RHODESIAN BOMBING IN MKUSHI – 1978
The year 1978 is the worst year in the history of Zambia the execution of people on its soil. It can only be compared to the 1963 killing of Lumpa sect members by the Northern Rhodesia force in which about 1,500 members of the sect who were slaughtered.
In the 1978 massacre, the victims were not Zambia, but Zimbabwean freedom fighters who had sought refuge in Zambia. The exact number of victims is not known but should be over 1,500.
The Zimbabwean freedom fighters lived in camps which were a target of spying by the agents of the Rhodesian government. The two main targets that were bombed are suffered heavy human loss was the Mkushi Camp (for girls) in Mkushi and the Freedom camp in the Chikumbi area of Lusaka.
MKUSHI CAMP MASSACRE AND THE HEROINE JANE NDLOVU
THE bombardment of Mkushi Camp in Zambia by the Rhodesian army in 1978 put Zipra female combatants, stationed at the camp, in the line of heavy fire by the blood thirsty Ian Smith regime unrestricted by the gender of the enemy.
The attacks were a retaliation after Zipra forces downed an Air Rhodesia Viscount plane as it left Kariba for Salisbury in February 1978 in which 102 passengers mainly white civilian Rhodesians died. It was the last straw Ian Smith could take.
Cde Panny Irene Khuphe whose pseudonym was Rita Mnkandla at Mkushi Camp on the fateful night recalls the chilling tale of the bombings.
She said she and a few others were saved by one of the female commanders Ratidzo Ndlovu aka Jane Ndlovu who shouted that she had been captured by the Rhodesian forces. She was captured after the Rhodesian forces arrived at the camp and called her name. She replied in the affirmative and was captured immediately she showed. Jane Ndlovu was a well trained fighter and was always on the radar of the Rhodesian forces. When she was caught she showed her patriotism, courage and selflessness when she shouted to her colleagues that they should not respond when they heard the sound of a whistle. She kept shouting without fear alerting her colleagues. In the end they told her to blow the whistle, she refused and they killed her instantly. One of the raiders then blew the whistle, unfortunately only a few seemed to have taken heed of Jane’s warning. It was the beginning of the massacre. Maybe they did not hear her shout: “those who can hear me, those who are close, do not come out I have been captured. Don’t respond to the sound of the whistle, if you hear someone blow it, don’t come out,” Ndlovu shouted in defiance to the white soldiers who wanted her to blow the whistle, a signal used to call combatants for a parade.
For her defiance Ndlovu whom colleagues called a “man” or “magogo” saved some female combatants but paid the ultimate price for her heroism as she was executed by the Rhodesian forces. the execution of the girls started and mayhem was everywhere as machine gunfire rained on the helpless. When ammunition was low, they resorted in using bayonets. In the end around 900 close to 1,000 girls lay dead and the Rhodesians stayed for another five days monitoring the situation. This was a matter between the Rhodesians and the Zimbabwean freedom fighters so the Zambian army did not take part and was warned severely that any involvement by Zambia was going to lead to a full scale war.
It was believed that the camp was being monitored and signs started started showing in 1977 when female combatants stumbled on a box of cigarettes in the nearby bush indicating that the enemy was in the area.
A witness said on the day the Rhodesian war planes attacked the camp, a few helicopters had initially passed as they were learning about the commissariat under trees.
She said in 1978, they had finished most components of the training when the bombings started.
“They came from Wekasi where there were old people before they came to us. We were underground, at the time we were learning communication, to be a pronto, toys, karate, and switchboard operation,. said Cde Khuphe.
“We were bombed with stunning ferocity. Jane had been captured. She was the first to call for a parade but shouted that ‘you who can hear me, don’t come out, I have been captured by the whites.”‘
It is said that the whites killed Jane as she refused to blow the whistle to call the parade.
The Rhodesian forces then took the whistle and blew it.
Cde Khuphe said the Rhodesian soldiers mercilessly butchered the combatants who responded to the whistle as they had already surrounded the camp.
Jane had left Rhodesia in 1974 with five girls, crossing to Botswana before they were taken to Zambia.
“Upon arrival in Zambia, they were taken to Mboroma. Unfortunately, at the time they got there, a conflict erupted. There were many groups in Mboroma including ANC, Zanla. Zipra and the Zambians.
Jane opted to remain with Zipra because she was coming from a house where her mother was a strong Zapu supporter in the Midlands.
As the only female, Jane found a place to live in Zambia until 1975 when Cde Nuku’s group arrived.
“By February 1976, we were sent to Mwembeshi. We trained there but before we could finish, efforts were made again to integrate the children of Zimbabwe to come together and form Zimbabwe People’s Army (Zipa). We stopped training in Zambia and were sent to Tanzania and put in a camp in Mgagao.
“It was discovered that Zipras were the only ones that had brought women. Zanla had not brought women. Some people from Zanla who were with her in Mboroma spotted Jane and it was decided that she won’t be safe. She was removed and taken to Dar-e-Salaam,” said Cde Nuku.
Cde Nuku said Jane was a strong and committed woman
“I was younger than her, around 16 and she was older, I think around 25. We were of small body build and would outrun her but even in exercises, she would never give up,” said Cde Nuku.
“She believed in achieving her goals. After six months of training, I was brought to Zambia and taken to Mwembeshi where we found more girls, about 53. We were sent to train those girls and left them (Jane and others) behind.
Cde Torino Phiri, a fellow commander who trained with Jane and Cde Nuku, said the whites were fully aware of Janes’ training and capabilities so they marked her for execution.
“We were trained Commandos who should fight even without weapons. They knew from their inlet that she was dangerous as she was highly trained and targeted her,” she said.
to Victory Camp but we ran away until the commanders gave up and let us train with seniors,” said Dube.
It can be asserted that the high human loss in Mkushi was also partly in poor planning by the commanders in front. For example even after noticing they were being spied upon nothing was done to relocate the girls from place as a way of confusing the enemy. The other was that the makeshift dwellings were the girls lived were so close to each other meaning instant disaster in an attack event.
The girls are buried in 15 mass graves. Unanswered questions remain. For example, the Mkushi attack was after the Freedom camp attack in Lusaka. After finishing their business of massacre at Freedom camp which took more than an hour the Rhodesian forces travelled to Mkushi to continue their killing spree. Why was Mkushi camp not alerted? It was obvious that it would be a target. Where the Zambian government so scared that they couldn’t even pass an alert just to avoid being involved in war.
Reference:
Sunday Mail Zimbabwe
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IN THE PICTURE
The remains of about 1,000 girls executed by Rhodesian forces in Mkushi, Zambia in October 1978 being buried in one of the 15 mass graves.
SOURCE: Zambian History in Pictures