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Opinion Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu
ON October 31, exactly 30 days ago today, a large group of prominent Bulawayo residents gathered at the city’s Lady Stanley Cemetery to bury one of Zimbabwe’s unsung heroes, Luke Nene Mhlanga, who had died at Mpilo Central Hospital a few days earlier, on October 27 to be precise. Born in the Nyamandlovu District’s Red Bank area on June 17, 1930, Mhlanga however spent most of his youth days in Bulawayo where he attended school at a time when there was no formal school infrastructure and as a result, various church buildings served as classrooms in the Old Location high density suburb.

Old Location is now popularly called Makokoba. One of Mhlanga’s teachers at that church-based school was a brilliant man, Eddison Malibonwa Hikwa Nleya, who was one of the sons of Chief Hikwa Nleya of Bulilima District.

He was a paternal uncle to the highly celebrated Dr Lawton Hikwa of Nust. The other teacher was Frank Malega Gampu who later became Chief Gampu of the Tsholotsho communal land.

Of the two teachers, Hikwa Nleya and Gampu, the former had strong nationalistic tendencies which greatly influenced Mhlanga’s political views and actions years later.

Mhlanga would recall years later that Gampu was a Nguni aristocrat and had no time or respect for non-aristocratic political leadership.

When the modern phase of the Zimbabwean nationalistic political movement was launched with the merger of the Southern Rhodesia African National Congress (SRANC) and the Salisbury City Youth League on September 12, 1957 Mhlanga joined the rejuvenated organisation known as the African National Congress (ANC) an old name whose roots were in the South African ANC founded on January 12, 1912 in Bloemfontein.

From 1957 up to the attainment of the country’s independence on April 18, 1980, Mhlanga neither wavered nor looked back. He was an ardent upholder of the ANC’s war cry: “Forward Ever! Backward Never!” or as Benjamin Burombo would encouragely shout out as his bicycle glided down Sixth Avenue, across Lobengula Street, past Davies Hall: “Pamberi chete vakomana! Musadzokere kumashure!”

Luke Nene Mhlanga was a part, an active part of that unforgettable historic period. The SRANC did not have a well-structured organisational machinery that today’s political parties have.

But it functioned relatively well to meet the socio-political demands of that time. It was outlawed on February 26, 1959 and was succeeded by the National Democratic Party (NDP) of which Mhlanga was a very active youth wing member.

The wing covered Mzilikazi and Barbourfields suburbs and was called the “Mbiba Youth Wing”.

Its duties included membership recruitment, politicisation of the community and fund raising plus leading in whatever campaigns the party deemed necessary to make the country ungovernable.

It was during the NDP period that the “zhi” campaigns were carried out in the country’s major urban centres.

Mhlanga took part in those campaigns in Bulawayo, particularly in Mzilikazi and Barbourfields. The white minority settler regime banned the NDP and detained some of its leaders and members.

It became clear to the oppressed and exploited black majority that the white regime would repeatedly ban whatever organisation black people would form to free themselves. So it was decided to form what would be the last political party after the NDP.

The organisation should defy the ban by operating underground. The Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu) was formed with that in mind.

Mhlanga was one of those black people some of whom were already aware that nothing short of an armed uprising could liberate the country. Zapu mounted a concerted sabotage and arson campaign throughout the country. Arsonists targeted the country’s commercial farming area, burning a large number of farms, all owned by white settlers of course. In many such arson cases, livestock and large quantities of grain were destroyed.

A particular arson incident that was a major success occurred on the borders of the Mhondoro Communal Lands where a stable with about 20 horses, a pig sty with dozens of swine, and several farm houses were destroyed by fire in 1962.

Mhlanga was one of the Zapu youths who carried out similar operations, many of them in the Red Bank region, the area of his birth. Zapu was banned in September 1962 and its leaders and prominent members were rounded up and detained.

In 1963, the Zapu youth continued its arson and sabotage campaign countrywide but on a more or less reduced scale because of very tight security measures taken and a state of emergency declared by the settler regime. Mhlanga was involved in that campaign. In 1963, he was a part of a group that planned to blow up the Salisbury Main Post Office.

The other members of that group were Dumiso Dabengwa who is currently the Zapu president, the late Akim Matthew Ndlovu who was later appointed the first commander of the Zapu armed wing known at the time as “Special Affairs Department,” and Joshua Ndebele who accidentally was trying to time the bomb to be placed in the post office.

It was at that time that Mhlanga, Dabengwa and Ndlovu (Akim) left Zimbabwe by train for Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) where Mhlanga, John Maluzo Ndlovu, Gorden Butshe, Clark Mpofu, Felix Rice, Lloyd Gundu, Stone Nkomazana, Tshatagwe, Dauramanzi and 14 others went to China to be trained in guerilla warfare.

He returned a highly motivated revolutionary whom we popularly called “Mao” because he was fond of quoting the Chinese revolutionary leader, Mao Tse Tung.

Zapu stationed Mhlanga at Livingstone where he eventually worked with Obert Mpofu, now Zimbabwe Transport Minister.

Mhlanga was in Dumiso Dabengwa’s Military Reconnaissance section, and was one of the officers who identified crossing points along the Zambezi River.

One such point was used by the Zapu/Umkhonto Wesizwe commander Chris Hani, and that one of Zapu was John Dube (actual name Sotsha Ngwenya from Zimnyama area in the Mangwe District.)

As the Zapu armed wing developed more cadres became involved in the administration, and Akim Ndlovu was replaced as commander by Alfred Nikita Mangena (actual name Rodger Mangena). Other cadres were Elliot Masengo (Chirinda), Ambrose Mutinhiri Munyanyi (actual name Tapson Sibanda) from Nguwanyama in the Mangwe District and Lookout Masuku.

These with the exception of Mutinhiri who is still alive, were declared national heroes. Other undoubtedly national heroes who are still alive are Thomas “Menu” Ngwenya, Nkomezi Malihaba Tshivako Nleya, Tshile Nleya (Cde Brigadier Duvhu) Cde Abraham Nkiwane, Cde David Mongwa Moyo (Sharpshot).

Other Senior members of the Zapu military team that worked with Mhlanga are Ambassador Phelekezela Mphoko (nom de guerre Report Ndlovu) Abel Mazinyane, and Colonel Tshinga Dube, Cde Mhlanga could have been given a much better burial had the appropriate government ministry been actually involved that could have been the case if the war veterans’ association had played its role, but it was conspicuous by its ununderstandable absence at the occasion.

It is important for the leadership of that association to keep in close contact with the elderly (especially the pioneer) members of the armed liberation struggle. Mhlanga was one such pioneer. A register of all elderly war veterans should be kept by the association’s social welfare department to enable it to handle all burial of such outstanding patriots as that of Luke Nene Mhlanga,” “uCde Mao or Uyise Kabi”as he was fondly called by those who struggled alongside him.