
and young unle Eli-ah &dlovu
who did not return from the struggle
and lie buried in 3otswana% "ambia% #anzania 4Mgagao5
and in the "ambezi ,iver% respetively.
$nd for the youths of $fria
who must walk on the rok
of freedom and independene
and leave their own footprints of independent thought
for all mankind.
Ezeki el Hl ez a
D O N T C R Y F O R M E
6opyright Ezekiel Hleza
#he right of Ezekiel Hleza to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in aordane with setion 77 and 78 of the
6opyright% 'esigns and Patents $t 9:88.
$ll rights reserved. &o part of this publiation may be reprodued%
stored in a retrieval system% or transmitted in any form or by any
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without the prior permission of the publishers.
$ny person who ommits any unauthorized at in relation to this
publiation may be liable to riminal proseution and ivil laims for
damages.
$ 6)P atalogue reord for this title is available from the 3ritish
.ibrary.
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www.austinmaauley.om
(irst Published 4>?9;5
$ustin @ Maauley Publishers .td.
>A 6anada S0uare
6anary *harf
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$knowledgments
$lthough ) onsider myself to be among those blindmen touhing
different parts of an elephant aording to our different positions% ) am
however different from those olleagues of mine beause ) know that
the part ) am touhing is not the whole elephant but -ust a part of it. (or
the part that ) am touhing% ) am profoundly and proudly indebted to
Mafela #rust% Mr. Samuel Sigwaza Maphosa who introdued me to
Mishek Belaphi &ube who together with $braham &kiwane and
Kenias Mlalazi brought in probably the first guns of "imbabwe2s
liberation struggle some of whih had been soured through the "handa
tatis of the use of !mligazikono bak in 9:<>% in #anzania% Moffat
Hadebe% $braham &kiwane% .uke Mhlanga% "ephaniah Moyo
4+okoniah5% "ephaniah &komo% $mos +ak &gwenya% Matshwaha
&dlovu% Mrs. ,osemary Maphala% 4S2goge5 Servie Moyo% 6lark Mpofu%
6rispen Hakuna &dlovu 4'ay Kwazulu5% Bitor Mahloka &dlovu 46old
6hibi5% #ymon 16hief2 &dlovu% Ma-aha &ube 4Madlozi #abete5% +abhi
Maphosa 4&oble Siziba5% Salment Mlilo 4Maduma &Cumalo5% omrades
of ")P,$ and !Mkhonto *eSizwe who operated in the Southern (ront
during the struggle% my twin brother 6lever Hleza 4&tolongo Sibanda5%
my unle Kephas Mlilo 46leopas 'lamini5% my unle Moffat Mlilo
4,eC #shabalala5%my brother Dbert Hleza of the battle of "ibamenda
fame% ")M#$ for organizing a teaher writers workshop from whih )
sharpened my writing skills% my olleague in ")M#$% 'umisani
&dlovu% )nnoent Gulu% the following shools whih allowed me the
spae to interat with their 1$2 level students% #shelanyemba High
Shool% my shool% Gifford High Shool% Mpopoma High Shool%
Mzilikazi High Shool% #ownsend High Shool% Msitheli High Shool%
Maranatha High Shool% Gwanda High Shool% Bhembe High Shool
and finally .uveve High Shool whih gave birth to this book when
)mmaulate Kwashira brought the idea of a film.
My debt and gratitude would not be omplete if ) left out the wonderful
ladies who bore the brunt of my illegible handwriting% sometimes too
illegible even for me to deipher% but they would beat me to my
hieroglyphis and produed something readable/ ,uth Sukoluhle
'lomoE&khoma% Patiene &ube% Prosperity Maseko and Gugulabazali
&komo. (inally ) am profoundly indebted to my publishers/ $ustin and
Maauley who knew nothing about me but found the story of +ane and
,ihard interesting and en-oyable to read. #here are a thousand more
stories about ")P,$% "$&.$% +.M.6% ")P$ and !Mkhonto *eSizwe
whih are buried in the "imbabwean battlefield% rying to be told. #he
future generations need something definite and solid to stand on.
ACT 1 SCENE 1
(The action takes place at Mkushi Girls Military Training Camp, about 150km east
of Kabe in !ambia in 1"#$ %uring !imbabes liberation struggle& The or%s
Zimbabwe Peoples Revolutionary Army
Women Battle Group
Mkushi Training Camp
are ba%ly superimpose% on the liberation mo'ements flag of re% ith a black star on
the left an% a gol% star on the right, folloe% by green an% yello an% finally black
ith a re% star on the left an% a green star on the right& (n the mi%%le of the flag is a
big circle encasing the great !imbabe Monument& This forms the backgroun% to the
office of the )riga%e Comman%er& *n the eastern all of the office is the timeline of
the peoples struggle against colonial occupation, beginning ith the *ccupation
itself on 1+ ,eptember 1$"0, the -nti.*ccupation /ar of 1$"0, the /ar of 1esistance
against *ccupation of 1$"2 3 1$"#, the )irth of the /orkers Mo'ement in 1"+", the
first political organisation in 1"04, the first orkers strike of 1"4$, the bus boycotts
of 1"55, the launch of the 5ationalist Mo'ement on the 1+
th
of ,eptember 1"5#, the
!han%a militants of 1"20, the beginning of military training in 1"21, the entry of the
first eapons of ar in 1"2+, the military operations of 1"20 3 1"24, the setting up of
the military comman% an% the multiple %eployments of 1"25 an% the 1"25.1"22
operations, the 6oint operations of 1"2#.1"2$ of the 7uthuli 8etachment, the 1"2" 3
1"#0 Crisis, the re.organisation of 1"#,1 an% the start of the ,torming the 9ea'ens
programme& Comra%e :hatsimo, the 0
r%
in comman% in the briga%e, enters the office&;
Cde Phatsimo Che GuevaraF "iiG 4,aluting5
Cde JaneF "imbabweHeHe G 41eturning the salute5
Cde Phatsimo Che GuevaraF $mandlaHaEaG
Cde JaneF &gawe thuHuHuEuG #ake a seat% 6omrade.
Cde Patsimo Che GuevaraF 4<nslinging the -&K fol%ing butt an% taking the
,eat, putting the automatic rifle on her lap5. 'id
the ,evolutionary 6ounil aept our resolutionsI
Cde JaneF 4/ith an authoritati'e 'oice beteen baritone an%
tenor5. )t is like our other omrades in the
,evolutionary 6ounil think that when an $.K is
fired by 6omrade +ane or 6omrade #ebogo or
6omrade Phatsimo% it has a shorter range than
when it is fired by 6omrade &ikita% 6omrade
Mafela% 6omrade +.'.% or even 6omrade ,ihard
or 6omrade K.K. #hey pruned them to the barest
minimum.
Cde Bvunzawabaya: 4=ust entering, then saluting before taking a seat5
$mandlaEaEG
Cde Jane and PhatsimoF &gawethuEuEuG
Cde BvunzawabayaF 'id they approve our demands for the ".G.!s and
the StrellasI
Cde JaneF ) ould not believe that ) was talking to fellow
omrades in the struggle. #hey looked at me and
then looked at eah other. )t was like they were
sitting with a andidate for Mboroma in the
,evolutionary 6ounil. )t seemed only those who
trained in the :<?s in &orth Korea% 6hina% the
Soviet !nion% $lgeria% 6uba and Morogoro had
the re0uired eCperiene and the Solomoni
wisdom to determine the diretion% the pae and
the tempo of the armed struggle. *e% the graduates
of the Morogoro of the midE7?s and% worse still%
being women% are to be onfined in the kithens
and bedrooms of the struggle. Dne omrade even
went to the eCtent of saying that the fortresses of
the armed struggle are the amps in the seven
gorges of the "ambezi ,iver and Mulungushi%
Mkushi is -ust a future outpost of Mulungushi.
4+oin following teCt up to here5
Cde Phatsimo Che GuevaraF 4/ith %isbelief5 *hatI Mkushi% a future satellite of
MulungushiI
Cde BvunzawabayaF 4>motionally5 )s that the reason why they say we
should keep on using the stiks ut from the trees
on the banks of the Mkushi river for training while
the $Ks% the SKSs% the ,PKs% the PKs and
3azookas are kept in the .iberation entre in
.usaka% so that we an fit well in their bottomless
hole of being the future satellite of MulungushiI
Cde JaneF 4>mphatically5 ) told that lot that there was as
muh of both Morogoro and Mgagao in me% as
there was Kongwa% 6herE6hel% Komsomol% K.G.3
and even Gonakudzingwa in any of them as there
was need for suh in the armed struggle.
Cde Phatsimo Che GuevaraF 41ather sarcastically5 Jou should have added that
you had eCpeted suh unrevolutionary omments
from Peter *alls or )an Smith% or any of their
many doubles within the ranks of the armed
struggle.
Cde JaneF )t was almost lose to that. ) told them that only
those who get a daily briefing from General Peter
*alls an be ertain as to whih amp does not
pose a seurity threat to the ,hodesian regime. )
reminded them that when the state of permanent
vigilane was delared in the struggle% even before
the death of 6omrade &ikita% it meant that the set
baks of the initial stages of the armed struggle of
9:<?E9:<8 should not be obstales in 9:78 or the
oming years H it would be like burying a blak
mamba at night on the pathway% with the mistaken
hope that on the following morning it would have
transformed into a bed of roses% instead of a
veritable graveyard for those who step unawarely
on these ursed and flesh armour piering and
insidiary poisonous bones. ) told them that we
annot burry the most valuable lessons of the
formative stages of our present struggle on the
misplaed belief in the invinibility of the amps
in the seven gorges and Mulungushi.
Cde Phatsimo Che Guevara: *e are fighting a multiple theatre war. #he
original theatre of the seCes and the antiE
olonialist theatre personified by )an Smith and
General Peter *alls.
Cde JaneF Jou are dead right% 6omrade. Dne omrade had
the heek and temerity to ask me to tell the
,evolutionary 6ounil as to what ) understood to
be the biggest natural obstale faing any ")P,$
deployment into ,hodesia.
Cde Patsimo Che GuevaraF 'id you say it was the "ambezi ,iver and its
energyEsapping esarpmentI
Cde JaneF &o% ) said the biggest natural obstale faing
")P,$ and the broad struggle of the people of
"imbabwe were some of the omrades in the
,evolutionary 6ounil% who had grown a beard on
their brains.
Cde BvunzawabayaF 47aughter5 Jou ould not have eCpressed it better.
(irst we have to win the battle of removing the
beard from the brains of some of our fellow
omrades before we an fae the "ambezi
obstale% and then remove the raist olonialist
beard from )an Smith and General Peter *alls.
Cde JaneF ) told them that it appeared they wanted Mkushi to
be a seond Hwayibetshu. #hat inident% though
regrettable and unfortunate% has an invaluable
lesson for the struggle.
Cde PhatsimoF 3ut some people will repeat the same mistakes
twenty times over.
Cde JaneF 3ut in the struggle you an2t afford to play with
people2s lives twenty times over H unless% of
ourse% you are another Hitler.
Cde BvunzawabayaF Dn the pass out parade% what did they sayI
Cde JaneF Dn that issue and all ommand of the entire
brigade our resolution to postpone it until all the
women omrades who are undergoing ommand
ourses in the Soviet !nion are bak.
Cde BvunzawabayaF $mandlaEaG
Cde Jane and PhatsimoF &gawethuEuG
Cde PhatsimoF )t2s a veritable small step for a woman omrade%
but a giant leap for the "imbabwean ,evolution.
'oes this mean that all the strategi setions of the
brigade will be ontrolled by our fellow women
omradesI
Cde JaneF #he whole amp will be sealed off by heat seeking
missiles% ".G.!s% Stalin Drgans% tanks% armourd
ars% all under the leadership of women.
Cde BvunzawabayaF $mandlaEaEaG
Cde Jane and PhatsimoF &gawethuEuEuG
Cde JaneF 3ut until a month before the pass out parade% we
shall ontend with leading a brigade with the
weapons of a platoon and% of ourse% the thousand
logs ut from the trees on the banks of the Mkushi
river.
Cde BvunzawabayaF 3ut whyI
Cde JaneF #hey say it might attrat unneessary attention%
and as a result eCpose the amp. !nlike the 6.G.#
amps whih have a fortress of natural defenes of
the "ambezi gorges% whih are impenetrable either
from the air or from the ground% whih makes any
thought of attaking these amps -ust a pipedream%
Mkushi is poor on natural defenes. #hey say even
the Soviet military planners were very muh
impressed by the strategi sitting of the amps
when they visited them.
Cde PhatsimoF 41emin%ing her colleagues5. )t2s now time for the
Parirenyatwa 'ay Parade.
Cde Jane: PrrrrrrrrrrrrrrG 4)loing the para%e histle5
((n about a minutes time, all the fi'e battalions that make up the Mkushi /omens
)riga%e at Mkushi 5o& 1 ha% fille% the hole para%e s?uare& The hole )riga%e
stoo% to attention an% in salute in front of the black, re%, gol% an% green starre%
colours of the 1e'olutionary Mo'ement@ all the senior officers of the briga%e ho
inclu%e Comra%e =ane, the )riga%e Comman%er, Comra%e Tebogo, the 8eputy
)riga%e Comman%er, Comra%e :hatsimo Che Gue'ara, the Chief of ,ecurity,
Comra%e )'unAaabaya, the )riga%e Commissar, an% )attalion Comman%ers ere
stan%ing at attention& >'en the male comra%es ho inclu%e% the camp comman%er
Comra%e :& ere in salute&;
Cde JaneF *e remember you this day% 6omrade 'r.
Parirenyatwa% Bie President of our .iberation
Movement. #his is the day on whih you paid the
ultimate prie in the struggle for our freedom and
independene. #onight at the ")P,$ Mkushi
#raining 6amp% a full women brigade of the armed
struggle you left at infany stands at attention%
arrying the spear that fell from your firm and
patrioti grip at the ommand of death and the
spite of ruel fate. )n your ompany of martyrs
tonight are the omrades who fell in 9:<>% 9:<=%
9:<;% 9:<A% and the indomitable omrades of the
epoh% making .uthuli detahment who fell in
9:<7 through 9:<8. )n your revered ompany
tonight is omrade Ethan 'ube% whose mystery
only time will resolve/ in your revered ompany
tonight is 6omrade +.". Moyo% the legend of our
modern struggle% the founder of ")P,$% the father
of the revolutionary ounil% the godfather of the
+.M.6% the godfather of ")P$% and the engine of
the Patrioti (ront. #he enemy implanted himself
in a letter. )n your revered ompany tonight is
$lfred &ikita Mangena% the peerless 6ommander
of the movement2s $rmy. )n your revered
ompany tonight is 6omrade +.'.% the legendary
6ommander of the heroi .uthuli detahment that
turned the *ankie and #-olot-o into another
#shangani% and Mbembesi and the seond
)sandlwana% and turned Smith and Borster into an
unholy alliane% and raised the spirit of King
.obengula% and that of Kueen .ozikheyi and
Mkwati &ube% and ehoed the spirit of &ehanda
and that of Kagubi. Mashayamombe and
Mapondera to the pride of 6hingaira and
'ungilizwe. 4Conclu%es her a%%ress5
ACT 1 SCENE 2
(Blashback to 1"2#5
(The scene opens at the !imbabe 9ouse on =une the 00
th
1"2#& :resent is the -cting
:resi%ent of !apu, =ames Chikerema, the 8eputy :resi%ent, =&!& Moyo, the ,ecretary,
General George )o%Ao 5yan%oro, the -rmy Comman%er, -ckim 5%lo'u, his 8eputy,
1obson Manyika an% the 9ea% of ,ecurity, 8umiso 8abenga&;
Chikerema: 4:utting out the embers from his pipe an% putting it on the
left, a bit closer to 5yan%oros right han%, ho looks at the
chain ith some interest; 6omrades% the sub-et matter of
this meeting has more to do with the military aspet of the
re0uest from our omrades in the $.&.6. Politially
myself% omrade Moyo and omrade &yandoro met
omrade #ambo% 6omrade &zo in the presene of 6omrade
&kobi% their representative here in .usaka% and agreed that
a -oint military operation makes a lot of sense/ we both
belong to the authenti siC% our enemy is one% Smith and
Borster are one% olonialism is one% imperialism is one%
raism and apartheid are -ust different shades of a side of
the same oin. 3ut as the ating 6ommanderEinE6hief% )
must point out that ) do not want a repeat of the omrade
Manyonga inident of 9:<>% the omrade &debele and
Belaphi inidents of 9:<=% the Hadebe group of 9:<;% the
$men 6hikwakwata and +ohn Maluzo inident of 9:<A in
Highfields% Salisbury.
Nyandoro: ((nterrupting him; Dr the General 6hedu inident of 9:<?.
J.Z Moyo: (-lso coming in, a%%ing to the lighter moo% intro%uce% by
5yan%oro; Dr the netting of 9:A:.
Chikerema: (7aughing; &oG &oG 6omrades% we did not have weapons
then H even General 6hedu was -ust a General with -ust an
army of MolotovEoktaillists. 3ut omrades% that is how
the struggle began. ,emember what omrade 6astro did in
9:A<I 3ut today we have the Soialist People2s ,epubli
of 6uba% and we have over a hundred omrades who are
about to omplete their training.
!kim Nd"ovu: $nd so% 6omrade $ting 6ommanderEinE6hief% beause of
the stage we have reahed in our struggle the eCperienes
of the past four years or so have informed the present level
of preparation% doesn2t the -ourney of a thousand miles
begin with -ust a stepI
Chikerema: 4/ith a chuckle5 #hat is what the 6hinese say% but some
people believe it an even begin with fifty steps.
J.Z. Moyo: #hen wait for the fall from the height.
#aben$wa: Dn a rough% rugged% and stony and thorny ground.
%obson Manyika: #he bloody prie for short uts.
Chikerema: 3ut this ,evolution we are in% omrades% teahes us that
every fall has a fallout.
Nyandoro: 3ut the debris from the fallout ould be more dangerous.
Chikerema: ) know one you bring a wild goose the hase begins. $nd
now let us hear what the Generals have done with their
ounter parts from !mkhonto weSizwe. 6omrade
6ommander. 4Gi'ing him the floor5.
!kim Nd"ovu: *e have agreed with 6omrade Modise that we are going to
bring two platoons while they bring a platoon. $nd they
even suggested that we name the ombined group after the
late president of their organisation.
Chikerema: $fter the old man 6hief .uthuli% as a warning to the 3oers
in South $fria% that by ignoring the peaeful knoking of
a peaemaker they are inviting the piering knoking of a
bullet. 4:lease% ith the no%%ing from all in the room5. 3ut
do we have enough weapons to arm suh a groupI
!kim Nd"ovu: #hrough the arrangement that we have with 6omrade
Mondlane% for every three trips that 6omrade &kiwane
undertakes in transporting (relimo2s weapons into their
reently opened #ete (ront% one truk load of weapons is
ours. *e have the means of transport% and they have a
good supply of weapons. *e eCpet a trukload before the
end of this oming week beause omrade &kiwane is
already on his third trip.
Chikerema: 'id this friendship begin in $lgeria in 9:<AI
!kim Nd"ovu: &ot as suh% but the whole eCperiene of training together
in 6herE6hel% our group% !Mkhonto weSizwe% (relimo%
MP.$% Swapo% P$)G and P...D.
Nyandoro: $nd our group was the largest with 9?9.
Chikerema: $nd we had the best student in the 6ommanders2 6ourse%
6omrade $lfred &ikita% reeiving a portable flag post and a
speial wath for that outstanding ahievemnt from the
people of $lgeria.
!keim: Jes% out of the 9?9% 3en 3ella hose 9: from that group for
a military leadership ourse H the 6ommanders2 6ourse% as
they put it H and eah of the authenti liberation
movements had also their best for the ourse.
Chikerema: $nd we had 9: and we ame up tops. #hat is why
!Mkhonto wants us to work together/ that is why (relimo
is working with us. $nd we failitated the opening of the
training failities through 6omrade &oko% our first
$mbassador to $lgeria in 9:<;.
Nyandoro: #o liberate $fria% not -ust "imbabwe.
Chikerema: Jou mean the $fria that is still under 6olonial ruleI
Nyandoro: $fria% unliberated $fria. #hat is what ) told 6omrade
$hmed 3en 3ella when ) gave him our 9?9 omrades in
+anuary 9:<A% and ) believe one of those omrades will
lead the ombined group as we enter this new phase of our
struggle% the time for the white man to make walkovers
and pushovers of us is over.
!kim Nd"ovu: *e have already hosen omrade +ohn 'ube from the
group of 9?9 to lead the whole group.
Chikerema: &one of the group of l: H whyI
!kim Nd"ovu: &ot simply beause you do not put all your eggs in one
basket% but beause he has proved to be an able leader.
3esides% that group of 9: forms part of the ore of our
instrutors in Morogoro/ we need a steady supply of
fighters% and the engine that pulls the onveyor belt must
be kept in the primmest of onditions. Dur mission in this
proposed -oint operation is to deploy in the ountry and
reruit as many adres for the revolution as the revolution
demands% but of ourse fighting beomes inevitable H but
the eCperiene of the past four years has taught us that you
do not start a battle that will be finished by your enemy
and hope to win the war in the end. *e need a lot of
trained adres/ sustainability of the revolution is at the ore
of this operation. #he masses need to hear a sustained
sound of the gun in order that they do not lose onfidene
in the armed revolution H they need to see enemy army
truks go up in flames% they need to see an armed white
soldier running for dear life% they need to see dead bodies
of white and blak ,hodesian Soldiers in the bush% on the
roads% not only bodies of dead guerrillas or aptured
helpless ones.
Chikerema: 45o%%ing in appreciation; Jes% armed revolutionary ation.
#he people must be mobilised through revolutionary
ation. #he 9:;8 workers2 strike in 3ulawayo and the 9:A<
Salisbury bus boyotts are some of the milestones in the
people2s marh towards the establishment of a !nited
&ational movement whih we did at Mai Musodzi Hall on
the 9>
th
of September 9:A7. 47ooking at =&!& Moyo an%
then George 5yan%oro5
J.Z. Moyo: 4,hoing appreciation5 *e felt one group in 3ulawayo in
the form of the old $&6% and another group in Salisbury in
the form of the 6ity Jouth .eague was no longer the way
to go. *hy not ome together and form one national
organisation% unite all the people into a powerful
movementI
Nyandoro: 4/ith his usual eagerness to a%% more on the historical
content5 Jou are right% 6omrade Moyo and that is why
omrade &komo in his address after his eletion as the first
President of the first &ationalist movement of "imbabwe
bak in 9:A7 at Mai Musodzi hall reahed out to those
"imbabweans who were still doubting about where we
were going% that indeed we had embarked on an
irreversible marh to freedom and independene.
Chikerema: 48eliberately coming in5 #hat it was neither the $&6 of
9:=; nor that of 9:A> when he took over from the
,everend #homson Samkange.
Nyandoro: 4=okingly5 3ut omrade hair you annot have your ake
and eat it% you gave me the floor% you have not withdrawn
it.
J.Z. Moyo: 4>Cten%ing the 6oke5 )t was withdrawn behind your bak
omrade &yandoro.
Nyandoro: 4,till in a lighter moo%5 3ut the Generals are behind my
bak 47ooking at -ckim, Manyika, 8abenga an% >than5
&than #ube: *e are all behind the historial onteCt of our present
struggle omrade.
Nyandoro: #hat the $&6 of 9:=; and 9:A> had been enrihed not
only by the eCperiene of the workers strike of 9:;8 in
3ulawayo or the Salisbury bus boyotts of 9:A< but also
by the eCperienes of our fighters of 98:?% 98:= and 98:<
to 98:7 and that there was no other path to freedom eCept
the one that was informed by those olletive eCperienes
and that anyone who still doubted that the $frian people
in Southern ,hodesia had embarked irrevoably on the
veritable marh to freedom and independene whatever the
ost had better think otherwise.
Chikerema: $nd when Edgar *hitehead banned the $&6 in 9:A: and
rounded up and loked in all the leadership ountry wide
we saw the erstwhile doubting #homases piking up the
baton in 9:<? oming up with the &.'.P.
Nyandoro: $nd even when we were under restrition we still managed
to ommuniate with omrade &komo who was in 6airo
about the new developments and our reservations about
ertain haraters.
J.Z. Moyo: $nd even you omrade $ting President you voied your
onern through the popularized warning Llingaze
lasithezela olulenkumeM
Chakerema: *eren2t we proved right by the events of 9:<= even when
we were eCpeting our third group to omplete their
training in 6hinaI
J.Z. Moyo: 3ut we are not prophets omrades 6hike% we never thought
it would turn out like that.
Chikerema: 3ut 6harater is prophey% omrade Moyo
J.Z. Moyo: #he struggle is an open field.
Chikerema: 45oticing some impatience on the military si%e of the
meeting5 Dpen field without any fene let alone any gate
and gate keepers% ) wonder what the ommanders think
about that.
!kim Nd"ovu: #here was no free entry at Kongwa and there is no free
entry at Morogoro either. #hat is the 3uffalo Mongol2s
territory% he ditates who omes in and who goes out when
and why.
Chikerema: $nd so that is why omrade &Cele does not even want to
spare 6hikerema even -ust one of the omrades from 6herE
hel for this operationI
kim Nd"ovu: 6omrade President ) think omrade &yandoro an best
respond to that omment.
Chikerema: He does not need to beause ) have the agreement that we
had with omrade 3en 3ella whih omrade &yandoro and
omrade &oko signed in 9:<; before we sent the group of
9?9 in +anuary 9:<A. 6omrades #ambo% Mondlane% &eto
and 6abral have a similar doument.
kim Nd"ovu: How about omrade &u-omaI
Chikerema: Swapo -oined the group of the authenti league later% that
must have been late 9:<<. $nd with most from the 6herE
6hel under the 3uffalo Mongol he agreed with 3en 3ella
that we do not need to send our people for ombat training
anywhere eCept where those omrades are. *e neither
need $lgeria% 6uba or even the Soviet !nion. *e send all
our reruits to Morogoro and the 3uffalo Mongol will hand
them over to 3en 3ella2s boys and )an Smith will run.
J.Z. Moyo: $ typial student of the 6hinese.
Nyandoro: 3ut perhaps of a higher grade. $t 3uhari ollege 3en 3ella
gave us the fish and then from the whole rop of 9?9 he
hose only 9: for 6herE6hel to train as military trainers
and leaders% he trained them how to ath fish. $nd the
3uffalo Mongol is right on trak% the 3en 3ella trak.
Manyika: $nd this operation is meant to give us more reruits so that
the 3uffalo Mongol will keep 3en 3ella2s boys at
Morogoro very busy so that )an Smith will indeed run.
Chikerema: 3y the way% you were together with the 3uffalo Mongol in
the Soviet !nion from 9:<= to 9:<;I
J.Z. Moyo: )nfat% all the four of them trained with the 3uffalo Mongol
though in different groups. Some of those omrades are
with the 3uffalo Mongol in Morogoro.
!kim: Jou are orret omrade but that aside. #he agreed plan
between ourselves and the omrades of uMkhonto
weSizwe is that the three platoons will move together up to
.upane where the first platoon will turn eastwards on a
reruitment drive while the seond platoon will aompany
the uMkhonto platoon up to Gwanda and 3eitbridge and
see it ross the .impopo into South $fria. Gwanda and
3eitbridge will beome the reruitment operation for the
seond platoon as well as the onveyor belt for umkhonto
reruits from South $fria. Dur own reruits% those of
uMkhonto will be handed over to the first platoon for
rossing into "ambia and then to Kongwa and Morogoro
in #anzania. #he seond orridors of reruitment in this
-oint operation will be opened in 'eember or +anuary
9:<8 along the Kariba H (eira region upto (ort Bitoria
through the Gonare "hou into the Krungger &ational Park
49an%ing o'er the map of 1ho%esia ith %etaile%
markings of the to corri%ors of the recruitment
operation5.
Chikerema: 4/ith satisfaction5 How many suh maps do you haveI
kim Nd"ovu: *e have four while uMkhonto have three.
Chikerema: 47ooking at the map5 ) hope we will not have another
omrade 3abylok Manyonga inident and similar
inidents that followed that have haunted our operations.
!kim Nd"ovu: 9:<7 is in many ways different from 9:<>% 9:<= even 9:<;
let alone 9:<A with the Highfields shoot out and the
subse0uent apture of those omrades.
Nyandoro: 3ut even then )an Smith should have learnt something%
even better than going ahead with his !.'.) madness.
Moyo: He might have thought it was -ust a fluke
Chikerema: 3ut even for us and our omrades of uMkhonto sending
three platoons into ,hodesia and for them a platoon
through ,hodesia into apartheid South $fria both of us
are treading on Birgin territory.
J.Z. Moyo: #here will always be a rapture. 4ith a chuckle5
Nyandoro: (/ith a chuckle as ell5 $s a military or biologial
inevitability 47ooking at Moyo5.
J.Z. Moyo: 47ooking at Chikerema an% then the military men5
6omrade 6hikerema and the ommanders know what that
means.
Nyandoro: $nd so do the rest of us.
ACT 1 SCENE 3
(- meeting of the /ar Council in an office in the un%ergroun% comman% centre of
1oma& :resent is the Chairman of the /ar Council ho also is the hea% of the
7iberation Mo'ement an% Comman%er.in.chief of its fighting force, the 9ea% of
(ntelligence, the Chairman of the mo'ement, the Military -%'isor an% the -rmy
Comman%er&;
C.'.C.F 6ould the $rmy 6ommander brief the house on the state of
the ommuniation system between the $rmy
Head0uarters and the war frontI
CommanderF #he appraisal of the system ) had with the 6hief of
6ommuniation and Signals proved beyond any reasonable
doubt that head0uarters is less that a minute away from all
the ,egional 6ommanders in all the three regions of the
northern front. Dur signals are below the ,hodesian
(ore2s signals range% and also above that of the ,hodesian
Polie% so neither of the seurity agenies an pik them.
*e an ommuniate with our teams in all the strategi
entres of the ountry without any fear of intereption. *e
are using a similar system for all our amps through out
the whole "ambian territory. Even our hosts who use the
3ritish system annot interept our ommuniation.
C.'.C.: 4Turning to the 9ea% of (ntelligence5 6an the intelligene
'epartment onfirm thisI
C.(.'.F *ithin five minutes% we an be able to establish the eCat
loation of )an Smith and General Peter *alls% as well as
any senior ,hodesian Government Dffiial% the type of ar
or plane they are travelling in or house they are in% and
even the type of breakfast% lunh and dinner with almost
:?N auray. 47aughs an% Comman%er.in.Chief
chuckles5
C.'.C.: *hy% then% are we still here in "ambiaI K.K. would throw
us away if he hears this.
C.(.'.F K.K. is a very onsiderate Pan $frianist. His reserves of
patiene are in eChaustible. #hat aside% it took us almost 98
years to be where we are today. )t has been a long flight%
but we are now turning to the landing gear. *ith the
deployment of our women )ntelligene Dffiers% or the
1sisters2% as we all them% some of whom are serving as
nannies of the white ladies to omplement their male
ounterparts who are working as garden boys and farm
boys% our Speial Dperations teams an be ordered to
ondut even the most sensitive of operations within -ust a
period of an hour.
C.'.C.: $nd how safe are we from the ,hodesian )ntelligene
DperativesI
C.'.(F Dur 6ounterE)ntelligene 'epartment is very effetive%
although not perfet. #he assassination of Bie President
'r. Parirenyatwa at the initial stages of our struggle in
9:<>% the setbaks of 9:<>H9:<;% the losses we suffered
with our first ma-or deployments of 9:<A to 9:<<% our
elebrated 9:<7H9:<8 -oint operations with !mkhonto
*eSizwe as the .uthuli detahment% our internal risis of
9:<:E9:79% the abdution of 6omrade Ethan 'ube% the
assassination of 6omrade +.".% the death of 6omrade +.'.%
and the reent death of 6omrade Mangena H all these
eCperienes have% in one way or another% provided our
)ntelligene 'epartment with invaluable eCperiene and
lessons on the ompleC nature of the enemy2s military and
intelligene network. *e are wiser with eah passing day%
but still we are not perfet. #he enemy is looking for any
small raks that might our within both the politial as
well as the military leadership of our movement% and if
they are not there% engineer some through whih it an
infuse its destabilisation poison% as was the ase with the
9:<>E9:<= and the 9:<:E9:79 periods. #he enemy also
employs various strategies of elimination of key figures
within the military and politial wings of the movement.
Dur ounterEelimination and ounterEinfiltration report is
almost omplete for presentation to this 6ounil.
C.'.C.F $nything from the Military $dvisorI
M..: ) want to draw a parallel between today and 9:<>% when
6omrade Manyonga was interepted with some of the
weapons whih had been a0uired at very high ost% with a
lot of risks entered into. )t was lear then or with the
benefit of history that the .iberation Movement had been
infiltrated as early as that time% but it was also lear that we
had not mastered the art and siene of handling sensitive
war e0uipment. )f 6omrade Manyonga had not been a
highly trained and very brave freedom fighter% he would
have revealed the origin% purpose and destination of the
weapons% thus eCposing all the omrades in the network
that had been established% inluding the role the omrade
6ommanderEinE6hief had played in souring those
weapons. #he deployment of speial operations units
arrying heat seeking missiles in a purely guerrilla
dominated area% while our regular battalions are still being
fine tuned for the $rmageddon roll in is illEadvised. Dne
the enemy gets wind of the presene of these groups% he
will immediately launh a massive operation like was the
ase in *ankie in 9:<7. *e risk not only the apture of
these Speial Dperations groups% but also of the sensitive
weapons that they arry% thus unwittingly selling our
serets to the enemy.
C.'.CF #he 6hairman is ithing to respond.
ChairmanF Speial Dperations !nits are neither guerillas nor regular
fores H they are Speial Dperations !nits. #heir purpose
is to perform speial operations where guerilla or regular
operations are diffiult or impossible. Suh operations% we
agreed% would be leared by the *ar 6ounil% and not the
High 6ommand. $t the highest operational level% the $rmy
6ommander and the Head of )ntelligene will have to
-ointly ommuniate with the 6ommanderEinE6hief who%
through the advie of the Military $dvisor and the
6hairman% lear the operations for purely politial reasons%
while the atual eCeution of suh a speial operation lies
with the Speial Dperations 6ommanders on the ground%
who will get orders from the -oint Speial Dperations
6ommand headed by the Head of )ntelligene. 3ut the
general operations of our fores lie with the 6ommander
and his 6hiefs of Staff in the High 6ommand. *ith the
high 0uality training our speial fores undergo% ) do not
believe we need to talk muh about the risks involved in
their operations% but rather how to redue them% whih is
not the responsibility of this 6ounil but their
6ommanders. ) have onfidene in the fighters in the war
front that they understand the amount of responsibility
plaed on them by being given the enormous power the
movement has entrusted them with% for the purpose of
proseuting the armed struggle.
C.'.C.F 4,atisfie% ith the procee%ings5 #hank you% omrades% for
your ontributions. 4+oin up following teCt to here5
#he struggle ontinues.
)): Bitory is ertain.