DEATH OF FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Zimbabwe: The 'Butcher' - Where Freedom Fighters Perished
22 October 2009

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Harare — POSSESSED spirit mediums cry in agony as they climb a hill at Rusape Heroes Acre on a hot Thursday morning.

Former liberation war fighters and members of the Fallen Heroes Exhumers (FHE) form a beeline and sing revolutionary songs while following at a distance.

The spirit mediums suddenly stop to indicate that the journey has ended and chief exhumer Cde Jimmy Motsi, a veteran of the liberation struggle kneels to remove rocks on the identified spot.

He unearths the skull of liberation struggle fighter Cde Simbi Mubako Chiripai of Rushinga under Chief Magaranhewe who was captured from Mandeya 2 detachment by Rhodesian forces in 1978.

Cde Motsi raises the skull for everyone to see and the spirit mediums who had calmed down fall into another trance.

One-by-one, they fall onto the rocky ground in a similar fashion while others take long deep breaths.

Calm returns when songs that include "Kune nzira dzemasango dzokuzvibata nadzo" are repeatedly hummed.

"In 1978, Rhodesian forces butchered this boy for trying to liberate Zimbabwe. He is among many other freedom fighters who were mercilessly killed at this place. It was known as the 'Butcher' because of the gory murders that took place here.

"Many sons and daughters of Zimbabwe died inhumanely at this place, which is now Rusape Heroes Acre," said Cde Motsi who was known as Kerurai Mabhunu during the liberation struggle.

He said he is a prophet and started prophesying in 1968 while in the United Apostolic Faith Church.

He then narrated the events leading to the death of Cde Simbi.

He said upon being captured, Cde Simbi was immediately taken to F1 Firing Batallion in Rusape where he appeared before a Court Martial, but was "forgiven his crime".

The FI Firing battalion housed the Court Martial and was known as the "Butcher" not because meat was sold there, but because Rhodesian forces mercilessly killed freedom fighters at that spot.

Selous Scouts told Cde Simbi to run as fast as he could to avoid being caught and sentenced to death, but little did he know that he was being tricked.

As soon as he started running away, Rhodesian forces hiding behind large rocks shot him and he staggered into a bushy area.

With his flesh, perforated by gunshots, an exhausted Cde Simbi sat between some rocks and bled to death.

Said Cde Motsi: "When people talk of national healing, I don't know who should first be healed. Should we not first heal the father and mother of this fighter who has been lying in the wilderness for 34 years.

"His parents have been looking for him for all these years and they did not get anything since they gave us their son?"

Cde Motsi is again interrupted by weeping spirit mediums who continue falling to the ground.

"They (fallen heroes) come out crying like this everytime we exhume remains of their fellow freedom fighters. They want national healing, which should start with them. It's now 28 years after independence but their bones are still scattered everywhere. Even the children we buried in Chimoio are crying to come home.

"All the political violence last year was not Zanu-PF or MDC's fault. It was caused by the children lying here," he said.

Cde Motsi said they would leave the skull where they found it and only remove it once they get resources.

Cde Simbi's legs were found and identified three kilometres away from the skull.

Cde Motsi said his organisation carries out research whenever spirit mediums lead them to some remains.

"The spirit mediums get possessed by the spirit of the dead ex-combatants who reveal where they came from, when they went for military training, in which areas they operated, how and when they were killed and where their remains lie.

"We look for people who operated in the mentioned area during the war and ask them if they were with such a person. We then look for the person's family and tell them the news," he said.

He said no DNA tests are conducted, as there are no resources.

After exhuming the skull, the search party headed for a large trench where Mbuya Regina Dota (70) whose son disappeared during the liberation struggle narrated the gory incidents she witnessed at the "Butcher" while looking for him.

"This trench is sacred as bodies of liberation struggle fighters were dumped here and covered in acid. I saw this with my own eyes while I was going to the hospital one day and walked past a tent near Evergreen.

"I saw hundreds of dead bodies piled while some were being put in a van and transported to this trench. Some of the dead bodies still had wristwatches and some had black and red cloths tied on them. It was a traumatising experience," said the old woman.

The former "Butcher" is now Rusape Heroes Acre and mass graves believed to be holding bodies of thousands of combatants killed during the war have been unearthed.

The Mount Darwin-based FHE has been leading efforts to exhume and rebury the remains of freedom fighters nationwide.

FHE comprises war veterans, businessmen and community leaders who work in conjunction with villagers, spirit mediums and prophets to identify the sites.

Leaders of the organisation say they lack resources and logistical support to carry out their work efficiently.

"All people in these graves need to be buried in their respective villages and hometowns but this will not be possible without the necessary logistical support. We need transport, protective and ceremonial regalia to exhume the bodies, coffins, stationary and tools to record the process," said one of the leaders.

Relevant Links
Southern Africa
Zimbabwe
They conducted the first exhumation in 1980 of Kunzwana Chifamba, whose Chimurenga name was Tafirenyika Chimurenga, at Chesa in Rushinga Mount Darwin who was reburied in his home area in Musikavanhu, Chipinge.

At present they have identified over 500 individual graves all over Zimbabwe and over 15 mass graves.

They believe a mass grave at Chibondo near Mt Darwin might have over 300 remains.

Chibondo is a mineshaft and most of the people who were thrown there -- both freedom fighters and civilians -- are in a standing position.

The harrowing stories of freedom fighters being tortured and left to die a violent and painful death were just too ghastly to listen to.

World Council of Churches and Support to Terrorists in Rhodesia

The World Council of Churches (WCC) in February 1974 approved the distribution of R300 000 to 29 organizations on six continents of which half (R149000) was to be channelled to terrorist movements in Southern Africa and another R67 000 (the largest amount) to the movement fighting against Portuguese forces in Portuguese Guinea. Prior to this the WCC had disbursed a total of R402 000 - more than 60 per cent of it to Southern African terrorists. The organization's financial support to terrorism in the four years, 1970-74, thus exceeds R700 000.

The WCC has concentrated its activities in this regard on Southern Africa (with which it has grouped for convenience Portuguese Guinea) and its adoption of sponsorship of terrorism has undoubtedly had far-reaching impact on the stance adopted by official and unofficial bodies in the Western world. The certificate of respectability given by the highest organized body grouping major churches of the world to those who seek to attain their political objectives by violent means has stimulated others to increase (and sometimes initiate) their own sponsorship of terrorism.
Impetus in West
Prior to 1970 the bulk of the financial support accorded to terror movements in Southern Africa came from Russia, Communist China and other countries behind the Iron Curtain although finance was also arranged within Africa and by various non-Communist governments notably those in the Scandinavian countries. After the World Council of Churches started financing terrorism in 1970 there was a substantial increase in the scale of contributions towards terrorism from non-Communist and non-African sources.

The World Council of Churches has itself claimed to have stimulated and encouraged financial support for terrorism. "The Fund has acted as a leverage, particularly in the case of liberation movements in Southern Africa. Several governments, churches, organisations and many groups and individuals have been influenced by the WCC decision and have made grants to liberation movements", according to Document 40 (d), being a Report on the WCC Central Committee Meeting at Utrecht in August 1972.

Prior to the advent of the WCC into the terrorist supporters club, sponsorship for terrorism in the West came from the radical left. Prominent in this sponsorship was the highly organized anti-South African lobby in Britain. The Defence and Aid Fund, for example, collected R400 000 in 1968 - R60 000 within Britain and the remainder from other sources including a donation of R80 000 from the Swedish Government.
Scandinavian support
The Swedish Government, along with other Scandinavian governments, was prominent on its own account in supporting terrorism. In 1969, for instance, after having given support to terrorists for some years Sweden stepped up her aid and decided to grant financial assistance to the extent of R142 760 a year to terrorists in Portuguese Guinea and R103 200 a year to terrorists in Mocambique. A further escalation occurred in 1973-74 with total Swedish governmental aid to terrorists in Africa reaching R5 million, one-third of this going to rebels in Portuguese Guinea. The 1974-75 Swedish allocation to terrorism was a staggering R7 million. Private Swedish organizations which have donated funds to terrorists include the Swedish International Development Association which gave an amount of R27 000 in 1973-74. A propaganda campaign in Sweden also forced a Swedish corporation to withdraw from participation in the Cabora Bassa project in Mocambique.

In 1970 came WCC involvement in terrorism and immediately there was a stimulation of support for terrorism from Western sources. As indicated above, the Swedish Government increased its annual contribution from about R250 000 before the first WCC grant in 1970 to R7 million thereafter. Other governments were quick to follow the green light of the WCC and Scandinavian countries were well to the fore.

In 1971 the Norwegian Government pledged R70 000 to the OAU for distribution to terror groups and the following year announced an increase in its aid to terrorism but no figures were given. In 1974 Norway announced a R1,5 million grant to terrorism.

The Danish Government earmarked R150 000 to terrorism in 1971 stipulating that it should be for "educational and humanitarian purposes" only and in 1972 raised its contribution to R700 000.

Finland was donating R130000 to terrorists in Southern Africa by 1974 but the scale of previous donations is not known.

PROMINENT SUPPORTERS OF TERRORISM
International organizations: The United Nations, Organization of African Unity
Churches and Church movements: World Council of Churches, All-Africa Conference of Churches, Lutheran World Federation, British Council of Churches, National Council of Churches of America, United Presbyterian Church of America, Reformed Churches of the Netherlands
Governments: Russia, Communist China, East Germany, Roumania, Bulgaria, North Korea and various other Iron Curtain regimes; Tanzania, Zambia, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya and various other African regimes; Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Britain, West Germany, the Netherlands
Private organizations: Defence and Aid Fund, Anti-Apartheid Movement and various other radical groupings in London; Oxfam and War on Want; Evert Vermeer organization
Individuals: Queen Juliana, ex-President Heinemann, King Hassan


Other governmental aid
The Government of the Netherlands decided in 1974 to donate up to R3,3 million to terrorism. Smaller amounts came from other countries. In September 1970 Guyana donated R18000 to the so-called "Liberation Committee" in Dar es Salaam and in 1972 the Jamaican Government contributed R25 000 to the OAU terror fund. The West German Government announced a R17000 contribution in September 1973 for "humanitarian aid to victims of apartheid" following a firm offer of support the previous month to terrorism from the ruling Social Democratic Party. Canada announced in 1973 that she would intensify her "bilateral and multi-lateral" aid to terrorist movements but did not give a figure. India also joined the terrorist supporters.

In June 1971 the Israeli Government announced that it had granted the equivalent of R2 000 to terrorism following an appeal by the Secretary-General of the United Nations for support for an OAU appeal for funds for terror movements. Israel said that this money would be used for "a variety of purposes - medical, educational, social welfare and others".

The Israeli decision caused a furore in South Africa because of the close friendship ties between the two countries. Dr D.F. Malan, then Prime Minister of South Africa, had been the first head of a foreign government to visit Israel after its establishment in 1948 and his name stands inscribed in Israel's Golden Book.

After the Six Day Middle East War in 1967 R21 million was collected in South Africa for Israel and the South African Government granted special permission for the transfer of funds.
Non-governmental support
In addition to the West German Social Democratic Party other prominent Western political parties which have sponsored terrorists include the Labour Party in Britain which decided in May 1971 to give aid to terrorist forces because, according to its general secretary, it was "in danger of losing friends on the African continent".

Reacting to this decision the South African Prime Minister, Mr John Vorster, said "What Africa needs is not support for terrorists by the British Labour Party but co-operation between African states aimed at peace and prosperity in the continent" while the Leader of the Opposition, Sir de Villiers Graaff, said: "This horrifying decision to support felony and murder comes from the alternative government in the United Kingdom. It is not only irresponsible but dangerous in the unsettled world of to-day." Sir de Villiers issued a warning that this support for the overthrow of governments by insurrection and violence could boomerang on Western governments in unexpected ways. In 1971 the Labour Party in Britain announced a gift of R2 000 to terror groups. Before the 1974 General Election the Labour leader, Harold Wilson, announced that a Labour Government would aid terrorists.
Church involvement
The lead given by the World Council of Churches was quickly followed by individual churches. In 1970 the Lutheran World Federation decided to endorse the WCC participation in terrorism and in 1971 allocated R65 000 in aid to Mopambique terrorists.

Other significant amounts contributed to terrorism have come from the United Presbyterian Church of America and the National Council of Churches of America. (It was the United Presbyterian Church which contributed $10000 for the defence fund of Angela Davis, a self-confessed Communist charged with complicity in the murder of a judge and three others during an attack on a courthouse by Black militants.)

The Evangelical Churches of Germany donated R137 000 to terrorism in Southern Africa in 1971 and in 1974 the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands gave their first donation, of R14000, to terror groups in Southern Africa. Other support from church organizations has come from the British Council of Churches (which endorsed terrorism in October 1971), the All Africa Conference of Churches and the Christian Peace Conference.

The double standards applied by many radical churchmen within and outside the WCC was illustrated by two statements made in a Press interview by Mr D.W. Bleakley, an Irish representative to the Anglican Consultative Council in Limuru, Kenya, in 1971.

Statement Number One:

"Christians must be united on the issue in search of satisfactory grounds to assist freedom fighters in Southern Africa".

Statement Number Two: (after being asked whether the WCC's gift to terror groups would be followed by a similar donation to the Irish Republican Army):

"I think that would be the ultimate indiscretion".
Private donations
In April 1971 the Rowntree Social Services Trust established by the chocolate king Joseph Rowntree donated R50 000 to terrorists in Mozambique as a "spontaneous gesture"; in May 1971 the World University Service, an international student staff organization with an annual budget of R340 000, pledged its support to terrorist training in Africa and elsewhere;in 1971 Oxfam and War on Want contributed to the Mozambique Institute, a clearing house for terrorist programmes; in 1971 the Socialist International decided to give financial aid to terrorists; in April 1972 the Lions Club of Uganda donated R520 to a Uganda Government Fund to be handed to the "Liberation Committee". In the Netherlands, the Evert Vermeer organization began collecting funds for terrorism in co-operation with other leftist groups and in Washington the Committee for Liberation Movements donated R20 000.
United Nations
UN agencies such as UNESCO and the I LO had for many years been in the vanguard of anti-South African activity; in Lusaka in April 1972, Mr Salim Ahmad Salim of Tanzania, speaking as the chairman of the UN Decolonization Committee, said that his Committee would institute a massive campaign of aid to terrorists - the United Nations, he said, had not done enough.

In November 1972 the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling on all states and UN agencies to aid "freedom fighters in colonial territories", in particular movements in Africa in consultation, as appropriate, with the Organization of African Unity".

Sections 3 and 4 of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations read as follows:

All members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.

All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
Individuals
Prominent individuals who have given support to terrorists operating against the governments and peoples of Southern Africa include Queen Juliana of the Netherlands on whose behalf it was announced in 1971 that she had granted an undisclosed amount for "the combatting of racism" (the terminology employed by the World Council of Churches in its fund-raising propaganda), the then West German head of state, Gustav Heinemann, who donated R30 000 and King Hassan of Morocco who personally pledged R770 000 to "the liberation of Southern Africa" in 1972.
Africa's role
Because of the fact that much of the money which is channelled from Western sources to terrorist movements in Southern Africa is not disclosed it is impossible to arrive at an exact figure of the amount of money raised in the West. However, a conservative estimate based on the research findings reported above would give a figure in excess of R23 million.

Thus the funds derived from the Western world for the waging of terrorism in Southern Africa are substantially higher than those raised within the continent itself. Pledges by members to the OAU terrorist fund are estimated (again because much of the money is not disclosed publicly) at R14t5 million. To the figure for the West of R23 million and for Africa of R14,5 million (a total of R37,5 million) must be added the multi-million rand outlay on terrorism in Southern Africa by Iron Curtain countries. Again it is impossible to arrive at the precise amount thus expended but the extent of the Communist armaments captured from terrorists by the governments of Southern Africa and the evidence of training received by terrorists from Africa behind the Iron Curtain indicates that the Communist sponsorship of terrorism in Southern Africa has been a particularly substantial one in financial terms. Certainly there would seem little doubt that, as in the case of Western aid to terrorism in Southern Africa, the African contribution in money terms is far less than that of the Communist world; furthermore, Iron Curtain countries have provided the bulk of the armaments used by terrorists in Southern Africa as well as much of the training (although training and camp facilities have also been provided by African countries such as Algeria, Tanzania and Zambia).

There is no certainty that all the R14,5 million which it is estimated African states have pledged to provide, through the OAU, for the terrorist campaigns has reached OAU headquarters. In fact, few OAU states have met their "dues" regularly in full and in time. Not even the doubling of the budget for terrorism during the Rabat Summit of the OAU in 1972 and a personal pledge of R770000 by King Hassan jolted the African defaulters. By the end of 1973, arrears of OAU members to the terrorist fund were estimated at R9 million (including Egypt R900000, Zaire R430000, Nigeria R850 000, Morocco R704 000 - despite Hassan's personal commitment in public in 1972 - Algeria R58 000, Libya R99000 and Ghana R75 000).
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
In view of the encouragement which the involvement of the World Council of Churches in terrorism in Southern Africa has given others in the Western world and the substantial sponsorship of terrorism that has come from Western sources, it is necessary to give a brief review of the involvement of the WCC in support of terrorism.

The WCC was formed in Amsterdam in 1948 in a bid to heal the age-old divisions within Christendom. The single word "oikoumene" on its badge and in the cable address of its Geneva headquarters bears testimony to the original ecumenical intent of its founding fathers. In the first phase of its existence, and apart from its ecumenical work, the Council performed significant humanitarian services in such areas as bringing relief to millions of the world's homeless and hungry people.
Advent of Eastern Churches
In 1961, Metropolitan Nikolai, second in command of the Russian Orthodox Church, an avowed enemy of the United States in particular and the man who accused the American Army in Korea of burying women and children alive, ushered into full membership of the WCC Russian-approved churches from the Soviet Union, Roumania, Bulgaria and Poland. Claiming a total of 70 million adherents, the new members swiftly brought change to the Council's balance of power and within a few years the WCC's first phase of ecumenical and humanitarian work had given way to a second phase of militant and revolutionary action.

At its Assembly in New Delhi the WCC set up a Secretariat on Racial and Ethnic Relations - its first intervention in the field of race relations. Race relations were strongly emphasized at-the Uppsala Assembly (1968) and the Netting Hill Consultation (1969) and shortly afterwards the Central Committee met at Canterbury and resolved:

We call upon the churches to move beyond charity, grants and traditional programming to relevant and sacrificial action leading to new relationships of dignity and justice among all men and to become agents for the radical reconstruction of society. There can be no justice in our world without a transfer of economic resources to undergird the redistribution of political power and to make cultural self-determination meaningful. In this transfer of resources a corporate act by the ecumenical fellowship of churches can provide a significant moral lead.

The "radical reconstruction of society" for which the WCC wanted the churches to "become agents" was to be through a Special Fund to Combat Racism which would be part of the Programme to Combat Racism (PCR). It is this Special Fund which is used to make donations to terrorists in Southern Africa. From the outset the Special Fund and the PCR dileanated two areas for priority attention:

(i) the so-called "White" world
(ii) Southern Africa

The official WCC publication Programme to Combat Racism: 1970-1973 declares of the background to the establishment of the Special Fund:

It became clear that racism is not confined to certain countries or continents, but that it is a world problem. White racism is not its only form. It is recognized that in some areas there are other forms of racism, and ethnocentrism. It is the coincidence, however, of an accumulation of wealth and power in the hands of the white peoples, following upon their historical and economic progress during the past 400 years, which is the reason for a focus on the various forms of white racism in the different parts of the world.

And, again;

White racism in its many organized ways is by far the most dangerous form of present racial conflicts.
Major WCC target
Having thus defined "white racism" as the major target of its attack, the WCC's PCR then - despite its own admission as given above that there are "various forms of white racism in the different parts of the world" - selected Southern Africa as a particular priority target:

...laying special emphasis in the struggle for liberation in Southern Africa. (Programme... op cit.)

Again, in a report on the Utrecht meeting of the Central Committee in August 1972, the WCC notes:

the situation in Southern Africa is recognized as a priority due to the overt and intensive nature of white racism and the increasing awareness on the part of the oppressed in their struggle for liberation.

The PCR gives token support to such causes as "the exploitation of Indians in Latin America and developed programmes designed to support the struggle of the indigenous peoples not only in Latin America but also in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand" to quote the Programme to Combat Racism: 1970-1973 but in its funding and in the publicizing of its activities the PCR concentrates on support for terrorist movements in Southern Africa.

For instance, of its 1974 allocations $322000 went to Southern African terror groups (the Portuguese Guinea movement known as PAIGC being included by the PCR in Southern Africa) while $50000 was granted to North America, $25000 to Latin America, $20000 to Europe and $10000 to Asia. In addition $28 000 was allocated to "support groups", most of them anti-Southern African extremist groups such as the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Not a single dollar was allocated by the World Council of Churches to any religious or other group opposed to Communist dictatorship behind the Iron Curtain: and this despite its pledge that "We believe that for our time, the goal of social change is a society in which all the people participate in the fruits and the decision-making processes, in which the centres of power are limited and accountable, in which human rights are truly affirmed for all, and which acts responsibly toward the whole human community of mankind, and towards coming generations" ("Violence, Non-violence and the Struggle for Social Justice", The Ecumenical Review, October 1973.) - F.R.M.

From: Africa Institute Bulletin, 1974, Vol. XII, no. 5

CHRIS HANI IN RHODESIA

By Janet Smith and Beauregard Tromp

The MK-ZIPRA plan involved setting up three crossing points along the Zambezi in order to stretch the enemy forces. The first crossing, which involved Hani's group, would take place near Livingstone, another near Lake Kariba and a third near Feira. As the men prepared to cross, ANC NEC member Ruth Mompati went through the group's luggage, ensuring there was nothing to incriminate them, such as a Soviet-made watch or shirt. Nevertheless, there was a problem.
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By the time the almost 100-strong contingent was loaded onto trucks under cover of darkness for the 25-kilometre journey to the crossing point, trucks had ferried their equipment to the same point, so it seemed as if preparations had been more than adequate.

But once they arrived, it became clear to Hani that there was insufficient weaponry. Marching at the head of the Luthuli Detachment with Tambo and fellow commander Mjojo Mxwaku, Hani told Tambo that this was a serious enough issue to stall the entire campaign. Mjojo backed up Hani's assertion.

Earlier, the MK commander-in-chief, Joe Modise, had turned down a request from the men for additional ammunition.

Now Tambo himself made the request. By the next day, each man had been given an additional magazine, a grenade and 300 rounds of ammunition. The detachment was now armed with an assortment of SKS rifles, AK47s, submachine guns, light machine guns (LMGs), rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), Makarov pistols and small radios. Finally, the mission could get under way.

As the group made their way towards the river, February, fiddling with his rifle, accidentally let off a shot. The men stopped dead and fell silent.

Hani investigated the source of the noise, as the report could have carried across the river to patrolling enemy troops. But there was no turning back now. As they approached the riverine escarpment, the echoes of the wild broke the night air. The howl of a jackal, the hollow bark of a hippo. Hearts pumped furiously with excitement. Fear. Anticipation. Far below, the men could hear the sound of rushing water.

The crossing point had been carefully selected, with the thinking being that the enemy would not expect the liberation fighters to cross at such a difficult spot. "Lizwe?" came a call from the darkness.

"Lolo," replied one of the men in the detachment. Emerging from behind a tree was their comrade, Boston Gagarin, a short and stocky man in swimming trunks.

His team would lead them from Point Lolo across the river to Base One.

Hani was the first to climb down. The rope snaking 200 metres down the side of the steep gorge allowed the men to quietly clamber over the rockface, although they occasionally flinched as rocks loosened by those above them hurtled downwards.

Moments before Dabengwa reached the bottom, a climber above him slipped, sending a small boulder tumbling down, which knocked the ZIPRA commander unconscious.

At the foot of the rockface, the comrades gathered on the narrow shoreline.

The occasional shimmer revealed the 35-metre-wide, fastmoving obstacle before them. On the opposite side of the river, by the sliver of light available, some could discern the figure of Hani. He was already doing exercises.

Moving close to 100 men across on inflatable boats was a tedious business, but the entire contingent finally reached the Rhodesian shore by 5am. Having successfully concluded the first phase of its operation, the Luthuli Detachment saluted its leader, Tambo, still standing, watching and waiting, on the opposite shore.

Thus, 2 August 1967 saw the start of one of the most courageous, if ill-fated, adventures in the history of the ANC.

Those who were there remember the unity as night descended again, and the men resting quietly in the shadows of the mopane trees came to life. At the head of the column, Hani set a blistering pace.

Marching only in darkness, the soldiers navigated using the stars and their compasses. But trouble struck early.

Their food and water started running out, and the men were soon reduced to one meal a day. Two days into its mission, the detachment was forced to make contact with locals in order to supplement their rations.

After a week, as planned, a smaller combined MK-ZIPRA unit of 21 men broke away and headed towards Lupane in the east. It was planned that this group, led by Andries Motsepe, would establish a northern and central Zimbabwe base for the future infiltration of cadres to the home front. Two weeks after entering Rhodesia, Motsepe and his group made contact with the enemy on the banks of the Nyatuwe River, between Wankie Game Reserve and Dett. The battle raged for 10 hours. Pinned down on the banks of the river, the small group put up a spirited fight, but were no match for the Rhodesian troops.

Far away from the fighting, the main Luthuli contingent listened to the battle on their radios. They had been plagued by setbacks, the most serious of which was when a cadre went missing, and three others were sent to look for him. None rejoined the group. The ever-jovial Hani, however, lived up to his role as commissar, continually encouraging the men under his command and cracking jokes to keep their spirits up. He knew it was only a matter of time before they engaged the Rhodesians. Until then, it was a case of marching at night, sleeping during the day.

After almost two weeks, the pace and conditions were gruelling. The men became exhausted. On one of the stops, cadre Lawrence Phokanoka, also known as Peter Tladi, discovered he had left his weapon behind at a camp where the men had rested in the middle of the night. He had to return to find it, and eventually the contingent moved on, leaving him behind.

He, too, did not rejoin the detachment and was ultimately arrested.

By now deep inside the reserve and without any contact, Hani's show of bravado, fiercely marching on with a knapsack that seemed featherlight, began to lose its inspiration. Marching on empty stomachs and critically short of water, the weakened soldiers found themselves stumbling through acacia thorn bushes, which tore at their uniforms and at their flesh. At one point, a contingent - including James April and John Dube - went in search of water.

Although they used pangas to mark trees along the way, the group soon lost their way in the dense bush. This was the dry season, so there were almost no rivers or streams. Their survey maps, which dated from the 1940s, were hugely inaccurate. April told us of how the sight of water one morning caused utter disbelief.

The pan was shining and unbroken, reflecting the sky, and the men were emotional as they approached it.

Being in a game reserve also presented a unique set of challenges. Hani said he regarded the elephant, lion and giraffe as part of a greater harmony, the way in which he and his men would know if water was safe to drink, or if there were other people in the vicinity. During night-time training sessions, the troops had often encountered game animals and had come to understand their behaviour. At one point, a rogue elephant chased the group, eventually singling out Mjojo Mxwaku, who fortunately managed to escape.

Rhodesian forces had by now picked up the invaders' trail, and were following close behind. The distance covered by Hani's detachment was dropping each day. The soldiers were getting weaker. The time to attack was fast approaching.

Despite the hardships, Hani's view was that so far everything had gone according to plan. By mid-August, however, spotter planes began to track their movements, prompting the detachment to prepare for battle. The men fortified their positions, dug foxholes and organised defence lines, just as they had been taught in training.

The enemy waited. Two weeks later, they struck. Aircraft circled their position early one morning. Trucks packed with soldiers started arriving at about 10am, passing only about 100m away. The Luthuli men took up their positions, but there was some concern for two cadres who had gone to fetch water at a dam.

When, hours later, the group heard an exchange of fire, Hani realised the two men must have been killed. For a long time afterwards, the air was silent.

Then, at about 3pm, a burst of gunfire was directed at the Luthuli Detachment positions. The Rhodesians shouted for the 'terrorists' to surrender, and so the taunting began. Hani's command insisted that nobody was allowed to pull a trigger before a target was clearly identified.

There had to be economy of ammunition. Every bullet was precious. But the silence worried the enemy, and they opened fire. Caught in their first ever battle, the Luthuli men were terrified as bullets landed at their feet and whizzed past their ears. "It was like the chopping of hearts against the ribs," said Hani later.

The unspoken understanding within the detachment was that there would be no surrender.

The silence had given the Rhodesian troops a false sense of confidence, even arrogance. Standing up from their firing positions, some of their soldiers called out, trying to get a better view of the enemy. Finally, with the RAR clearly in their sights, some cadres opened fire. Two Rhodesians fell, and immediately there was panic in the RAR ranks. Hani led the Luthuli unit as they broke from their positions to pursue the fleeing enemy.

Then, like pirates, the men descended on the supplies left by their attackers. Also among the booty was a brand new LMG, new uniforms and boots. In one RAR soldier's bag, they found an unfinished letter to a girlfriend.

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The liberation force's success in this early battle resounded across the continent.

Tambo and Chikerema released a press statement shortly afterwards, respectful of the fierce fighting that had taken place:

'From the 13th of this month, the area of Wankie has been the scene of the most daring battles ever fought between freedom fighters and the white oppressors' army in Rhodesia. Only last night, the Rhodesian regime admitted having been engaged in a six-hour battle yesterday.

'In fact, the fighting in this area has been going on continuously for a full six days. Both the Rhodesian and the South African regimes have admitted that South African freedom fighters belonging to the ANC have been involved in these courageous battles, fighting their way to strike at the boers themselves in South Africa.'

Ben Magubane recalls reports on the BBC World Service and Voice of America, in which it was said the men were encircled. He also read about Wankie in the newspapers, 'and it was actually exciting, but in order to get a copy, you had to be at the shop very early'. The descriptions of bombs falling and bodies shaking underpinned dozens of almost mythical adventure stories about Wankie. For the oppressed peoples of Southern Africa, this benign energy and idealism offset some of the humiliation and violence to which they were subjected.

Albie Sachs - who was living in London at the time, having decided to go into exile - said he can remember 'vividly' how Tambo announced this grand move forward with the armed struggle. The meeting at which he made the announcement was held at Peace House, which was actually a Quaker meeting house:

'We were not told what it was all about, but it was very important to get a big crowd. He (Tambo) said armed combatants were proceeding to South Africa and managing to roam undetected... that they had engaged in combat.

'People cheered and cheered, then a man shouted, "That's murder!" a couple of times. It was a well-elocuted voice from the back. But we wanted to know, who was this provocateur? Then Tambo responded.

'He said, "yes, we have become killers. We sought by every means possible a peaceful solution. This was met by more and more repression. We were a peaceloving people ..."'

Sachs said Tambo ended up telling the gathering about the implications of the campaign: the ANC was not only going after installations now, but was using weapons of war. He said he sensed a 'very close understanding between Chris Hani and OR Tambo - a great moral and personal respect that each had for the other'.

Wankie had turned Hani into 'an admired leader... he'd been in combat and now had a different kind of authority, an unofficial, intangible sense of authority'.

Sachs said one of the outstanding things about Nelson Mandela is that he 'stood out, physically - he had a kind of stature'. The judge explained that Hani also had 'that standout quality". "You know that excitement when a person (like that) enters a room. They have an allure, a charisma. He had physical courage, intellectual clarity, a strong sense of morality'

When he spoke later about the fighting, Hani believed this was indeed the moment at which the detachment was transformed into a fighting force. The men's reaction to the enemy attack recognised courage and faith, he would later say. And the initial triumph also gave hope to those fighting for liberation all across Africa, echoing throughout South Africa and inspiring a new generation. The legend of Chris Hani was born.

Extracted from Hani: A Life too Short, by Janet Smith and Beauregard Tromp. Published by Jonathan Ball, it is available at bookshops nationwide at a cost of R190. Don't miss the Saturday Star and Sunday Independent for more extracts in which the never-told stories of Hani's relationships beyond politics are revealed - the tale of a long love affair and the high drama of a terrible betrayal in battle.


This article was originally published on page 15 of The Star on October 02, 2009

IMAGES OF FIREFORCE RHODESIA

AIRBORNE K CAR GUNNERS VIEW

K CAR FORWARD AREA

ALOUETTE CRASH RECOVERY

G CARS OPERATING OUT OF FORWARD AREA

LYNX RUNNING IN

ALOUETTE PARKED IN REVETMENT
DAKOTA RESUPPLY

TROOPIES

TROOPIES

Early Morning in a FAF

Running in to target

SMERSH VERSION CHOPPERTECH

I have found a bookbinder in Nairobi who can make up hardcover books which is good news to me. I am going to get them to do a very limited Edttion of Choppertech with text and photographs that will not be published with the version that I am negotiating with publishers.
I will probably only do about 10 copies of the "SMERSH" Version and will decide on how I want them to be distributed.
If I don't reach an agreement with a publisher at least there will be a few copies out and I never wasted all that time.
The result of me asking for pre orders was very poor so I have my doubts that it is worth going for a publishing run

GUARD FORCE WEAPONRY

COUNTERSTRIKE BOOK

Dear all,

I have some very exciting news. I have been chatting to a broadcaster in New Zealand about Counter-Strike from the Sky. He previewed the entire documentary and loved it. He aquires one-hour specials for his channel—The Documentary Channel. According to Richard on an average night they enjoy 10-15 000 viewers per one-hour special. Once they have screened it he will put me in touch with some big shot UK and US distributors so hopefully it will gain some momentum from this and be snatched up by another.

I can't thank you all enough for all the energy and support you have all given this project. Hugh will have to feedback to us on what it all looked like on tellie as he is the only one in New Zealand but I'm sure it'll be a hit.

Kind regards

Kerrin