The story of Archbord Musonza
MY name is Archbord Musonza and this is my story.
On April 4 1975, my aunt was apprehended by the infamous Rhodesian soldiers and taken to Masaga, a notorious torture base in Borrowdale, Harare (then Salisbury).
She was picked up for ‘aiding and abetting’ the ZANLA freedom fighters deployed in Domboshava and subsequently detained for a week.
Rape, torture and electrocution were the order of the day at the base.
When my aunt relived her ordeal at the hands of the Rhodies my mind was made up. I was going to join the liberation struggle as a ‘mujibha’ or war collaborator.
I was only 15 at the time.
My desire to join the liberation struggle was fanned into a blaze at a pungwe where one Cde Gavisi, the political commissar of a group of ZANLA liberation fighters operating in our area, delivered what amounted to an orientation speech.
There and then, my friend, Sam Chigutiro, and I decided to leave the country for military training. But Cde Gavisi insisted that in view of our youthful ages we were more useful as mujibhas than joining to great trek to Mozambique.
My dreams shattered, I started working with the freedom fighters operating in our home area of Matope, Domboshava, extending to Nyakudya, Gasani, Chirombo, Sasa and Makumbe areas.
My fellow mujibhas and I were the eyes and ears of comrades such as Farai Mudzimu, Taurai Mazivanhanga, Hellen Muchoko, Francesca Chigutiro and Takundwa Chiroodza.
Among our many duties was arranging food supplies, delivering letters to the local business community who supported freedom fighters with food and clothing, as well as monitoring the deployment of the Rhodesian forces.
This was no stroll in the park because Domboshava is just 40km from the capital and was therefore heavily patrolled by the Rhodesian security forces.
Our area was also heavily infested by (Bishop Abel) Muzorewa’s military wing, the disgraced and poorly trained Pfumo Revanhu.
We had to be ultra-cautious as we did not have arms, even though we were very active at the war front.
In 1976, a fellow collaborator, Taurai Mazivanhanga, was spotted by Rhodesian soldiers from their observation point on Mhakwe Mountain in Gasani Village.
Mazivanhanga was on his way to collect a goat from a villager who had offered it for slaughter to feed the freedom fighters.
He was captured and, after interrogation under torture, revealed the location of our base right in the middle of our family cemetery.
The graves were scattered around a huge anthill surrounded by trees and long grass which provided us with ample cover.
I and a fellow mujibha, Takundwa, had just arrived at the base with lunch for the guerillas. The time was just after 2.00pm. Suddenly, a spotter jet, popularly known as alumanya, flew past our base — clear sign of an imminent attack.
The base was ‘home’ to six ZANLA guerillas — Cdes Gun, Fighter, Patience, Forbes, Magejo, Tendai Vadzimu and Teddy.
All of a sudden, the sky was filled with ugly killing machines literally raining bombs on us.
Cde Magejo ordered the mujibhas to take cover and all ZANLA combatants to return fire.
Thanks to the basic military training we had received, I managed to crawl towards a contour ridge which, fortunately, was covered with dry leaves.
I concealed myself under the leaves for the next five hours, during which there was a heavy exchange of gunfire between the comrades and the Rhodesian security forces.
To be honest, I was scared to death because it was the first time I had been caught in the crossfire.
It was one explosion after another. But I couldn’t afford to abandon my hiding place since the helicopters had disgorged a ground force.
It was a miracle they did not spot me. The ‘boots on the ground’ actually jumped over me as I was literally paralysed with fear.
Although the relentless attack lasted about two hours, I remained in that comatose position to save myself from the brutality of the enemy.
I only left my hiding place around 7.00pm when it was safe for me to do as the Rhodies were not night owls.
I walked for about six hours to Mazoe Citrus Estates where I spent the night, only going home the following morning.
Looking back, the encounter at the Domboshava ZANLA base was a massive victory for the gallant freedom fighters. According to some eyewitness accounts, an unknown number of Rhodie forces had been killed while a helicopter was shot down.
Who can begrudge me for wearing a broad smile when I saw truck after truck of Rhodesian forces ferrying their dead?
As we count down to our 44th Independence Anniversary, let us give due recognition to the gallant ZANLA freedom fighters who thwarted the Rhodies at Gasani Village, Domboshava.
Compiled by Emergencey Mwale-Kamtande
