MASVINGO, formerly known as Fort Victoria houses the Great Zimbabwe monuments which have given their ‘hallowed’ name to the beautiful Zimbabwe.
It is in Masvingo where the likes of Chief Bere and his people are said to have stolen telegraph wire as a way of sabotaging colonialists.
It is also in Masvingo where two members of the famous Crocodile Gang, Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Cde Mathew Malowa blew up a Rhodesian steam locomotive in 1964 at Masvingo Railway Station.
It is against this background that the ZANU PF Department of Environment and Tourism decided to launch its historical tourism initiative in ancient city Masvingo.
The launch saw the National Museums and Monuments declaring the site where VP Mnangagwa and Cde Malowa blew up the steam locomotive as a historical site.
The site has been named the ‘Trabablas Trail’ in honour of VP Mnangagwa’s Chimurenga name, ‘Trabablas Dzokerai Mabhunu’.
In Masvingo last week, VP Mnangagwa, who is the only survivor of the Crocodile Gang, dedicated the enshrinement of the site to the First Commandos of the Second Chimurenga and all those who made it possible to market, preserve and honour the place.
Other members of the Crocodile Gang are William Ndangana, Victor Mlambo, Master Tresha, Phibion Shonhiwa, Edison Shirihuru, Jameson Mudavanhu and James Dhlamini.
The Crocodile Gang was formed at the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) Congress in Gweru in 1964 and VP Mnangagwa chronicled the events that led them to blow up the locomotive.
In an interview with The Patriot, VP Mnangagwa said during that time, he had been deployed by the ZANU leadership who were incarcerated at Sikombela at that time to operate in the then Fort Victoria, while other members of the Crocodile Gang operated in Chimanimani and Harare respectively.
Prior to the blowing up of the locomotive, there was an announcement that there would be an Organisation of African Unity (OAU) liberation committee meeting and there was an argument that only ZAPU was visible in the then Rhodesia.
The ZANU fighters were then instructed that whenever they sabotaged colonialists, they were supposed to leave leaflets written, ‘ZANU’, which would then be published, giving prominence to ZANU and the cuttings would be taken to the ZANU Chairman, Cde Herbert Chitepo, who would represent ZANU in the impending meeting.
Michael Mawema (who later turned sell-out) delivered news to those in Fort Victoria to take action.
VP Mnangagwa said as part of the instruction, they decided to blow up a small plane which they had seen at an aerodrome.
“We did the reconnaissance of the area and we spent the day in the bush, but when we went to blow it up we saw that our target was not there,” he said.
“On our way to our Gathering Point which was in a hill across Fort Victoria, coming up from the aerodrome, we crossed a river on the Mutare Road then we reached the railway line and decided to follow it to avoid town.”
VP Mnangagwa said as they were walking, there was a locomotive which was being fired with coal overnight continuously for it to keep running.
“When we arrived at the site as we looked south, there were three policemen who were guarding the locomotive engine on the left side of the train.
“They were around a fire because it was very cold, so we were able to crawl past them and came to the still locomotive.
“I arrived there first, I called my colleague to come across and I said ‘Sha’ to Cde Matthew Malowa because that is how we used to call each other, and he came and said ‘go inside’, so I climbed in.
“When I went inside, the sides of the locomotive even up to today had yellow lights which make one look kind-of yellow because of the reflection.
“Inside the cabin there was someone sleeping and because of the reflection I thought he was white and I said to my friend, ‘Sha, there is a whiteman’ to which he replied ‘that’s your Christmas, kill him’.”
“I walked to the man and as I counted, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four when I said four, he woke up and removed his hat, that’s when I saw that he was a black man and I could not kill him.”
VP Mnangagwa said when the man saw the dagger in his hand he spoiled himself right through and fell unconscious.
“So I left him and joined my colleague and we went down to the other side of the locomotive and I was an expert in explosives so I put TNT blocks, (Trinitrotoluene) and lit them beginning with the longest, shorter and shorter until the last one and we ran to take cover.
“That is how we blew the locomotive.”
Cde Mnangagwa and Cde Malowa were later arrested after being exposed by Michael Mawema who reported them at Machipisa Police Station when they had come to Salisbury for feedback to their leadership in January 1965.
For the alleged crime, Cde Mnangagwa escaped the death sentence because he was still a minor as the legal age of majority was 21.
Cde Mnangagwa and Cde Malowa were subjected to torture and later sentenced to 10 years in prison at Khami Prison.
Cde Malowa served only five years after Trabablas exonerated him during his trial.
The ZANU PF Deputy Secretary for Environment and Tourism, Cde Auxillia Mnangagwa said her department was spearheading the historical tourism initiative and partnering with various stakeholders.
The partners include, ministries of Home Affairs, Environment, Water and Climate and the Tourism and Hospitality Industry and the department of National Museums and Monuments.
“As a department we are revisiting and enshrining those historical moments which define the resilience and determination of the common citizen fighting for independence into tourism packages under the banner of historical tourism,” she said.
“The programme will see the department going to places of historical and cultural significance and have the eyewitnesses or survivors chronicle the details.
“This will promote the true story about the liberation struggle and enlighten our youths that the so much celebrated freedom did not come on a silver platter.”
Cde Auxillia Mnangagwa said proposed enshrinement areas of historical and cultural significance included the Mbuya Nehanda Execution site, Robert Gabriel Mugabe and other nationalists’ houses, death place of Cde Kid Marongorongo and Solomon Ngoni in Mvuma and the bombing of the BP Shell fuel tanks in the Southerton among others.
The department will visit eyewitnesses and survivors who will chronicle the history at these sites.
‘History and Heritage’ tourism entails travelling to experience places, artefacts and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present.