ABEL MUZOREWA’S SECURITY FORCE AUXILIARIES (SFA s) DURING AND AFTER THE WAR OF LIBERATION IN HURUNGWE DISTRICT, ZIMBABWE Being a thesis submitted to the Department of History, Midlands State University, Gweru, Zimbabwe in fulfil ment of the requirements of a Doctor of Philosophy By CHAKAWA JOSHUA Registration Number: R0644595 Supervisors: Professors N M. Bhebe and S J Ndlovu -Gatsheni November 2015 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to my academic supervisors namely; Professors N M Bhebe and S J Ndlovu- Gatsheni. You greatly assisted me with the relevant expertise, patience and advice to make this thesis a reality. Many thanks also go to members of the History Department at Midlands State University, especially Dr G Mazarire, Dr T Mashingaidze, Mr G Tarugarira, Mrs D Goredema, Mr Chisi and Dr V Z Nyawo-Shava. I should also acknowledge Dr T Javangwe and Mr I Choto for editing and proof-reading this thesis. Mr Muchefa at the National Archives of Zimbabwe did a splendid job in helping me to locate correct files for the thesis. My study at MSU was made possible by the generous financial assistance which I got from the institution. Many thanks go to the Vice Chancellor himself who initiated that whole process and Professor D Z Moyo who implemented it. I was also supported by many friends and relatives. Lastly, I wish to give my sincere acknowledgements to all those who took their time to be interviewed. ii DEDICATION To my teacher and mentor Never Kapungu and the late Michael Chakawa for encouraging me to specialize in History. iii Abstract The Security Force Auxiliaries (SFAs) who actively fought for Bishop Abel Muzorewa in Zimbabwe’s war of liberation and their experiences remain a grey area in Zimbabwean historical studies. Their voices in the history of the armed struggle are conspicuously absent. Where they appear, they are simply castigated as those of sellouts, imperialist stooges, and traitors who are better ignored. Rhodesian writings which largely celebrate counter-insurgency also ignore the role of the Security Force Auxiliaries. What exist are ‘namings’ and ‘otherings’ such as ‘dzakutsaku’, ‘huruyadzo’ and ‘Pfumo Revanhu’ that are dependent on the enunciator’s ideological position. This thesis therefore fills an important gap in Zimbabwean political history through a focus on a neglected historical subject—that of SFAs in particular, and the manufacturing of political identities in general. At the centre of this thesis are such pertinent questions such as whom these SFAs were, why and how they were created and the role they played in the war. A case study of Hurungwe district is used because it was one of those complex theatres of war in which ZIPRA, ZANLA, Selous Scouts, Security Force Auxiliaries and regular Rhodesian colonial forces operated and competed for the ‘hearts and minds’ of the people. What is emerging from this thesis is that SFAs were generally recruited by force from mujibhas, hastily trained and often deployed to their areas of origin to fight against guerrillas while at the same time bringing back and defending colonial civil administration that was targeted by guerrillas for sabotage. One of the findings of this thesis, that will certainly disturb those who have accepted the idea of a popular anti-colonial liberation war, is the positive perception of auxiliaries as a force that indeed protected the people. This explains why, in part, there was no widespread violence against them in Hurungwe after 1980 and why at the end of the war SFAs were fully integrated into their families. This finding, however, does not discount the political challenges met by SFAs as their wartime role and identities continued to haunt them in post-war Zimbabwe. Thus, the thesis ends with an analysis of the postindependence national reconciliation and military integration which largely ignored SFAs. The exclusion of SFAs is part and parcel of the construction of political identities into insiders and outsiders as well as patriots and sellouts. Through this research, the SFAs’ version of Zimbabwe’s bush war is unveiled in order to fill an academic lacuna on blacks who fought against ZAPU and ZANU during the liberation war. The thesis deconstructs the role of such people as sellouts who were determined to block Zimbabwe’s independence. This is a historical study that draws its data from oral interviews with former SFAs and wartime civilians, archival as well as published and unpublished sources. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ii Dedication iii Abstract iv Table of Contents v Photographs ix List of Maps and Tables x List of Acronyms xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Introduction 1 Aims and Objectives 3 Statement of the Problem 4 Justification of the Study 7 Literature Review 10 a) Counter-insurgency in the History of Southern Africa 11 b) Perspectives of Rhodesians on the war of liberation and Auxiliaries 15 c) Autobiographical and Academic Views on Zimbabwe’s war of liberation and auxiliaries 20 Theoretical Framework 29 Methodology and Data Collection Methods 39 Scope and Limitations 42 Ethical Considerations 42 Chapter Breakdown 43 CHAPTER 2: HURUNGWE DISTRICT AND ITS PEOPLE Introduction 45 Creation of the Reserve 49 The Environment 59 Grievances against the Colonial Government 62 Conclusion 64 CHAPTER 3 THE QUESTION OF AUXILIARIES AND TRAITORS IN THE LIBERATION OF ZIMBABWE Introduction 66 Genesis and development, 1960-63 67 Changing Identities in the Wake of ZAPU split 75 Early Atempts by Muzorewa to create/control an army 88 Persistence of the Sellout Identity 98 Conclusion 101 v CHAPTER 4: GENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUXILIARY FORCES Introduction 103 State of the War to 1978 103 Rhodesian Security Considerations 107 Reasons for the Creation of SFAs 111 The Mechanics of Creating SFAs 127 Militarization of the Ministry of Internal Affairs 131 Conclusion 133 CHAPTER 5 : RECRUITMENT, TRAINING AND DEPLOYMENT OF SECURITY FORCE AUXILIARIES IN ZIMBABWE’S WAR OF LIBERATION Introduction 135 The Coming of auxiliaries into Hurungwe 137 Recruitment 139 Propaganda Campaigns 150 Volunteering 153 On the Quality of training 155 Ideology 158 Training Camps 159 Deployment 160 Conclusion 162 CHAPTER 6: BATTLING FOR HEARTS AND MINDS: SFAS' WARTIME COMMUNITY RELATIONS Introduction 163 SFAs and the Violent War 165 The role of SFAs as remembered in Hurungwe 174 Re-opening Schols, Clinics and Transport Networks 175 Rescue Missions 177 Guns, Girls and rescue missionsin Hurungwe 183 SFAs and the Spiritual World in Hurungwe 189 Political Engineering and the War in Hurungwe 193 SFAs as a Protection Force 194 Taming ZIPRA, Destroying their Bases and Protecting People in Keeps 196 Memories of Military Engagements 201 Conclusion 205 CHAPTER 7: COMMUNITY-BASED RECONCILIATION, INTEGRATION AND THE SEARCH FOR HEALING IN INDEPENDENT ZIMBABWE: TRAGEDIES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR FORMER AUXILIARIES Introduction 206 vi Reconciliation: A critical Review 210 Regional Dimensions to Reconciliation at the end of Conflicts in Southern Africa 213 Survival Strategies and Floor Crossing in the context of Reconciliation Policy 217 Reconciling with the Spiritual World: Integrating Returning SFAs into their Families and the Community 223 Political Identities and the Experiences of SFAs 235 Conclusion 238 CHAPTER 8 Postscript/Conclusion 241 Bibiliography 247 vii Photographs Amnesty Flyer to ZIPRA guerillas 117 viii LIST OF MAPS & TABLES Map of Hurungwe 46 Rhodesia under siege 106 Table on the Status of Chiefs in Hurungwe 58 ix LIST OF ACRONYMS ANC African National Congress ANC-Z African National Congress- Zimbabwe BSAP British South Africa Police CCJP Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace CID Criminal Investigation Department CIO Central Intelligence Organization DA District Assistant DC District Commissioner DSA District Security Assistant FM Field Manual FROLIZI Front for the Liberation of Zimbabwe MHS Matebele Home Society MOS Monomotapa Offspring Society NDP National Democratic Party PF- ZAPU Patriotic Front- Zimbabwe African People’s Union PVs Protected Villages RENAMO Resistacia Nacional Mocambicana- An acronym derived from the first two letters of each word in the name. It is used interchangeably with MNR. RLI Rhodesian Light Infantry RPA Rwanda Patriotic Army RSF Rhodesian Security Forces SB Special Branch SFAs Security Force Auxiliaries SS Selous Scouts UANC United African National Council UNITA National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ZANLA Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (armed wing of ZANU) ZANU Zimbabwe African National Union ZANU-PF Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front x ZAPU Zimbabwe African People’s Union PF-ZAPU Patriotic Front- Zimbabwe African People’s Union ZDP Zimbabwe Democratic Party ZIPRA Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (armed wing of ZAPU) ZUPO Zimbabwe United People’s Organization xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This thesis is a study of the role of Security Force Auxiliaries (SFAs) in Zimbabwe’s war of liberation and their post-war experiences. The role played by the Security Force Auxiliaries was determined by various identities they were given and those which they attributed to themselves. As such, identity is interwoven with the role which SFAs played. Although numerous researches have been done on historically and culturally determined identities such as ethnicity and the market-determined identities such as class, the subject of constructing political identities within the context of a protracted liberation war in which African nationalist leaders competed for power has not been thoroughly researched on.