Story by Tafara Chikumira
THE story of the war of the liberation struggle would be incomplete without looking at some of the challenges the veterans of the struggle went through at the hands of the white settler regime.
Cde Thomas Ziki(88) who is one of the surviving members of the 11-member group named the Crocodile Gang during the Second Chimurenga is an unassuming man who alongside the country’s President, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa had some nasty experiences at the hands of the white settler regime.
Having met President Mnangagwa in the early 60s in Zambia enroute to Egypt for military training, Cde Ziki whose Chimurenga name was Cde Mupetabere was to reunite with his comrades in the then Fort Victoria now Masvingo where they formed the ‘Crocodile Gang’ and carried out guerrilla warfare sabotage activities.
Their operations, which drew the ire of the colonialists, resulted in their incarceration at detention centers, while President Mnangagwa was to be sent to a prison in Harare on more serious charges of murder.
“When we finished training in Egypt, President Mnangagwa was to be sent to China for further training. We had to reunite in Masvingo where we were carrying out a number of activities including recruiting people for resistance as well as bombing strategic infrastructure while using Cde Nolin Makombe’s residence as a sanctuary,” Cde Ziki said.
“When President Mnangagwa bombed the train, he had to leave Masvingo to Harare with a referral letter from Cde Makombe to get assistance in Highfields. However, one of the comrades got excited and sold him out unknowingly after bragging that the boys were now in town, that is when he was incarcerated. Our gang of 11 was eventually arrested one by one. I am one of the people who was eventually arrested and heavily tortured before being thrown here at Whawha prison.
“At Whawha, I found all the crocodile gang leaders except Cde Mnangagwa who had been sent to Harare. From here, we were then sent to Sikombela where I later met the likes of Cde Robert Mugabe and the late Vice President Cde Simon Muzenda.
“We were eventually released around 1966 following the formation of Ian Smith. In the 70s, we were back on our operations and started to create problems. We were again arrested and I managed to meet Cde Mnangagwa at Harare Central Prison where we were detained in a detention centre while Cde Mnangagwa was in prison cells.
“We saw Cde Mnangagwa doing some electrical work and the detention centre erupted into joy, leading to him being removed from the duties. I am in pain as speak due to injuries I sustained during the time. President Mnangagwa was eventually released and went to Mozambique via Zambia. I was also released and continued with works of creating a passage for freedom fighters around the Chipinge area where I was operating till independence,” he said
Since most of the political leaders were under detention, the best ways of communication were through trafficking where Prison Officers played a crucial role in relaying messages through letters from the political leaders giving direction to the liberation struggle.
“I joined the then Zimbabwe Prison Services in 1975 as a Prison Officer after training. I was then posted to Connemara prison. I had the privilege of working with some of the veterans of the struggle like Cde Leopold Takawira. The political leaders in detention were more comfortable in working with young officers as opposed to those of the older generation.
“We would get the letters and relay the message to the freedom fighters in a sophisticated way that prevented us from being caught. At one time I remember, the liberation fighters came and ambushed some prison officers and took them to the war and they were never found. These were the hazards of the war,” Former Prison Officer, Mr Solomon Zimuto said.
With the Midlands province playing host to this year’s independence celebrations, government has seen it fit to declare the Mtapa Hall, Whawha, Connemara and Sikombela detention centres national historical monuments due to their historical significance towards the attainment of Independence.
