Rhodesian Bush War: Brutal days and brutal ways
THE WAY IT WAS Or THE WAY I SAW IT.
This is another story, which came to mind, as I battle with the “boredom” of my current life. As those who served in the CID will know well, we (that is the CID chaps) were an oddity during the Last Chimurenga or the Bush War. Why so? Well, we were not in any of the regular fighting forces, like the RAR, Selous Scouts or the SAS. And we were not in the various outfits, who worked “undercover” so to speak. We only met the Rhodesian Airforce, when a helicopter had to pick us up or drop us off, usually but not always once the smell of cordite had vaporised and the bad guys were either dead or on the run, with previously mentioned “soldiers” in hot pursuit. Every man jack of the CID Central CID section was called into A/Comm Eames’s office. The date was a few days, or maybe weeks after the 21st December, 1972. Altena Farm and Rex Nhongo have gone down in history, for that event. Volunteers were asked for, and every man took one step forward. We were briefed “another terrorist incursion” had taken place, and hopefully, it would be resolved, as those before it had, in a matters of weeks. Teams of people were made up, and sent to the “sharp end”. On about the 10th February 1973, I was called into see Mr Eames. He told me the “teams at the sharp end, were doing a fine job, and I would be sent to Bindura to put together, the dockets, for presentation to the DPP, for a large number of trials which were expected and being planned for. The duration of my tenure was at the time uncertain, so I was to pack a few clothes. I am not certain that I drew a weapon for my sojourn to, well not quite the “ hondo” but on the outskirts thereof. I was now a fully-fledged member of “Crime North Eastern”. On the 14th February, 1973, I left Salisbury, alone, in a long wheel based grey Police Land Rover.
On arrival at Bindura Police station, I found D/S/O, Naish, from Gwelo if my memory serves me correctly. We were accommodated in a motel/hotel in Bindura.
The “accused” were transported to Bindura, from “a number of CID teams” in the North/Eastern area of Rhodesia. The majority of which had “transported arms” into the Mavuradonha Mountains. I was allocated an office adjoining the S.B. Rep. He was a DSO. These villagers arrived by the five ton lorry load, all having been “interviewed / interrogated”, your choice of word, by CID operatives. The African Detectives who acted as escorts, would hand me a piece of paper with the name and kraal particulars of each individual. I spent about ten hours a day, compiling dockets, for these villagers. I did from time to time have other Members of the CID assist me. There were so many accused’s, we devised a method, whereby we typed as many of the names as we could fit on one “docket cover”. Then the W & C Statements were typed out, I or we would then ask the “villager”, seated on the floor of the office, whether he pleaded guilty or not guilty. 99% of them had been briefed by those in “the Mountains” to just say “Wongo” when the white man spoke to them after their journey. It was apparent the “African porters” had for, I believe, months prior to the attack at Altena Farm, been transporting, arms and ammunition into Rhodesia. When we came across an African villager who chose not to say “Wongo”, he was smartly transferred to the S.B, DSO, next door and I never had any further dealings with him. The exact length of their sentence to Imprisonment with Hard Labour escapes me. I do know this much, A/Comm Eames called me down to Salisbury, and informed, me that there was to be a change in “tactics”! Apparently, all the Government Prisons around Salisbury were full to over flowing. They were transporting accused well convicted villains into the Midlands areas.
Over the initial years the CID members, faithfully and to the best of their ability, stuck to what the CID did best. Collection, documentation and preservation of “Exhibits”. You will note I did not say “investigate” crimes. No in the beginning we attended, farm attacks, Land Mine incidents, the scenes of contacts between terrorists and S F members. We also attended “murders, attempted Murders and Assault GBH’s”, anywhere where the “hondo” was. Needless to say in those days, “the accused of these heinous crimes, were either lying dead at the scene, when we got there, or had long gone. Our job was to (a) Fingerprint every dead terrorist, to take statements from any eye witnesses (needless to say those were few and far between). We had to collect expended cartridge rounds, (We got the name of doppie pickers”. Where possible we had to draw a diagram of the contact scene, showing locations of SF and CT”s firing positions. We placed the “doppies” from each firing point in a plastic bag, which was labelled and entered into the Police Exhibit Book, of the area we were working in. Any recovered weapons mainly AK’s were labelled, and transported along with the “doppies from the contact”. All deceased terr’s were photographed. The images paired with the “doppies” and “the AK’s” located at their point of ultimate demise. The fingerprints were sent to CID HQ for possible identification. We sometimes, received reports from the Salisbury Armoury, where they had found the same weapon had been used in two or more contacts. By the time we got those reports, no one was the slightest bit interested, in what we had to say.
Another task we had to do, was bury the corpse. We were not allowed to take any Africans with us. Apparently the Chiefs of CID or whom ever, did not want their burials places to become “martyred”. I was so engaged when a Chap I got to know quite well from the SB Terrorists Desk D/Insp Peter Stanton. Phoned me at Mount Darwin. He said I have a “terrorist in my office” who claims he and his gang were sitting in some bushes, not far from the Mount Darwin Police station, and watched some “ white men digging holes in the ground, pouring petrol on bodies and setting them alight.” He also claims one of the white men, was walking around shooting at Guinea Fowls. Can you verify this information?” The Guinea Fowl hunter was D/I Painting and one of the grave diggers was DSO Stanyon, the others names I forget.
In those early days of “the last Chimurenga” the rumours abounded, that it was very safe for SF members to drive alone in a vehicle, as long as you stuck to the main drags. It was important, that you did not drive after sun set or before dawn.
I was once sent on a mission by my “boss” to scrutinise all the Crime Registers in Mount Darwin, Centenary, Concession, and Bindura. To ensure compliance with “orders”!! I travelled alone, slept the night in Concession, where I attended a “party” with female school teachers and nurses from far and wide.
Fast forward to 1976- 1978, I was still in the CID, still doing one month in and one month out – however all those tasks I have documented afore, were long gone, bit by bit, each “task “ was eliminated. I still slept in Hotels/Motels, I still attend scenes of crime and I still disposed of corpses.
On the morning of 14th April, 1980 I found myself in CID Salisbury Fraud Section. I was still doing my month in and out. It was the morning the “cock was to crow” myself and a former DCI, Anderson, were tasked with picking up “corpses” yet again, but this time, they had been the subject of ZAPU/ZANLA supporters “ squaring the ledger”. Anderson and I knocked off duty at 0700 on the 18th of April, 1980 , we left seven dead bodies on the front lawn of Southerton Police Station. We went and played 18 holes of Golf on a deserted Royal Salisbury Golf Course.
The rest is history.