By Saul Gwakuba-Ndlovu
IT must be noted that on his return home, Cde Jason Moyo reported about his Ghana mission to the NDP national executive.
Cde Mark Nziramasanga who was, incidentally, also a national executive member, had come back home before Cde J.Z. Moyo and was unaware of Moyo’s trip to Cde Robert Mugabe, or of Cde Mugabe’s presence in Ghana.
Both Cdes Nziramasanga and Mugabe were originally from Zvimba and knew each other very much; so was Cde Willie Dzawanda Musarurwa, a school teacher who showed a great deal of interest in the country’s African nationalist political development.
Cde Joshua Nkomo was very excited about JZ’s report and wanted to know why and when Cde Mugabe had gone to the Gold Coast (Ghana), a country in a remote corner of West Africa.
He was reported to have remarked: “JZ, uthi ngubani lo umuntu wakho? Awusoze usilethele izimu nje phakathi kwethu?
(JZ, who is this individual of yours? Are you not going to bring a cannibal among us?)”
It was then that it emerged that Cde Mugabe was known by many, not just several, NDP national executive officials who assured Cde Nkomo of the man’s integrity, of his renowned scholarly background and that, in fact, he was a very close blood relative of Cde Nkomo’s vice-president, Cde James Robert Dambaza Chikerema, at that time languishing in detention at Mapfungabusi, in the Gokwe region.
Without wasting time, Cde Nkomo wrote a letter to President Kwame Nkrumah requesting for Cde Mugabe’s release from the Ghanaian civil service.
Cde Musarurwa was sent post haste with that letter.
President Nkrumah obliged immediately and no sooner had Cde Musarurwa returned home than Cde Mugabe was in Salisbury to the delight of Cde Joshua Nkomo in particular and most NDP national executive members in general.
Cde Mugabe looked young and physically fit.
He was admirably articulate, unostentatiously self-confident, had a complete command of the English language and sounded well informed about national, regional and world affairs.
Some had been critical of him on the basis of their time together at Kutama when, on one occasion, they were given 10 lashes each on their buttocks by the school authorities after he had reported them for stealing some oranges from the college orchard.
Cde Mugabe’s first practical contact with Southern Rhodesian African nationalist politics could have been a massive bloody tragedy but for Cde George Silundika’s timely intervention.
An NDP national executive decision had been taken for the party to organise a massive march from Harari (Harare) Township to Government House, now State House, to demand the unconditional release from detention or restriction of Cdes Chikerema, Nyandoro, Paul Mushonga, Henry Hamadziripi, Maurice Nyagumbo, Daniel Madzimbamuto and several others held by the Sir Edgar Whitehead regime since the banning of the SRANC on February 26 1959.
A large number of people gathered at what we now call Mbare Musika.
They then moved towards the city as they sang and chanted slogans: “Nyika ndeyedu!, ilizwe ngelethu!
Pamberi nokurwira rusunungo!
Phambili ngokulwela inkululeko!
Pasi nevatengesi!
Phansi labathengisi!
Forward Ever! Backward Never!”
At the Methodist Church in the Old Bricks area where the Rev. Kachidza was probably having a 10am cup of tea, the solid crowd was confronted by a fiercely armed British South African Police (BSAP) contingent; in full riot kit, armoured and armed motor vehicles, each with a menacing pack of clearly well trained Alsatian dogs.
The BSAP force was under the command of a deputy commissioner, a whiteman, of course, as there were no black BSAP personnel with such a rank.
Senior NDP leaders present and in the lead were Cdes Nziramasanga, Silundika, Enos Nkala, Mugabe, William Mukarati, Peter Mutandwa and a quite large number of junior leaders, many acting as security personnel.
The African press was well represented and William ‘Bill’ Saidi having been given the full coverage responsibility of the occasion, with the author of this article looking for ‘stories within the main story’.
“Enos Nkala, come to the command vehicle Number 15!” boomed an authoritative voice of the BSAP commander.
Cde Nkala was a senior NDP official.
He proceeded to the command vehicle and the voice went on: “Tell these people to disperse within 15 minutes.”
That order was repeated twice.
Cde Nkala was given the microphone, and apparently taken by surprise he spoke into the microphone, his hand holding the microphone shaking: “Keep ‘callam’ my people, keep ‘callam’! I say keep ‘callam’ my people, keep ‘callam’!”
He obviously wanted to say, ‘keep calm’, but did not know how to pronounce the word ‘calm’.
The BSAP took the microphone away from Cde Nkala and called Cde Silundika to the command vehicle. He repeated the order and gave him the microphone.
Whether or not Cde Silundika had consulted any of his colleagues, the author cannot remember, however, he told the huge crowd: “Countrymen, we have made our point; the message has been sent and, I believe, received.
“Let’s now go to Gwanzura Stadium for more information from your leadership.”
The crowd turned back and made its way to Gwanzura, most people walking all the way, quite a distance.
It was at Gwanzura Stadium that Cde Mugabe was introduced publicly to Zimbabwe by Cde Nziramasanga: “Vana vevhu, nhasi izuva guru kwatiri tese munyika medu.
Kazhinji munombonzwa varungu vechiti hatingagone kuzvikutonga nekuti hatina kudzidza.
Nhasi tajoyiniwa nemwana wedu unozwarwa kwaZvimba. UnamaUniversity degree maviri!
Simukai mumugamuchire mutungamiri wenyu watijoyina nhasi achibva kuGhana kwaanga achidzidzisa!
Unonzi Robert Mugabe.”
The whole arena shook and the body language of the BSAP official and constables showed despair as if to say: “These blacks will soon take over their country!
“How can they fail if they are led by university graduates, some of whom have two degrees?”
Cde Mugabe then made a response speech in which he said the country would need commitment and sacrifice from everyone, and that no one but the people themselves would liberate their country.
The Cyril Jennings Halls elections that made Cde Mugabe the NDP information and publicity secretary occurred later.
After that, Cdes Nkomo and Mugabe became very close to each other; Cde Mugabe acting as a matter of practical fact Cde Nkomo’s personal secretary, right-hand man virtually.
Cde Nkomo took Cde Mugabe with him to regional conferences, such as those of the pan-African Movement for East, Southern and Central Africa (PAFMESCA) whose secretary-general was Kenneth Kaunda. PAFMESCA was dissolved in 1963. He went with him to Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organisation meetings, most of which were held in Cairo, Egypt, where the AAPSO headquarters were.
In addition to that functional closeness between the two men, Cde Nkomo would always appoint Cdes Mugabe and JZ to his party’s military sub–committees right from the NDP to the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) periods; the two being responsible for directing and supervising the sabotage programme of the liberation struggle.
During the NDP era, a mass riot campaign was launched along the line of rail from Bulawayo up to Mutare.
Codenamed ‘Zhii’, the campaign targeted mainly municipal property, some of which rioters destroyed by fire.
The NDP was banned immediately after that ‘Zhii’ campaign.
Saul Gwakuba-Ndlovu is a retired, Bulawayo-based journalist. He can be contacted on cell 0734 328 136 or through email: sgwakuba@gmail.com