Ndangariro
Authors: Freedom T. V. Nyamubaya and Ireen R. Mahamba
IFBN 0-908303-13-0

ON the very day I closed the last chapter of this book, co-author Freedom Tichaona Nyamubaya’s chapter on this planet also closed.
I am a born free, I did not witness the liberation struggle, but I am interested in the story, in the history and aspirations of my country that is why I was reading Ndangariro.
I am interested in my history because today I am, not because of my ingenuity, but because they were.
To be very clear I am free, I am pursuing and living my dreams because the likes of Dr Ireen Mahamba and the departed Nyamubaya put theirs on halt to fight so that I could have mine.
Sadly I never got to meet her personally, but from the bit I got to glimpse in her poetry in Ndangariro, Nyamubaya is neither female nor male, she is just a freedom fighter at pain to tell her story of the struggle.
She is a war veteran that expressed the vagaries of war.
War Veterans Minister Christopher Mutsvangwa aptly put it when he said about Nyamubaya, “I admiringly salute her for putting female war triumphs and tribulations to pen and paper as she retold of a struggle that groped to find its way in the formation and growth of a people’s army.
“Her literary achievement is for posterity to savour the finest hour of patriotic pride that begot national rebirth’
The book Ndangariro is a poignant and magnificent combination of prose and poetry that highlights the challenges faced in the liberation struggle.
Of course, the book is written by female war veterans and highlights the narrative from their perspective.
Most importantly, the book shows that women in the struggle were just as important as their male counterparts.
Their femininity was no handicap.
In the poem ‘A haunted place’, are lines that highlight that guerrillas were pre-occupied by bigger issues than gender.
“Listen to the discarded hymns from above the Msasa tree
“It’s the Ndau, Kalanga, Karanga, Zezuru, Ndebele, Budya,
“Korekore, Manyika, Rozvi, Changanas all about land
“Land, land, land to my children.
“This place will be haunted until we do something about land.”
The poet highlighted the arrogance of the West in the poem ‘What is a refugee’.
“Refugee is a European word that describes displaced Third World persons who are physically and mentally weak to change, correct or improve their environment.
“All European people who may be in the same state are called immigrants not refugees.
“Can a black person be a refugee in Afrika?
“Good question.”
The book makes known the sacrifices made during the liberation struggle and the treatment of the veterans after war by families and friends.
The book is a glimpse into the psyche of the female veteran.
“Auntie Joy was captured in a battle
“She was a serious fighter
“They captured her in action
“It’s war, survival of the conquest
“One day we will get her back
“It’s sad, but that’s not the end of the story.”
The first part of the book which tells the story of Ndangariro clearly shows how the girl child desired just as much as the boy child freedom.
The desire for freedom was not only a preserve for males.
Living home was a great sacrifice made for the sake of her people’s freedom.
“But then mother thinks her daughter is too precious and strayed into the bush because of unscrupulous people who confused her daughter.
“She cannot accept that her daughter joined the liberation out of her own will.”
And contrary to stories of women being forced into relationships, some actually found their soul-mates in the struggle.
Ndangariro falls in love with Dzikunurai, a comrade who was as committed to the liberation struggle as she was.
When the war comes to an end, Ndangariro goes in search of her love proving that the love expressed was mutual.
“Painful months of trying to trace him in various assembly points-such a difficult task during the transitional period when everything was in flux and it was not clear who could ask what from who.”
After independence Ndangariro has to struggle against her family which does not approve her guerrilla partner.
“Should she be punished for loving one who had fought for the liberation of the country?
“How could that ever be twisted into a crime?”
The book provides an interesting perspective to the many perspectives of the liberation struggle.