Thursday, June 26, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Ex-Zipra combatants angered by army magazine
Bulawayo News 24 reports
Related Stories
EX-ZIPRA combatants have been angered by a claim in the Zimbabwe National Army magazine’s first edition of 2014 that the then Salisbury fuel tanks were blown up by Zanla forces in December 1978.
Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith described the blaze at the fuel tanks as a great disaster and "one of our biggest setbacks since the war started".
The fire raged out of control and was only contained when a Johannesburg City Fire Department fire engine was flown in to help spray protein foam imported from South Africa.
An article authored by Colonel Charles Matema titled: The Demise of the Rhodesian Economy on Page 37 of the magazine carried a picture captioned: 15-16 burning petrol storage tanks in Salisbury’s industrial area after a Zanla attack in December 1978 . . .
However, the claim angered ex-Zipra cadrés who told Southern Eye that it was false and misleading because that attack was not carried out by Zanla forces. Former Zipra combatant Zephaniah Nkomo attacked the article as misleading saying it was part of a deliberate ploy by Zanu PF to systematically erase the critical role Zapu and its military wing played in the liberation of Zimbabwe.
Nkomo said it was Zipra forces that attacked the tanks with Russia-made weapons and not Zanla as the article claims.
Nkomo said Zanla did not have sophisticated weapons and neither did it have urban units and was assisted logistically by Zipra through an arrangement with the then Organisation of African Union (OAU).
"The article is meant to misinform the youths of today and totally erase the pivotal role Zipra played in the liberation of this country," he said.
"The weapons that were used came from Russia and the Russians can confirm that. It was Zipra which had contact with the Russians and not Zanla.
"We as Zipra, are the ones who blew up the fuel storage tanks and Highfield residents who were old enough then can testify to that. In the attack, we lost one of our colleagues who was caught and necklaced to death with burning tyres by the Rhodesians. Zanla did not have sophisticated weapons as such weapons were not available in China at that time. Zanla used to get logistical support from us through the Patriotic Front, an arrangement that was made with OAU," Nkomo added.
Retired Brigadier Abel Mazinyani said it is wrong to try and change history since those who executed the attacks are still alive.
Mazinyani said two of the ex-Zipra cadrés who executed the operation are still alive. One lives in Centenary and the other in Kadoma. He said the third one was in South Africa. Mazinyani said although Zanla had its notable victories, the fuel tanks were destroyed by Zipra and no amount of misleading information would change that.
Retired Colonel Marshal Mpofu said it was wrong for Zimbabwean to be told lies all the time about the history of the liberation struggle.
"Zanla did not have an urban unit and only special weaponry could have been used to destroy those tanks. Only Zipra had them," he said.
Another retired Colonel, Buster Magwizi, said it was sad for people to continue being given false information about the history of the armed struggle. He said this was tantamount to giving people a distorted heritage.
Magwizi said people should research before writing what they would have heard, adding that ex-Zanla members were in the habit of claiming victories they knew nothing about.
"People can get the true information in The Herald publication of December 2 1978," he said. "After all Zanla and its Zanu won on the table not on the ground."
Another ex-Zipra combatant said the day the tanks were blown up, Zapu leader Joshua Nkomo was supposed to return from London to Lusaka, Zambia. He said the Rhodesians had planned to hijack the plane and capture Nkomo, but an informant had tipped off the late veteran nationalist who got off the plane before take-off.
He said when the plane was in Nairobi, Kenya, it was announced that it was foggy in Lusaka and the plane would not be able to land and it was diverted to Malawi where it landed. He said as soon as the plane landed, the Rhodesians stormed it hoping to capture Nkomo, but in vain.
Zapu leader and former Zipra intelligence supremo Dumiso Dabengwa said Zanla made many false claims about victories in battles they knew nothing about for purposes of publicity. Dabengwa said it was part of Zanla’s tactics to claim victories in battles they did not fight
- See more at: http://bulawayo24.com/index-id-News-sc-National-byo-49392.html#sthash.0NHDQYHQ.dpuf
Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith described the blaze at the fuel tanks as a great disaster and "one of our biggest setbacks since the war started".
The fire raged out of control and was only contained when a Johannesburg City Fire Department fire engine was flown in to help spray protein foam imported from South Africa.
An article authored by Colonel Charles Matema titled: The Demise of the Rhodesian Economy on Page 37 of the magazine carried a picture captioned: 15-16 burning petrol storage tanks in Salisbury’s industrial area after a Zanla attack in December 1978 . . .
However, the claim angered ex-Zipra cadrés who told Southern Eye that it was false and misleading because that attack was not carried out by Zanla forces. Former Zipra combatant Zephaniah Nkomo attacked the article as misleading saying it was part of a deliberate ploy by Zanu PF to systematically erase the critical role Zapu and its military wing played in the liberation of Zimbabwe.
Nkomo said it was Zipra forces that attacked the tanks with Russia-made weapons and not Zanla as the article claims.
Nkomo said Zanla did not have sophisticated weapons and neither did it have urban units and was assisted logistically by Zipra through an arrangement with the then Organisation of African Union (OAU).
"The article is meant to misinform the youths of today and totally erase the pivotal role Zipra played in the liberation of this country," he said.
"The weapons that were used came from Russia and the Russians can confirm that. It was Zipra which had contact with the Russians and not Zanla.
"We as Zipra, are the ones who blew up the fuel storage tanks and Highfield residents who were old enough then can testify to that. In the attack, we lost one of our colleagues who was caught and necklaced to death with burning tyres by the Rhodesians. Zanla did not have sophisticated weapons as such weapons were not available in China at that time. Zanla used to get logistical support from us through the Patriotic Front, an arrangement that was made with OAU," Nkomo added.
Retired Brigadier Abel Mazinyani said it is wrong to try and change history since those who executed the attacks are still alive.
Mazinyani said two of the ex-Zipra cadrés who executed the operation are still alive. One lives in Centenary and the other in Kadoma. He said the third one was in South Africa. Mazinyani said although Zanla had its notable victories, the fuel tanks were destroyed by Zipra and no amount of misleading information would change that.
Retired Colonel Marshal Mpofu said it was wrong for Zimbabwean to be told lies all the time about the history of the liberation struggle.
"Zanla did not have an urban unit and only special weaponry could have been used to destroy those tanks. Only Zipra had them," he said.
Another retired Colonel, Buster Magwizi, said it was sad for people to continue being given false information about the history of the armed struggle. He said this was tantamount to giving people a distorted heritage.
Magwizi said people should research before writing what they would have heard, adding that ex-Zanla members were in the habit of claiming victories they knew nothing about.
"People can get the true information in The Herald publication of December 2 1978," he said. "After all Zanla and its Zanu won on the table not on the ground."
Another ex-Zipra combatant said the day the tanks were blown up, Zapu leader Joshua Nkomo was supposed to return from London to Lusaka, Zambia. He said the Rhodesians had planned to hijack the plane and capture Nkomo, but an informant had tipped off the late veteran nationalist who got off the plane before take-off.
He said when the plane was in Nairobi, Kenya, it was announced that it was foggy in Lusaka and the plane would not be able to land and it was diverted to Malawi where it landed. He said as soon as the plane landed, the Rhodesians stormed it hoping to capture Nkomo, but in vain.
Zapu leader and former Zipra intelligence supremo Dumiso Dabengwa said Zanla made many false claims about victories in battles they knew nothing about for purposes of publicity. Dabengwa said it was part of Zanla’s tactics to claim victories in battles they did not fight
Thursday, June 19, 2014
A collective approach can reduce the amount of road carnage in Zimbabwe?
There is no doubt road accidents are now the leading cause of death in Zimbabwe today. Just last week on my visit short there, I attended a public prayer meeting outside Bulawayo City hall. This meeting was a deliberate effort by certain Christian denominations to pray God to have mercy for daily travelers around the country. By the way it was also worth noting that most Zimbabweans now looking for divine solutions to every problem. Throughout my travels locally, I used public transport such as Kombis and buses. Almost ninety percent of them begin their journeys by praying and asking God for guidance and safe travel. This is how bad the situation have become, nothing wrong to prayer. It just didn't use to be the case not too many years ago. Whichever way you look at it, its quite clear that road traffic accidents are on the increase. Not a week passes without a major catastrophic road accident on the major road net work country wide. From Matabeleland to Mashonaland or even Manicaland , Midlands all the way to Masvingo.
One would would ask the question: What can Zimbabweans do to prevent the monster called road accidents? If there anything that we as the members of the public can do other that just pray? Beside we are not just members of the public but also commuters and passengers in this system. I must also say that there are a lot of measures that the govt can do thorough the Ministry of Transport and public safety department. Some good and well intended measures have been tried but have been frustrated by both corruption and nepotism in the high places. Not to mention that most roads are outdated and traffic has increased over years. All these and other factors come into play. Did I mention over speeding? This is probably one of the major causes of roads accidents. We have transport operators racing in the speed of light to get to their destinations in record time to double or triple their revenue collections.
I am convinced that the time has come for the nation to sit down and talk about this problem once and for all, otherwise we will see more of the same if not worse. I am of the opinion that we as passengers have a duty to play in mapping our own safety. It saddens me that so many times we have this idea that the government will solve every problem . I really wish they would, however evidence on the ground show that we are on our own. We must start by raising awareness within and among ourselves in every and medium we possible can get our hands on. Mostly effectively the word of mouth. No cause is more effective until it is personal. As long as this is a cause somewhere out there, it will never be effective neither will it take off the ground. I will not tell you how many times I had to kindly tell Kombi and bus drivers to slow after they were literally flying on the country roads. With live stocks going around loose, one would think people would be do well to be extra careful driving around. Prayer alone will not help us if we do not make a deliberate effort to create and maintain a safe environment on the ground.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Please do something Mzansi ( South Africa)
I happened to be listening to Julius Malema's response to South African President Zuma's State of the Nation speech this morning. One thing that he mentioned among other things was that the former built World Cup stadium in 2010 but fails to built public restrooms. It is interesting to me to note that while I was in SA on my way to Zim, I was struck by the fact that while I was in Oliver Tambo international airport there were over hundreds if not thousands of clean restrooms with at least two smiling attendants. However not so a much rich traveler, I had to go through Park Station in central JHB. Park station provides transportation to thousands of local and regional customers through buses services.Some go as far as Malawi, Zambia, etc. I should have mentioned that going thru Park station did cut the expenses of my journey by half. I could have paid double the fair to reach Byo or Vic Falls by air which might gave meant that the whole trip was out of reach for me. Up until then the whole trip was platinum, but lo and behold if you want to see that you are in Africa and that we Africans treat each other badly go by bus to Beit bridge border. Lapho ya! I am as African as they come but I am seeing this from my America airline and Lufthansa airline, not to mention the Star member alliance of South Africa airline. To cut the long story short there is one toilet sit in Park station for all those thousands of poor African travelers. I am pretty sure just by travelling there we are creating jobs and boosting the economy of South Africa in our small ways with our Shangane bags and empty plastic containers but one deplorable toilet sit that is barely attended to? I will not go into South African politics neither do I endorse Julius Malema but something needs to be to. I will send part of this message to South Africa airline, Grey hound and other travel representatives. In short I experienced two sides of South Africa in one travel.Mzansi we deserve better
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)