Siphakeme .Mnindwa
WHEN one of the ZPRA battalions led by now Major-General (Rtd) Stanford Khumalo pseudonym Cde Madliwa Mbila was attacked by the Rhodesian forces near Kariba, but on the Zambian side, there is talk that at some point the forces felt isolated with no supplies being sent to them.
According to Cde Sifiso Velani aka Cde Genesis Khona, who was the battalion’s communications officer, Maj-Gen (Rtd) Khumalo’s requests for reinforcements and supplies were not actioned upon by the ZPRA Headquarters. Later on, Cde Velani said he was told by the person who was receiving the signals, now Commissioner (Rtd) Claydon Seula pseudonym Cde Sizwe Ngcobo that he gave all the communication to the ZPRA Chief of Staff, now late Major-General Jevan Maseko (Enoch Tshangane).
Cde Velani’s utterances have stirred much debate on some social media platforms as to why Maj-Gen Maseko did not take action with some calling for Comm (Rtd) Seula to come forward and narrate his story.
Therefore, on Friday last week, our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) managed to get hold of Comm (Rtd) Seula, who after Independence served in the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) holding the rank of a Major before being moved to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) where he rose to the rank of Commissioner.
He once served as the ZPCS commander for the Matabeleland region. Comm (Rtd) Seula gave his account of how he joined the armed struggle coming from South Africa where he had migrated to look for employment. He will also later on speak about the events surrounding the Battle of Kariba. Below are excerpts from the interview.
MS: Comm (Rtd) Seula may we please start the interview by you giving us your brief background.
Comm (Rtd) Seula: I was born Claydon James Poti Seula on 11 March 1953. James Politi Seula was my father. Seula was my grandfather and we are Nyathis, but I chose to use Seula as my surname. As you (referring to the writer) are someone who comes from Kezi, there is a village in Kezi which is near the border with Botswana called koSeula. It was named after my grandfather. Please allow me to explain how that happened.
MS: Yes, go on.
Comm (Rtd) Seula: My ancestor had come with King Mzilikazi from South Africa during the Mfecane period. He was part of the Umncwazi Regiment, which was based near Figtree. Up to now, there is a place called Emncwazini. So when King Lobengula’s rule fell, my grandfather, that is uSeula was constantly being harassed by the whites because he had a large herd of cattle. He then moved southwards to a place called eMadwaleni near Kezi Business Centre.
The whites came for him again and he moved again until he got near the Shashi River, which separates Zimbabwe from Botswana. There he vowed that he would not move an inch, they had to kill him if they wanted him to give in. He was the first person to live there with his family and then two others followed him.
The Salvation Army started its activities in the area as more people came to settle there. My grandfather sold his cattle and offered to build a school, Seula Primary, that is still in existence. He also constructed a dip tank using his resources, Seula Dip Tank. That was in the 1930s.
MS: Let us go back to your growing up.
Comm (Rtd) Seula: Above I spoke about being born in 1953, then in 1958 I lost my mother. That changed my circumstances as my aunt who was married to an Indian called Shirto came to collect me.
They were staying at Forestvale, where Emakhandeni suburb is now. Some call it koFambeki, a corruption of the word Van Beek. So I grew up in a coloured dominated community spiced with some whites. However, my father did not want me to attend schools that were coloured populated. That delayed me from going to school. It was only in 1964 that my father came to Bulawayo and took me back to the village to start my education. By that time I was already 11 years old. So I began my Sub-A in 1964 at Seula Primary School.
I lost another year when Seula closed when the country’s education system was migrating from using the Standard system, switching to Grades. I eventually did my Grade 7 at Lingwe also in Kezi before moving to Luveve Secondary in Bulawayo, where I was a border. I was at Luveve between 1972 and 1975 where I wrote my O-levels. By that time, I had been exposed to the country’s politics.
MS: Tell us how you got entangled in politics.
Comm (Rtd) Seula: My father’s two sisters were mothers to now two prominent former freedom fighters, Misheck Velaphi Ncube, who died a few years ago and was declared a national hero and Colonel (Rtd) Thomas “Menu” Ngwenya, who during the armed struggle was a member of the ZPRA High Command. So what used to happen was that the Ian Smith security forces would come to our home koSeula looking for the two. That was part of harassing the family.
As children, we started getting an interest in why the Smith forces were looking for them. We learnt that they were freedom fighters. That inspired us. As for myself when going to my rural home during the school holidays I was one of the people who were subjected to thorough searches along the Bulawayo-Kezi Road. My aunt the one who was married to the Indian family, they were also political activists, deeply involved in nationalist politics. During the widely held protest which became known as Zhii in the 1960s they took part in that.
MS: Then when did you leave the country to join the armed struggle?
Comm (Rtd) Seula: While doing Form Four at Luveve I told my father that I wanted to go to Zambia and join others who were fighting for the country. Like any father, he was concerned about my safety and suggested that I move to South Africa to look for employment instead.
So I left for Johannesburg in February 1976 after I had written my O-levels in 1975. However, my mind was still on going to Zambia. In Joburg, I got a job at a hotel and having O-levels gave me an advantage as I understood a lot of things quickly.
The employers were very impressed with me. In our social circles, I met others from home and we started mobilisng ourselves with the intention of going to join the armed struggle. The first group among us left South Africa at the beginning of 1977.
They were a group of between 10 and 15. As for us, we left in March of 1977.
In our group we had two Ngwenya brothers, Sam Njwathi Moyo wakoNgwilingwili koSeula, Shadreck who was from across Semukwe River and Kho. The Ngwenya brothers were from Tsholotsho, while all these were from Kezi. Our group was made up of 10 men.
MS: Take us through your journey.
Comm (Rtd) Seula: We boarded a train in Joburg and we travelled without any incident until we dropped off at Mafikeng, now called Mahikeng.
It was at around 6am when we dropped off. We then started walking until we crossed into Botswana. In Botswana, we boarded a train again that took us to Francistown. In Francistown, we found a lot of people who were also waiting to be transported to Zambia.
As injiva we were loaded with cash and in the morning we would walk to the shops to buy foodstuffs such as bread. As people with a lot of money, we even bought for others. We were a bit flashy.
To be continued next week with Comm (Rtd) Seula talking about his arrival at Nampundwe Camp in Zambia where he and other recruits were initiated into military training.
