By Gamuchirai Mugadzaweta

THE Zimbabwe Heritage Trust (ZHT)’s documentary film titled Battle of Mavhonde won the Best Zimbabwean documentary award at the just ended Zimbabwe International Film and Festival (ZIFF).
The documentary tells the story of a battle that became the final nail in the coffin of the Rhodesians.
In an interview with Patriot Arts, ZHT CEO and executive producer of Battle of Mavhonde, Cde Pritchard Zhou said coming tops in the Best Zimbabwean Documentary category was a confidence booster.
“Last year we won the Best Documentary Film and Best Director awards for ZANLA Comes to Town: Part One and Two,” said Cde Zhou.
“This year we have clinched the Best Zimbabwean Documentary award for Battle of Mavhonde.
“We are excited about what we are doing and the accolade encourages us to do more.”
Battle of Mavhonde is one of the last guerilla battles that trounced Rhodesians into submission.
Featured in the documentary are the actual fighters and survivors of the Mavhonde battle.
These include Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Commissioner-General Paradzai Zimondi, Zimbabwe National Army colonels James Masenda, Joseph Khumalo and Resten Magumise, Air Commodore Nyowani as well as Elen Sithabile Zwambile and Tendai Maiseya.
Battle of Mavhonde depicts the strong will of ZANLA forces who for days traded blows, bullet-for-bullet, with Rhodesians.
What makes the documentary especially important is that it reveals how the ZANLA forces planned and executed their strategy.
The Rhodesians came to attack the Mavhonde Base, armed to the proverbial teeth, in what was their last ditch effort, but they were repelled.
The documentary is part of efforts by ZHT to capture the Zimbabwean story, which largely remains undocumented, from the perspective of the indigenes.
A lot of documentation has been done by former imperialists who have deliberately distorted the country’s story.
Extensive publications and documentaries as well as feature films have been produced by Rhodies extolling the virtues of the coloniser.
Directed by Ashwin Sikireta, the documentary lays bare the story of Mavhonde.
It reveals how the guerillas trounced the enemy.
The Mavhonde Base was established after the Chimoio attack on November 23 1977 in which thousands perished.
The base was closer to the border with the then Rhodesia, established by the guerillas in a show of defiance.
At that point, many liberated zones had been created in Rhodesia.
The survivors and participants of the battle explain and described what exactly transpired.
The attack on Mavhonde, which was well planned, saw guerillas in the camp surrounded by armoured cars on the ground and planes in the sky.
It was meant, by the Rhodesians, to be a massacre that would destroy the guerillas once and for all.
But they got the shock of their life.
Freedom fighters did not just mount a resistance, they fought back, forcing the Rhodesians to break formation and retreat.
The documentary helps to dismiss the claims of ‘victory’ by Rhodesians.
In the documentary it is revealed:
“The Rhodesians admitted to having suffered heavy losses.
In their propaganda they called it ‘Man-to-Man battle’ but it was not.”
The Rhodesians were defeated and retreated in disarray.”
The aim of the Rhodesians was to force ZANLA and ZIPRA to negotiate terms of surrender at the Lancaster House Conference, but the loss at Mavhonde ensured that the Rhodesians would continue to negotiate from a weakened military position.
“We were aware that if we had lost that war at Mavhonde, the talks at Lancaster would have given the upper hand to Smith and General Peter Walls,” Commissioner-General Zimondi said.
The narrations of the eyewitnesses reveal how the Rhodesians were totally demoralised.
The ZANLA minimal casualties showed that the Rhodesians stood no chance as the guerillas had become an efficient fighting force.
According to eyewitnesses at Mavhonde, about 12 fighter planes, helicopters and armoured cars were destroyed.
Dr Irene ‘Ropa Rinopfuka’ Mahamba, an analyst in the documentary, said the Mavhonde battle was a direct signal to the Rhodesians that the guerillas had won the war.
“Mavhonde was a powerful statement that we had come home and there was no retreat, there was no reverse,” she said.
The documentary, is a must watch as it shows dimensions of the liberation struggle that many people are not familiar with.
Cde Zhou said more productions dealing with the subject of the liberation struggle were in the pipeline.
“We are actually planning to do a documentary on Mapai, a battle which took place in the same month with the Mavhonde battle,” he said.
“The Rhodesians lost that battle (Mapai) and they went on to try Mavhonde and lost.
“We have another documentary titled Legends of Chimurenga 2 which is near completion.
“It is a documentary that tells the story of heroic acts by freedom fighters, some who were captured by the enemy but managed to escape and rejoin fellow comrades.”
Through these documentaries, ZHT has brought an important dimension that was lacking in the local film industry.