“I prayed today when l woke up thanking the Lord yet again, 44 years later as l reflected on how l cheated death and survived the Mkushi bombings in Zambia on 19 October 1978,” said Cde Ruth Mavhungu Maboyi.
Mkushi, was a Zipra camp for female guerillas that came under a horrific Rhodesian forces attack under Operation Gatling.
Yesterday marked the 44th anniversary since the camp was bombed killing some of the bravest women who were fighting to liberate Zimbabwe.
Some of the survivors of the atrocious attack took Chronicle down memory lane.
Cde Maboyi, one of the women who was at Mkushi and back then only a 19-year-old said when the attack began they returned fire when the camp was under siege but the Rhodesians were relentless and she fired until her gun ran out of ammunition.
Cde Maboyi whose pseudonym was Jacqueline Hondo said on the day of the attack, they had not eaten isitshwala for about a week.
They were only surviving on milk and porridge awaiting mealie meal to be delivered to the camp. She said a whistle was blown calling them for a second parade of the day, which was unusual as they had already done the traditional parade.
“We were told a near camp had been bombed which automatically meant ours was next. Already the Mozambique camps had been bombed. We were told to go and drink milk at the kitchen so that our energy levels could be high and give us a chance to fight back,” said Cde Maboyi, who is also the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage as well as the MP for Beitbridge West.
The war veteran said she and her three friends decided not to join the others going to the kitchen but decided to make their way to designated stations.
Slightly shaking her head, Cde Maboyi said as they were walking to their position, they heard a wheezing sound and they immediately knew planes were approaching their camp.
“No one said anything to anyone. My friends and I immediately went down and took cover in the grass that was there. I still remember who l was with on that day. It was Cde Janet Dube, Cde Senzeni and Cde Sis Joyce who were leading us,” said Cde Maboyi.
“Then the horror started. Bombs. We heard everything with a deafening sound, the ground would occasionally shake. However, we kept intact on the ground occasionally firing back with our guns that we were carrying.”
Cde Maboyi said they fired till their guns ran out of ammunition.
“We were now defenceless yet still taking cover on the grass as we were now weaponless,” she said.
Cde Maboyi said the bombardment went on for about six hours and the Rhodesians sent assault soldiers who were now looking for any survivors so they could finish them off.
She said four soldiers approached their hideout and stood a few metres before they changed their direction.
“As we heard them approaching we held our breaths and l remember having a small prayer. I told God that l was not going to die in a foreign country and never see my little child that l had left at home. The Smith soldiers changed their direction when they were a few metres from us and that is how we survived what l would describe as yet another near-death experience,” Cde Maboyi said.
The four comrades stayed at their spot until it was now late and they were sure it was safe to move.
She said the camp was set on fire so that everyone who had survived would not manage to come out alive.
“God was really with us on that day, we had to run through a fire as it was the only way of leaving the camp. The four of us managed to leave without getting any burns,” she said.
They walked for 30km trying to reach another base where they expected to assemble waiting to be addressed by the late Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo and Dr Dumiso Dabengwa.
Cde Maboyi said the 19th of October means a great deal to her as she remembers the comrades she lost that day at Mkushi.
She said she wishes Government could make the October 19 an annual day where the lost comrades could be celebrated.
“This day is a reminder to all of us that Zimbabwe was obtained through blood and sweat. I am glad there is a group that recently went to clean the mass graves at Mkushi in Zambia,” said Cde Maboyi.
Cde Janet Dube whose pseudonym was Thoko Mabuza said she knew she had created sisters on that day as she hid from the Rhodesian soldiers along with Cde Maboyi and the two other comrades.
The four of them survived the bombing and only Marvelous Dungeni whom they affectionately referred to as “Sis Joyce” is now late.
She said she was hungry as she had not eaten a proper meal when their commanders called them alerting them of a possible attack coming their way.
Cde Dube said it was a very dreadful day as it was the first time she experienced such a huge attack since arriving at the camp.
She told Chronicle that the bombing went on for over six hours and the four of them kept together careful not to move and lose each other.
“We stayed hidden in that area since our guns no longer had any bullets left in them. After we thought they were done bombing Cde Maboyi and I wanted to leave our hiding place but Sis Joyce as we fondly used to call her refused. Listening to her on that day was the best decision of our lives because a few minutes after she refused, we heard footsteps of the Smith soldiers approaching our hideout. Because we were now silent and holding our breaths, they did not see nor hear us so they changed their direction when they were a few feet from us,” she said.
She said they stayed in their hideout for three more hours and when they finally decided to retreat they discovered a fire had been lit right round the camp and the only way to leave the camp was to go through the flames.
“It was either we die watching and doing nothing or we die after trying to survive. When my turn to get through the fire arrived l said a little prayer to God asking him to continue protecting me as He has been doing such a good job so far,” she said.
“Going through that fire is yet another escape that l will never forget. It is true when they say when the time is not right God will not take you. I experienced that and believed it on that day.”
Cde Dube said October 19 is a very emotional day for her and at times she fails to even narrate the events of the day as the wound is still fresh.
“I might not have died physically on that day, but emotionally l died. I lost a lot of sisters that day. Although l am very happy to have survived along with the three comrades I was with, this day still breaks my heart,” Cde Dube said.
Cde Otilil Sibanda, another survivor of Mkushi camp raid whose pseudonym was Mirora Shumba said she remembers seeing the forever black Mkushi river turning red due to the blood that was shed on that day.
She said they woke up and did their normal routine on that day with no worry and never thought that they would be bombed.
“We were called by our commanders at around 10 am to tell us that there were some planes that were coming our way. We assembled going to the kitchens so we could drink milk just to get energy as we prepared to fight,” she said.
Cde Sibanda said she was a few metres from the kitchen waiting for her turn to get her milk when she heard a loud bang followed by another and many others.
She said that is when she realized that they were now under attack.
“People started running towards different directions. The air became all sorts of different colors. The dust caused its own color, the blood that was being lost caused its own color and the smoke from the fires caused their own colors,” said Cde Sibanda.
She ran and took cover in the nearest bushes as she also tried to shoot back.
Cde Sibanda said she ran opposite the river as she knew once she neared the river she would be forced to jump in it and that on its own was a death penalty.
“The river was crocodile infested. So jumping inside it was a death penalty. The Smith soldiers used that particular position to attack because they knew crocodiles would do half the job for them,” she said.
Last week, Cde Sibanda went back to Zambia to clean around the mass graves and just reflect on the day.
“Being back brought a lot of painful memories. We lost a lot of sisters and brothers on that day. I cannot even fully describe that day because it feels like yesterday. I can almost still smell the blood and smoke that filled the air on that day,” said Cde Sibanda.
“I will never understand people who help the settlers to continue oppressing us till this day by speaking ill of our country. That is why we are still under sanctions because there are people who continue to speak ill about our country indirectly supporting our oppressors.” – The Chronicle
