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Attacked at lunch time

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The story of Cde Davison Ndlovu,
aka Cde Skuza

WE were hungry and our food on that particular day in August 1977, in Gondwa, Jambezi, would be provided by villagers under Chief Shana.
We were a group of 30 ZIPRA cadres and I was the deputy sector commander.
I deputised Cde Embassy, whose real name is Cde Coen Tsambani.
Soon we had food being prepared in the homesteads.
So as not to alert the enemy, food was never prepared by a single family.
Several families would make the food, in case the Rhodesians came upon a home, family-sized pots never aroused suspicion.
We were camped outside the village and patiently waited for the food to be brought to us.
Everything looked okay.
We were all jovial as food was being cooked.
Little did we know that we had been spotted or had been sold out.
As we waited for the food, we had our weapons on us as usual, in case a battle ensued.
A guerilla would never be caught off-guard.
Eventually the food was brought to us.
Even as we ate, we were in formation.
We did not all gather in one group.
At this stage, guerillas had become a formidable force and the Rhodies where losing the war.
We were eating in small groups, a distance from each other, but in a straight line to ensure that we would not be surrounded.
In the event of an attack, like what happened on that day, returning fire would not be difficult.
As we began eating, Rhodesian soldiers descended upon us.
A missile hit the spot from where the food had been dished, pots and plates flew all over the place.
We all fell down, taking cover.
The missile narrowly missed my group.
However, its intensity left a gaping hole.
In no time, we had established where the fire was coming from.
None of us were injured.
We rolled away from the concentration of fire, got into positions to fight back.
We started firing back.
We matched the intensity of fire.
Obviously the Rhodies had not anticipated such a return of fire.
We tactfully retreated.
The Rhodies did not pursue us, we were not sitting ducks and the Rhodies realised it.
By 1977 the Rhodesian army was beginning to conscript young boys straight from high school and these were inexperienced.
Desperate, these boys were being sent to the front without adequate training.
Meanwhile, hundreds of blacks were on a daily basis pouring in for military training.
And hundreds more were being sent to the front.
The Rhodies were overwhelmed.
Every day and with every encounter we realised that whites were not superior in any way, that they could be defeated.
It was such battles that kept our morale high.
War was brutal and ugly.
Loss of fellow comrades was always painful, especially considering that in some instances we could not afford them a decent burial.
Thus in cases where we were not ‘bullied’ by the enemy but proved that we were a force to reckon with, we were encouraged to continue with the struggle.
We did not doubt the message that ‘Victory was certain’.
Our confidence levels received a massive boost.
We suspect that the soldiers had been informed of our presence in the area by one of the people in the homesteads that cooked for us.
It appeared they wanted to attack us when we had all gathered to eat but we had all our wits about us.
Even while eating, we would not be preyed upon.
As for the side of the Rhodesian soldiers, we do not know what happened to them.
All I know is that helicopters later came to the battle site, we assumed to pick up causalities or dead bodies.
This is one battle I will never forget.
Compiled by Tobias Manyuchi

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