mbulelo smpofu
THE late former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko was one of the pioneer freedom fighters of our armed struggle.
He joined the armed struggle soon after being released from prison and was immediately sent for military training in the then-Soviet Union in 1964 by ZAPU.
That crew had within its ranks the likes of now national heroes Dumiso Dabengwa and Ackim Ndlovu. They were later joined by the likes of yet another national hero, the late Colonel Tshinga Dube.
When they returned from the Soviet Union, they formed a Military Command Structure in which Cde Mphoko was deployed as the Chief of Logistics.
That saw him being a logistics guru of the liberation armed struggle of Zimbabwe as the first Chief of Logistics of the pioneer ZAPU. The military command was under the office of the Special Affairs.
He served in the Command with Ackim Ndlovu who was the commander, Abraham Nkiwane, Robson Manyika, Roma Nyathi who is still alive and is a neighbour of the Mphokos, and a few others.
That command was known as the Coordinating Committee. In 1971, Mphoko was one of the surviving members of the Special Affairs command in the newly-formed ZPRA High Command under Rodgers Mangena (Alfred Nikita). He became Chief of Logistics of the new ZPRA High Command.
He had the demanding task of training the young army. He was secretly called Mgqala (crow bar) because of his forceful approach to solving logistical problems. If the camp ran out of ammunition, Cde Mphoko would take matters into his hands, disappear only to return to the camp with the much-needed ammunition. They never disclosed to the rank and file where they would have sourced it from. It was said in hushed tones that Cde Mphoko and his team would use unorthodox means to lay their hands on the ammunition.
He and his team established sites and communication dumps for easy re-supplies of ammunition to the ZPRA fighting forces. This team included now late national hero, Colonel Masala Sibanda, Joseph Dube (Donki), Petros Khumalo (Mpondo), Zidla, Cecil Banda and others.
Him and Mangena were, however, not generous with ammunition. Those who trained under ZPRA might remember how stingy with ammunition his office was to an extent that missing a target at the shooting range would be an unforgettable experience.
A cadre who fumbled would be ordered to be positioned behind the target to see how others shoot straight at the target.
On my first operation, I was armed with an AK-47 and had only 30 rounds.
Because of his ingenuity Cde Mphoko was also appointed Chief of Logistics of the Joint Military Command formed by the ZPRA and ZANLA High Command in 1971 at Mbeya in Tanzania.
The Command had people like Josiah Tongogara, John Mataure, and Ndangana from ZANLA. He built and stocked ZPRA logistics to enable operations to go at full throttle. Bit by bit ZPRA could challenge the enemy’s superiority in all it’s military capabilities.
When the Zimbabwe People’s Army (ZIPA) was established, an amalgamation of ZPRA and ZANLA, Cde Mphoko was appointed Chief of Logistics again. He took the appointment with a lot of zeal faced with the demanding task of feeding and arming the multitudes that crossed into Mozambique.
Mid-1976 Mphoko was appointed by ZAPU as it’s representative in Maputo.
He executed his duties with patriotic zeal and enthusiasm.
ν Brig-Gen Mazinyane served in ZPRA as the Chief of Military Intelligence.
daniel chigunwe
