Mampara
By Toc Walsh
Published by 30 degrees South Publishers (2014)

MAMPARA, the book under review this week, depicts the murderous nature of Rhodesians.
It is a narrative of a bitter Rhodesian who still cannot believe that Rhodesia is indeed gone, decimated and never to rise again.
During the liberation struggle, the Rhodesians committed atrocities that saw them killing thousands of unarmed innocent women and children.
Mass graves at Chibondo and other areas including Chimoio, Nyadzonia and Tembwe in Mozambique have revealed this wanton killing.
Written by Toc Walsh, the book is a sharp reminder of the brutality of the whiteman in Rhodesia.
In his gloating, the author does a good job in showing that independence for Africans did not come on a silver platter.
The author does not mince his words and is not remorseful.
His is a narrative that highlights how Rhodies enjoyed killing guerillas whom they referred to as ‘terrorists’.
Mampara is a narrative of Walsh‘s experiences in the 138 Depot Rhodesia Regiment.
The writer clearly spells out Rhodesian desperate acts to cling to a country that did not belong to them.
In their bid to keep on exploiting the country while indigenes suffered, there were no stops or morals.
The Rhodesians celebrated killing Africans.
The Rhodies were no different from their pioneer fathers who did not regard blacks as people and treated them as vermin.
“I felt exhilarated for I was sure that my first round had found its mark and the man now lay bleeding to death,” writes Walsh.
Walsh unapologetically reveals his zeal to join the regiment to avenge his uncle’s death which was caused by ‘terrorists’ (freedom fighters).
He conveniently forgets that his ancestors had perpetrated genocides when they took over the country from its rightful owners.
Ours was a fight against an unjust system that had killed and continued to kill blacks.
He viewed the death of his uncle who was part of people that stripped Africans not only of their land and resources, but also dignity as needless.
“Through bitter tears I childishly vowed to avenge his needless death,” says Walsh.
The blacks were not just fighting to avenge the deaths of their forefathers, but for their land, heritage and freedom.
The so-called ‘terrorists’ had a valid cause for fighting.
The writer’s confession of fighting to avenge his uncle’s death shows why Rhodies would never eventually win the war.
Their motive and drive was shallow compared to what drove Africans to fight.
While Walsh’s narrative chronicles ‘successes’ in killing the ‘terrorists’, he never dwells on issues or grievances that resulted in the Second Chimurenga.
While to Walsh, a black fighter is a ‘communist terrorist’, ‘insurgent’ ‘dissident’, ‘gandanda ’and ‘gook’ to the black majority he was a brave man, resilient and dedicated fighter for freedom.
Rhodesians forgot that no amount of labelling would change the desires and motive of Africans.
What Walsh narrates as ‘successes’, he does not realise what led to their eventual downfall.
Every drop of blood spilt during the liberation war watered the revolution.
The irony is that while Walsh calls the freedom fighters ‘terrorists’, Rhodesia was a rogue nation that was not recognised as a state between 1965 to 1979 after its Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI).
He indicts himself when he acknowledges to killing an innocent villager.
There were many such killings during the war.
“We had shot what we referred to as a village idiot,” says Walsh.
“There seemed to be at least one of these in every village, many of whom had been shot while breaking curfew.”
The West which presents itself as champions of human rights has remained mum when it comes to atrocities perpetrated by Rhodesians.
These atrocities are well documented.
In fact, the perpetrators gloat about them.
And Mampara is another book that serves to show how Rhodesians treated Africans and never regarded them as human.
“The black people’s eyes widened in amazement,” writes Walsh.
“Fear took hold and they ran as though there were wild animals at their heels.
“And there were!”
No doubt, Mampara is one narrative that shows why Africans were so determined to fight to the last man or woman until independence was achieved.
The racism and brutality perpetrated against black people by Rhodesians knew no bounds and black people just had to fight for their liberty.