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RENAMO leader Afonso Dhlakama

Lovemore  Ranga Mataire Senior Writer
RESIDENTS of Nyamapanda are living in fear of imminent attacks from RENAMO rebels who recently shot dead a police officer and ambushed a South African-bound haulage truck heading to Zimbabwe just 45 kilometres from the border inside Mozambique.

The rebels, who are known for their guerilla attacks on targeted areas, individuals and haulage trucks have set up offices just a few kilometres from Changara border town in Mozambique, where they are recruiting unemployed youths to join their rag-tag army now comprised of worn-out veterans of the past civil war.

Police at Changara border district in Mozambique confirmed the two incidents but insisted that more details could only be obtained from their superiors in Tete town.

FRELIMO chairman for Changara District close to the Nyamapanda border Mr Richard Dzuwaito confirmed that the lax security on the Mozambican side was causing a lot of anxiety among residents of the two districts on either side of the border.

“The situation has been worsened by the fact that these people have set up offices just a few kilometres from this district.

“As a party with a few members of parliament, we have no problem in them having an office there but it becomes a problem when people and trucks are attacked by some officials claiming to be members of RENAMO,” said Mr Dzuwaito.

Mr Dzuwaito said it was worrisome that RENAMO was now targeting government officials and haulage trucks carrying certain consignments viewed by the rebels as beneficial to their continued stay and survival in the bush.

He said the dense forests in the Tete Province were complicating the monitoring of RENAMO movements who use the mountainous landscape as a hideout.

“Just as recently as last week, RENAMO bandits attacked a bus coming from Malawi. There were a few casualties, they just hit and run,” said Mr Dzuwaito.

Mr Dzuwaito, however, expressed hope that RENAMO leader Afonso Dhlakama would soon surrender as some of his senior lieutenants were being eliminated while others have voluntarily joined the Mozambican national army.

“We are aware that there are some people in this province of Tete who support the rebels but they are closely monitored. Yes, we are restless and fearful but we are also confident that we won’t go back to a fully fledged civil war,” said Mr Dzuwaito.

He said the RENAMO leader was still based in the Gorongoza Mountain, which is still a no-go area for both the army and ordinary people.

“Comrade, I am a product of history. I will tell you that when our brother Cde Mugabe came to assist us in dealing with Andre Matsangaise, he was based at Gorongoza. Indeed, Matsangaise was dealt with but after his death Alfonso Dhlakama emerged and he still uses Gorongoza as his base. There is something about Gorongoza that our government is still to unravel,” Mr Dzuwaito said.

Zanu-PF Mudzi Rural District Council Ward 17 councillor Cde Boyi Nyamande, whose area includes Nyamapanda District, said residents were living in fear following the resurgence of disturbances, particularly in the Sofala Province where hordes of Mozambicans are seeking refuge in Malawi.

“We recently had an incident where a police officer was shot dead just 45 kilometres from the border in Mozambique. What we have gathered so far, is that RENAMO is targeting Government officials. But we are still fearful because if not contained, the attacks may turn out to be a fully-fledged civil war,” said Cde Nyamande.

Cde Nyamande said while the Zimbabwean side was permanently manned by members of the national army, the Mozambican side is virtually unattended, with only a few police officers visible at the actual port of entry.

The laxity in security has made it possible for all sorts of people, including criminals, to use unorthodox entry points into Mozambican where they resort to all sorts of criminal activities.

However, Chief Moses Magaso, whose reign covers Hwenya River, Nyangoma, Kairezi, Masanga, Katumba, Kamulamba, Chamano, Kautete, Chibwe and Chingwere said villagers in his domain were accommodating some RENAMO elements.

“We have heard sporadic attacks including the killing of a police officer but most RENAMO activities are in Zambezia and Sofala.

“My worry is that how do these rebels get to know that this truck has such and such consignment? Someone is providing them with information,” said Chief Magaso.

Chief Magaso blamed Mozambican army officers of harassing ordinary villagers particularly in the Sofala Province. He said most Mozambicans who have since sought refuge in Malawi were running away from government forces who were harassing them for harbouring RENAMO elements.

Zimbabwe’s Defence Minister Dr Sydney Sekeramayi recently said the Government was concerned with the escalating violent clashes in Mozambique.

He said the Government was closely monitoring the situation in Mozambique.

Formed in 1975, RENAMO is a militant and political movement in Mozambique first sponsored by the then Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation as part of a covert plan to stall the growth and influence of FRELIMO, largely viewed as a communist party.

Initially led by Matsangaise, a former senior army official in FRELIMO, the group was later funded by the South African apartheid regime. The group caused a lot of havoc soon after Mozambique’s independence with the conflict spiralling into Zimbabwe when the latter also attained its independence in 1980.

RENAMO forces attacked an army base in Zimbabwe near Mukosa on June 17 1987, killing seven soldiers and wounding 19 others.

The group also attacked the Katiyo Tea Estate, destroying property and killed three men in Rushinga in August of the same year. Between December 1987 and January 21, 1988 RENAMO launched 101 attacks near the Mozambique-Zimbabwe border.

It is memories of such attacks and the ensuing loss of lives and suffering that have forced residents of both Nyamapanda in Mashonaland East Province and Changara in Tete Province to constantly live in fear of the possible escalation of the violence.

RENAMO is demanding that the Mozambican government cedes control of at least six provinces that it is claiming it won in the previous presidential elections held in 2014.