The story of Arnold Makuvise

AS the nation celebrates the 93rd birthday of His Excellency President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for his Reconciliation Policy of 1980.
Had it not been for the mercy shown by the President, some of us would have been cruelly killed or would be rotting in prison for the atrocities we committed during the liberation struggle.
Together with fellow village boys from Chirimuta, Mujeki and Makumbe, in Domboshava, we were forced to leave the classroom at Makumbe Mission and Cheza Primary School to join Bishop Abel Muzorewa’s army in February of 1978.
We received basic military training for three months under the instructions of Max and Cris, former ZANLA guerillas who had defected to the Auxiliaries.
We were later taken to Alphida Barracks where we completed our training before we were deployed in our home areas, since we knew our home villages very well.
During training, we were told guerillas were evil and were terrorists who had to be fought to preserve ‘our’ independence, ‘won’ from the British Government on November 11 1965 upon Ian Smith’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
We were convinced an African Government would take us back to the bush and its leaders were not capable of leading a democratic state.
We were also offered a lucrative salary of 29 Rhodesian dollars, adequate food rations, including a box of cigarettes everyday, and good uniforms, unlike our enemies in ZANLA who relied on the masses for food and clothes.
We were also promised a beautiful package that included a large amount of money, a car and a house as well as permanent jobs in Government at the end of the war when the ‘terrorists’ were defeated.
This motivated some of us to dedicatedly serve in Bishop Muzorewa’s UANC military wing, the Auxiliary Pfumo Revanhu, which worked hand-in-hand with the Rhodesian forces.
To be honest, we were convinced we were going to win the war since we had a good supply of ammunition and an ever-ready air force for backup whenever we had contact with the ‘terrorists’.
This was a big advantage since ZANLA forces operated the guerilla way (hit and run tactics) because their ammunition was limited since it was smuggled into the country by foot from their rear bases in Mozambique and they had no air force to back them up.
All our operations were led by the former MDC’s treasurer-general Roy Bennett, popularly known as Muzezuru because of his fluency in the Shona language.
In January of 1979, a truck came to take us to Govera Base where we were to meet Muzezuru.
This was the first time I talked to Muzezuru.
This was the man who had brought suffering to our community by torturing our relatives who were accused of collaborating with the ‘enemy’.
He boasted and justified his cruelty against our people.
I don’t know where I got the courage to ask him about his cruelty to our relatives at his infamous base at Makumbe Mission where electrocution, methodical beatings and murder were the order of the day.
He told me it was war and that was the reason he had called us to that base.
ZANLA terrorists had killed eight of ‘our fellow’ soldiers, Rhodies, at a base in Munyawiri after they were sold out by villagers from Nyakudya.
He justified his cruel actions against our fellow villagers, citing they were derailing the war and putting our lives in danger.
We were handed a list of names and told to deal with the ‘sell-outs’, our relatives, decisively.
Since we had military trucks and moved during the day, we did not have problems gathering the ‘culprits’.
The beatings had to be cruel to be deterrent to all would-be informers of the terrorists.
Takavatora tikavaendesa paruvare nekuti takati tikavarovera pasi vanoita hweshato hwekunyura muvhu.
Paruware vainyatso yuwira zvakakwana.
Our victims were about 20 and we beat them thoroughly, using wooden logs.
Some died on the spot and others died later due to excessive bleeding.
We later learnt that some of them survived, including Headman Nyakudya who is still alive.
The torture we inflicted on those innocent civilians still haunts me today.
Since we came from Domboshava, most of the civilians we tortured and killed were our relatives.
Takashandiswa nevarungu kuuraya hama dzedu zvekuti nanhasi hatikwanise kusvika kune mimwe misha.
Takatocheka ukama nedzimwe hama dzedu.
Had it not been for the Reconciliation Policy of President Mugabe, some of us would have been dead by now.
Compiled by Emergencey Mwale-Kamtande