By Cde Alex Makotore aka Cde Bruce Taparara

WHAT’s in a name?
So many times we have asked this question and probably got no satisfactory answers.
During the late 1960s when Zimbabwean liberation movements embarked on what they termed the Second Chimurenga – a lot of cadres from both ZIPRA and ZANLA were trained in guerilla warfare.
Upon joining the armed struggle, the recruit would be inducted into the rank and file of the army; it would be a new beginning, some form of being born again.
This involved the change of one’s name to a new one, which in most cases would inspire an individual to perform to expectations during operations.
The whole idea emanated from the threat posed to the recruit’s family security back home.
Later on, the idea became broad in the sense that recruits then got some form of identity through the names they selected.
In the early years, we had cadres trained in Ghana for ZANLA and Algeria for ZIPRA.
One such cadre was my ‘homeboy’ Akim Ndlovu who assumed the name Cde Ngozi Hatari.
He was a top ZIPRA commander and came from Belingwe, now Mberengwa.
Mberengwa was a ZAPU recruiting ground because most people in this area sent their children to Zambia to further their education.
That’s how most ZIPRA combatants joined the struggle.
One such veteran is Keyas Sibanda Makiyi, my nephew who left for Zambia in the early 1960s for further studies.
I remember then Rhodesian security forces harassed the family at Rusvinge thinking Keyas would visit his father’s home and business respectively.
One important aspect was that the army (guerillas) never deployed one into their home area.
It had to be by coincidence, some very rare cases where we heard one visiting his or her folks during the war.
You would note that top commanders like Josiah Tongogara and Jason Ziyaphapa Moyo, both nationalists and combatants, used their home names without fear because there was nothing to hide.
Their prominence had already spread.
Below are some of the remarkable names of the liberation struggle.
Cde Indira Ghandi
In 1976 I joined the liberation struggle in Mozambique, I was recruited onto the Security and Intelligence Board at Doiroi Base.
Doiroi was the replacement for Nyadzonia which had been razed to ashes by the enemy.
My job among other duties was to receive recruits and roll them up on what was known as ‘Three Check Ups’.
This was a register where we entered one’s identity certificate (chitupa), home address and your new name.
One morning, I received one comrade who was a bit smart.
When I asked what name he preferred to use in the war he said he wanted to be called Indira Ghandi?
I said Indira Ghandi is a woman and the Prime Minister of India.
He insisted that was the name he preferred.
I tried to denigrate the name and indicated to him that the name was not aggressive enough to frighten the enemy.
I told him in Shona that we would have preferred a name that would frighten the enemy.
Cde ‘Ghandi’ would not have any of that and insisted he wanted to be called Indira Ghandi and his mission was not to scare away the enemy without a fight, instead he wanted to lure the enemy into a fight by his rather ‘sissy’ nom de guerre.
Later I gave in and still changed his preferred name to Ghandi Chimurenga.
He arrogantly removed Ghandi so as to read Indira Chimurenga.
I was defeated at the end of the day.
I said to myself: Whats in a name? Aluta Continua!
Cde Pushe Pushe
In 1976 there was hunger at Doiroi.
There was Cde Pushe Pushe who was the ‘chef de guzinya’ in-charge of the kitchen.
He was notorious for trading various goods with ‘share of sadza’.
Pushe Pushe was a good footballer.
I later met him at Dzapasi Assembly Point after independence and he was still working in the kitchen.
He later joined the army where I presume he still worked in that same capacity.
He came from Mutare.
Cde James Bond
It would be an omission and irresponsible of me to continue with the subject of remarkable Chimurenga names without mentioning our old heroes who spearheaded the launch of our Second Chimurenga.
Cde James Bond inspired a lot of young men to join the struggle.
The guy was a true Bond, as the movie character depicts on the big screen!
According to the late veteran of the struggle Cde George Rutanhire, who was first a mujibha in the Mount Darwin area during Cde James Bond’s time confirmed the man was adventurous.
When he (Rutanhire) finally joined the struggle, Cde James Bond was still operating in that same area until his demise in the mid-1970s.
Cde Bond was a ‘thief’, Robinhood style, according to Cde Rutanhire.
In guerilla warfare, one had to be sleek and cunning to avoid the enemy; Cde James Bond was all that and more.
The modus operandi of that time needed such characters like Cde James Bond.
Cde Kid Marongorongo
During the early 1960s, there was a South African musician called Kid Mawrong-wrong who used to play ‘marabi’ music. He was loved by many people and was good at what he did.
This comrade chose the name from the musician and was close to Cde James Bond and their exploits remain on the lips of everyone in their area of operation.
Cde ZANLA Mbada (Joshua Museve)
In 1976, while working at the Security and Intelligence Board, there happened to be a case of one Cde ZANLA Mbada who operated together with his colleagues Stanley Paradzai, Paul Santana, Rod Chapingidza (Bob Marley) and others.
The group had been raided at Mbada’s ‘house’ (poshto) having a ‘party’ at Christmas.
They were boozing when security agents pounced on them — it was illegal.
They were severely punished.
Cde Mbada became very close to me after that incident.
He was a very brave soldier who would take 40 to 50 cuts (whips) on his backside without flinching.
This really frightened security details meting out the punishment.
Afterwards he stood up and shouted: “Pamberi nehondo macomrades!”
He later became chef de guzinya at Takawira II during our training.
At independence he was the first director for security at ZBC.
Cde Charles Ndlovu (Webster Shamu)
In 1974 there was a boxing match in Congo, Zaire which pitted two world renowned American sportsmen Mohammad Ali (Casius Clay) and George Foreman.
It was the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’.
Webster Shamu was very popular on Radio Rhodesia Commercial Services then.
He left for Zambia that same year on the pretext that he was going to watch boxing in Zaire and yet he was going to join the armed struggle.
When news of his ‘capture’ in Zambia filtered back home, it was full of propaganda.
Some said Webster was tortured to death, while others said he had his legs cut off by the guerillas, something that turned to be just propaganda from the Rhodesians.
I met Shamu at Doiroi in 1977 after the Geneva Conference when he came with Cde Robert Mugabe to address the comrades on the goings on the Geneva Conference.
He had joined the ZANU publicity department.
On that occasion he was the photographer.
He was also an inspiration on Radio Zimbabwe broadcasting from Maputo.
You may remember the jingle on Radio Maputo then; ‘People of Zimbabwe Victory is Certain – Aluta Continua!’
Cde Big Fish
This fellow was huge and fearsome and had a hoarse voice.
I met Cde Big Fish at Takawaira II in 1977.
He was one of the senior administrators there.
He died back in Zimbabwe after independence.
He was Edgar Tekere’s bodyguard when he died.
Cde Fearless Fang
Cde Fearless Fang was a comic character from South Africa in the early 1970s?
He was on the same comic book with Chunke Charlie and one Samson The Lion Heart and Spear.
Our Cde Fearless was a member of the General Staff.
I met him through Cde Simbi Chinembiri (Aaron Nhepera) in 1978.
He was one of the senior men on our march from Mozambique to Rhodesia as a reinforcement force just towards Ceasefire.
He was the sectorial medical officer.
The names in the liberation struggle depicted the never die spirit. The names spurred the guerillas to fight on until victory.
Today some of the comrades still prefer using their Chimurenga names.