The Hwazira mountain attack

Freedom Mutanda and Sifelani Tonje Post Correspondent
Undulating hills and mountains which clog the Mutasa area were perfect camouflage for the guerrillas. Undeniably, Honde valley is about 15 kilometers from Mozambique; as a result, it acted as an exit and entrance point for those intent on crossing to the east for military training and the trained cadres going to the front to engage the enemy.

Freedom Mutanda and Sifelani Tonje interviewed ex-liberation war collaborator Godfrey Nyabadza at his home at Chibuwe. He vividly remembers the Hwazira Mountain attack.

Hwazira was the main base for the comrades and the main rendezvous was Mandiopera homestead, situated right at the extreme end of the village on the fringes which would give the guerrillas enough cover from the soldiers as they would easily melt into the foliage Hwazira Mountain provided.

Cde Mozi Masambasiyana and his group came in 1974 and stashed their weapons in Mount Hwazira. They worked closely with the local leadership and spirit mediums. Rose Nyabadza and Makhabe were some of the collaboarators.

Lucky escapes

Justin Tambudzai Nyabadza worked as a contractor at St Augustine’s Mission. He drove into a roadblock manned by soldiers and police officers. He had goods for the comrades in form of shoes and jeans. His first instinct was to abandon the car and bolt; he allowed reasoning to take over but sweat soaked his shirt and legs trembled horribly while his whole frame shook with indescribable fear.

A familiar soldier came to inspect his car. He waved him to go much to Nyabadza’s relief.

One day, the comrades sent John Nyabadza to buy provisions at Nyabadza Township. He stepped on a landmine; unbeknown to him, a group of comrades had planted the device (chimbambaira) in anticipation of soldier movements in that area. Guerrillas called out to him stand still. Experts came and disabled it much to John’s relief.

Hwazira Mountain attack
The povo fed guerrillas at Mandiopera and Mbadzo Mtetwa’s homesteads. In March 1977, they met at the latter’s home; someone sold them out.

The peace and tranquillity that reigned supreme was shattered by the sound of the arumanyas. Guerrillas had gone for breakfast at the homestead. Somehow, the ‘boys’ believed they had liberated the Honde area and the Rhodesians would not dare come to disturb the peace prevailing in that area. That false confidence proved grave on that fateful day.

Comrades didn’t return fire at that moment but retreated into Hwazira Mountain where the main base was located. It was a tactical retreat meant to remove the heavy fire from the villagers’ way and to get cover from the Msasa trees in the forest close to the mountain.

Two Dakotas flew into sight in broad daylight. They dropped soldiers in preparation for battle. Panic-stricken villagers realised a storm was brewing; fear gripped them as helicopters came from both sides of the mountain. In no time, machine guns sprayed death on the comrades. To their credit, the comrades returned fire with fire. Cde Moses Masambaasiyana used Mortar 82 which had a distinct sound; Mozi was agile in spite of his big frame which under normal circumstances could have derailed his movements. Helicopters refuelled in Mutare and came back to continue the game of death.

Guerrillas stood their ground and villagers had all hurried to the safety of their homes which could be shattered at any time if the Rhodesians wanted to burn the African huts to smithereens.

Their armour was in Hwazira Mountain. Therefore, guerrillas didn’t have to scurry for cover but fought to the bitter end. No clear winner emerged after the battle. Because of that, Rhodesians force marched villagers into the Protected Villages.

Mhunoyembwa attack

There were Kanzondoro, Kasonda and Hwazira bases in Honde Valley. Guerrillas sent mujibhas and chimbwidos to collect “vegetables’’ from Roger’s Farm. He was a white man. He was a boorish and supercilious farmer steeped in the settlers’ ideology of thinking that the black man was nothing but a source of cheap labour and he ridiculed and mocked the villagers and workers at every turn.

The “vegetables’’ were actually cattle to be slaughtered for the guerrillas. These cattle would be kept kwaBhunu or the beef would be smoked and stored in pots far away from prying eyes.

Soldiers set camp at Roger’s Farm; they used binoculars to scan the village from a vantage point.

Mhunoyembwa Mountain is very steep. Comrades took along collaborators on their way to the mountain. Rhodesian soldiers saw the guerrillas and collaborators’ movement from their vantage point. They came down and laid an ambush. It was 6 in the morning.

Suddenly, the unmistakable bark of an FN gun fire came from the mountain in the direction the guerrillas had taken. The boys’ scaling of the steep mountain came to a screeching halt. A sustained burst of firepower alarmed many villagers. There was no corresponding return of AK 47 fire. That silence was ominous.

One could feel the tension and fear as villagers knew guerrillas would never take an attack lying down. Villagers could not look at each other without blinking. One of the villagers of the Nyati totem said: “vana vafa.’’

No-one ventured to go up the mountain. A creepy silence engulfed Nyabadza village.

Grim faced soldiers came down the mountain; the sight of soldiers as they dragged the dead guerrillas elicited soft sobs from the women and men who were gathered at the foot of the mountain oblivious of the danger that could visit them if the callous soldiers decided to punish them.

Violated flesh and shattered bones horrified the Honde people; it dawned on them that the previous night’s contact was a one sided affair. Rhodesian soldiers left the corpses to the mercy of the sun. Soon, the bloated bodies became an eyesore as flies flew over them. Among the dead was Onias Nyabadza, a local collaborator. Goldfinger died in the contact and he had been with the Honde community for more than three years.

If it was meant to implant fear among the villagers, the opposite happened; it steeled their resolve to fight on.

“Mudzimu muripi wana wachitambura?’’ An old man lamented as he talked to the spirit realm. Four comrades died in the Mhunoyembwa Mountain attack.

As the guerrillas went to Foxtrot and Dzapasi Assembly Points during the ceasefire period, Honde villagers knew “Uhuru’’ was near. The road to independence had a lot of spikes but finally, people power triumphed. Blood lost may be recovered; nevertheless, it must be comforting to see unity of purpose pervades the length and breadth of Zimbabwe.

37 years down the line, the eastern district celebrates the lives of those who perished to liberate this country.