The Day Salisbury Fuel Tanks Were Set Ablaze! December 11, 1978; By Kenneth Gwena and Joel Masuka, Harare 2023.ISBN: 978-1-7388547-0-p (Paperback)
TELLING a country’s history is not easy business and it is a double whammy when one has to deal with a hitherto victim of colonialism.
In the case of Zimbabwe, many versions of the same historical incidents have emerged, albeit influenced by the type of lens one is putting on. However, it is important to note that most accounts that are told from an Afrocentric perspective have provided better renditions of the events.
The historiography generated from foreign, particularly European sources has often played down the heroism of Africans, especially on key historical developments like the war of liberation that eventually brought about the independence we all revel in today.
The war of liberation itself has several key incidents that proved critical towards forcing the Ian Smith-led Rhodesia Front to the negotiating table.
One of these is none other than the bombing of the Salisbury fuel tanks on December 11, 1978.
In their book – The Day Salisbury Fuel Tanks Were Set Ablaze! December 11, 1978 – Kenneth Gwena and Joel Masuka look at that day and the main actors in the execution of the task at hand, that of striking the fuel tanks in the Harare heavy industrial sites. By 1978, a number of rural areas within Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, had almost been liberated and were no-go areas for the Rhodesia Front forces.
However, there was still need to strike the enemy hard in order to force them to surrender at the most or at least to negotiate with the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (Zanla) and Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra), representing Zanu and Zapu respectively.
The 119-page book chronicles the events right from the planning of the task up to its execution. While the authors state that their efforts in telling the events may not be exhaustive, the mere attempt represents a giant step in extolling the heroics performed by the different members of the team.
It is important to understand the political as well as socio-economic conditions obtaining in Rhodesia then that forced young men and women to sacrifice, joining the war effort in order to do away with white minority rule. “In this book, some of the youngsters who fled the country into Zambia and Mozambique did so because of the Rhodesian politics of oppression. A case in point was the Highfield Massacre, where unarmed black youths were shot dead but the incident did not receive media coverage. ….. As a direct result, Lobo, one of the youngsters, joined the insurgency in Mozambique and returned to Salisbury on a mission to stop the Rhodesian Armed Forces rampage against the black African population.” (p7)
The authors name the actual cadres who took part in the strike, Simpson Mukuru Manjonjori, whose nom de guerre was Cde Member Kuvhiringidza, who was the commander and driver; Poison (Cde Poison Waungana, reconnaissance; William Nhamo Mukumbudzi (Cde Nhamo), security; Allen Masunda (Cde States America Mudzvanyiriri, Logistics M90 Loader, Medic; Wonder (Cde Bombs Damage Mbumba), Reconnaissance; David Mushangwe (Cde Lobo), Medic; Brian (Cde Brian Tichatonga), Weapons and Dominic Kapfunde (Cde Norest Muhondo), M90 RPG.
“Member had rehearsed everything up to the critical moment where Norest would take the shot. The time he had spent on the front had taught him many lessons, more than any human could have. He knew the dangers of the mission. He knew what could go terribly wrong. He knew what the weapons in his rehearsal were capable of. He had seen a lot in his short life as a trained combatant … Member glanced at his comrades before ordering the young man to fire.” (pp80-81)
The authors’ description of the actual strikes on the fuel tanks is captivating and the reader can actually get the graphics from in between the lines. Their escape after the mission is just about the script for any thriller.
Some of the executors of the strike are still alive. “Unfortunately, Poison Waungana and Mbumba Wonder died soon after independence. Norman was shot in both legs and severely tortured, but survived and died a few years ago. The writer was fortunate to meet and interview Norman’s mother, Mbuya Hwiza.
The writer also met Norman’s daughter. States traveled to Salisbury with the late former Vice President Simon Muzenda and eventually became an intelligence officer. Norest remained on the front and was captured. He was severely tortured and eventually murdered in Domboshava along with Sekuru Zimbiru by the Rhodesian Forces. Nhamo recently joined the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, while Member Kuvhiringidza and Lobo worked in different settings until they retired. The Salisbury tanks attack destroyed 28 of about 32 tanks.” (p114)
At its core, this book is a gripping exploration of the relentless conflict between the Rhodesian Security Forces and the liberation movements, Zanla and Zipra.
While the Geneva talks remained mired in political deadlock, the Rhodesian government unleashed its Hot Pursuit Strategy, relentlessly pursuing freedom fighters and launching daring cross-border raids into Mozambique and Zambia. In response, Zanla, determined to weaken the Rhodesian war machine, executed a bold and audacious plan: the bombing of the nation’s largest fuel reservoir.
This is the book for the type of reader who would want to get a glimpse of the war. Their footprint at the fuel tanks could not be missed with its heavy impact on the Rhodesian capacity to resist guerrilla penetration. It was now fairly obvious that the liberation fighters could now engage in conventional war with the Rhodesia Front as they had managed to strike the fuel tanks at its doorstep.
The book will be officially launched in Zimbabwe at a date to be advised but meanwhile, readers, including students keen to understand the complexities that changed the face of the struggle for liberation.
“The day Salisbury Fuel Tanks Were Set Ablaze! 11 December 1978″
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