By Melissa Chitsaka

MY Father Augustine ‘Topsy Engels’ Chitsaka went for military training at Tembwe Training Camp.
He started at Tembwe Base One for the first orientation under Commander Makasha.
He did not stay for long before being transferred to Base Two where he trained for basic military tactics from light to heavy firearms.
He was ready to stand against the enemy and to defend his own people.
It was only a few months later when father left Nyadzonia just before it was attacked by the Rhodesians in what became known as the Nyadzonia Massacre of 1977.
After training, father was summoned to work with provincial political commissar, Cde Bonwell Masawi who was the second in charge from the commander in Tete Province.
As a comrade who had furthered his education, father together with other comrades did some clerical work and filing of different reports.
The mission was to walk in and out of Tete Province compiling reports given to them by different commanders.
They would compile the reports and give them to the Chief of Defence, Cde Josiah Tongogara.
From 1976 to 1978, father worked with Cde Masawi.
They operated together in many battles in Tete Province and places like Mt Darwin and Mutoko until one sad day in a battle in Mt Darwin in 1978.
Cde Masawi was one of the most influential people leading the armed struggle hence he was targeted by the enemy.
With his photograph in hand, the enemy heard rumours of him operating in a certain village and ambushed the village.
During the battle, Cde Bonwell Masawi was shot dead.
Father and the other comrades failed to take their comrade’s body as the enemy made sure that they could not get close.
The Rhodesians took Cde Masawi’s body and tied it on their helicopter and showcased it to people.
His body was never recovered and it is said that the Rhodies burnt it to ashes in Mutoko.
After that incident, things were no longer the same for father who had got used to walking with Cde Masawi.
He was immediately told by other sectoral commanders that he should go back to the Rear Base to file reports on how the provincial political commissar had died.
After writing several reports of the incident, father stayed in Tete at Batalio Camp.
News about the need of comrades who could write and speak English reached the camp and father knew that he was going to be among them.
He was sent to Beira to board a cargo plane for Romania to Bucharest for courses meant for comrades.
In Bucharest, the military took them to Cincu, a place for training in different courses.
For four months father was trained in Intelligence while others were trained on different courses that include operating heavy and advanced firearms.
They came back to Mozambique at Mavhonde Camp.
At this time, the revolution was showing signs of a complete change.
It was no longer just guerrilla warfare, but the comrades had stepped up their operations and could now match the enemy’s firearms.
Father talked about how they shocked the whites during the famous Mavhonde Battle.
It was the battle that influenced the Lancaster House Agreement.
At Mavhonde, the comrades employed some tactics they had been taught in Romania.
With heavy artillery and advanced skills, the comrades managed to shoot down war planes like never before.
It was a shocker to whites who had underestimated vanamukoma’s skills.
However, vanamukoma were ready to take Zimbabwe and through this determination, the Lancaster House Agreement was reached and culminated to Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980.