mbulelo smpofu
WE continue our interview with former freedom fighter, Cde Claydon Seula pseudonym Cde Sizwe Ngcobo. Cde Seula, after independence served in the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) in the Signals Squadron, rising to the rank of Major.
He was later transferred from the ZNA to what is now called the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) where he retired with the rank of Commissioner.
In the initial interview in our last week’s edition, Commissioner (Rtd) Seula told our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) how he joined the armed struggle, coming from South Africa where he had been working in the hospitality industry. In this week’s edition, Comm(Rtd) Seula picks the conversation with his group’s arrival in Zambia from Botswana. Below are excerpts from the interview. Read on . . .
MS: Let us resume your narration with your arrival in Zambia.
Comm (Rtd) Seula: It was in April 1977, when we landed at Lusaka International Airport, having been flown from Selibe-Phikwe in Botswana. We got to Lusaka in the afternoon but the Zapu vehicles came to collect us in the evening.
It was a deliberate ploy by the ZPRA security details who did not want to take the new recruits to Nampundwe Transit Camp during the day. They did not want the recruits to see directions from Lusaka to the camp. So, we arrived at Nampundwe when it was already dark.
MS: How were you treated there?
Comm (Rtd) Seula: We were given a small blanket each and told to find a place to sleep. We slept in the open. We were not given food, we slept on empty stomachs. Then, the following morning, very early, we were woken up and ordered to assembly at some spot where we were addressed by one of the instructors called Teddy.
I was related to Cde Teddy as he was married to my cousin sister before he left Rhodesia to join the armed struggle.
MS: What was his message to you?
Comm (Rtd) Seula: Our group that is the one that was coming from South Africa known as imiGoli or injiva were separated from the rest. The message from the camp command element was that Zambia was not South Africa, we were at Nampundwe and they expected maximum co-operation.
That was because there was that feeling that those coming from South Africa to join the war were arrogant. You know, some even came dressed in three piece suits and ties as well as Boston hats.
The assumption among the recruits was that if you arrived in Zambia, you will be immediately given a gun and allowed to go back home and fight the Smith regime.
People had not anticipated the tough training ahead. Myself, I was wearing a nice pair of jeans trousers and long sleeved shirt, accompanied by nice shoes with buttons on the sides. So, the instructors emphasised that we should follow the rules of the camp.
MS: Then, what happened after the address?
Comm (Rtd) Seula: We were taken for vetting by the intelligence personnel and comrades from the Department of Training and Personnel.
They captured our details such as village of origin, where one was working before going to the war and such things. We were also given pseudonyms, myself I assumed the name Sizwe Ngcobo.
We were also ordered to surrender identity documents. Then we were told that the following morning, the ZPRA Commander-In-Chief, Cde Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo was coming to meet us, the new arrivals, so we should dress in our best clothes. It was said we were going to meet him some distance from the camp.
MS: Take us through what happened the following day.
Comm (Rtd) Seula: The instructors woke us up very early in the morning. If you had a watch, you were ordered to surrender it, as they said they suspected that it was a communication device used to link up with the Rhodesian forces. We were also told it was an offence to be found in possession of money, so if you had it, you had to surrender it as well to them.
I had quite a decent amount of cash under the circumstances, the rand I had brought from South Africa, so were others. I begrudgingly and reluctantly took it from where I had hidden it, that is in my shoes.
Remember, I said I had shoes with buttons on the sides that is where I had hidden my money. To be honest, I was not happy in giving away my money. We finally left to receive Nkomo at about 7am after surrendering our possessions.
MS: Where were you taken to?
Comm (Rtd Seula: There was a hillock, a distance from the camp where we were ordered to run to. We were accompanied by the instructors, two of them armed with AK-47s. When we got to the foot of the hillock, we were told that Cde Joshua Nkomo was waiting for us at the top of the hill.
However, one of the instructors, I think it was Tonderai who is around here in Bulawayo. He told us that he was going to demonstrate how we will move to meet Nkomo. We were taken aback when we saw the guy frog jumping up to the summit of the hill. He stood up there and came down rolling.
He then said we had to do that. The frog jump drill was called number nine and press-ups where known as number six. We were taken through that routine of drills, I do not know how many times.
That was the way of meeting Cde Nkomo. Clothes were torn and we came out of there very dirt. We could hardly walk as muscles were very painful. People were smelling and the instructors told us that there was no time for bathing as that was a luxury as we were at war. We then understood why everyone at the camp looked like spooks.
MS: At that moment did you regret joining the armed struggle?
Comm (Rtd) Seula: Not at all, but to be honest, I had not anticipated what we were being subjected to. We looked at the instructors and said “these people are animals.” Being related to one of them, Teddy, I had thought he would protect me. However, the fellow was very, very rough towards me.
MS: How long did you stay at Nampundwe?
Comm (Rtd) Seula: It was not that long, but by the time I left I was used to the military life. We were subjected to military drills everyday.
MS: From Nampundwe, where were you taken to?
Comm (Rtd) Seula: I was chosen in a group of 2 000 recruits that included the now late Colonel Smile Madubeko Moyo, who was to rise to the rank of battalion commander during the war and the now Ambassador to Pakistan, Air Marshal (Rtd) Titus Abu-Basutu to go to Mlungushi to train in conventional warfare. We had arrived at Nampundwe in April and by the end of May we had left.
We first went to the Freedom Camp (FC) where we put up for the night before being taken to Mlungushi. We were surprised to see a sign post that read “Welcome to Gonakudzingwa, the home of discipline.” We were received by officers from the Zambia Defence Forces. I remember Lieutenants Trooper, Phiri and others in that rank, a few captains and majors. From the ZPRA side, there was now Colonel (Rtd) Marshal Mpofu, late Colonel (Rtd) Richard Dube, uGedi and Cephas Khupe.
MS: Take us through your training at Mlungushi.
Comm (Rtd) Seula: We were put into 20 companies and I was placed in the Zambezi Company with comrades like Madubeko who was called Cde Middle. At Mlungushi, I was still with the comrades I had left South Africa with such as Simon Njwathi Moyo, uJerry my village boy koNgwiringiwi lapha.
Our training was to produce regular soldiers, so our training was different from what other ZPRA camps such as CGT and Mwembeshi were offering. Ours concentrated on how to fight, attack and hold as well as operating in large groups compared to guerillas who could even move in a stick of three.
MS: What about weapons?
Comm (Rtd) Seula: We were introduced to the Mortar 60 and 80, AK-47, seminov, pistols, anti-air weapons and machine guns. At Mlungushi, we had proper barracks and we were ordered to shave our heads and beards. The instructors were Zambians. However, as for shaving, we did not have razors, so we would break bottles and use the pieces as razor blades.
To be continued next week with Comm(Rtd) Seula talking about his deployment to the staff of ZPRA commander, Nikita Mangena and what happened after the death of Mangena. He says some comrades within the ZPRA ranks celebrated when Mangena was killed when a vehicle he was using was hit by a landmine.
shloboe boe
