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Bulawayo Bureau

THE late Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Lieutenant-General (Rtd) Dr Sibusiso Moyo, who was buried yesterday at the National Heroes Acre in Harare, was a cultured, disciplined and intelligent student who exuded leadership qualities at a young age.

Dr Moyo (59) succumbed to Covid-19-related complications at a local hospital.

He was among a group of about 400 pupils from Manama High School in Gwanda District, Matabeleland South, recruited by Zipra cadres, refused to board one of the buses sent by the Rhodesian government to ferry them back from Botswana.

Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) commissioner and former Zvishavane legislator Obert Matshalaga taught Dr Moyo at Manama High School between 1975 and 1977.

He described the late national hero as a disciplined, intelligent and well-groomed pupil.

In an interview yesterday, Commissioner Matshalaga said Dr Moyo’s moral behaviour coupled with academic prowess saw him being selected to enrol at Manama High School, which was considered the best Evangelical Lutheran Church school in the country at the time.

It also rated among the best schools in the country, which produced the crème de la crème.

Comm Matshalaga taught the national hero History and Geography from the time he enrolled for Form One up to the time he left the studies in 1977 to join the liberation struggle in Zambia.

“I was one of Cde SB Moyo’s teachers at Manana High School between 1975 and 1977. The school was the best school in the Evangelical Lutheran Church family and one of the best in the country. It used to recruit a diversity of students and also very selective as it only took the crème de la crème, that is the best of best,” he said.

“Although it was tucked deep in rural Matabeleland South, our school attracted students from all over the country like Mberengwa where Cde SB came from and as far as Binga among other districts. It has a mixture of students from various backgrounds.”

Comm Matshalaga

Comm Matshalaga said at Manama High School, they emphasised discipline and academic performance.

“It was probably one of the only schools where the emphasis was on both moral behaviour and integrity. Cde SB was one of the best students who came from Mberengwa Mission and he had a good upbringing because his parents were both Christians,” he said.

“They were a group, which included Air Marshal Elson Moyo (Air Force of Zimbabwe Commander), the Mabuwa girls that is Chiratidzo and her late sister who was a doctor at the ZRP, including Mrs Mercy Sibanda, who is married to Commander Defence Forces General Philip Valerio Sibanda, among others.”

Comm Matshalaga said during his school days, Dr Moyo was a reserved young man who was focused on his school work.

“I taught Cde SB Geography and History and he was a reserved young man who focused on his school work. If you give him homework, it would be done on time. He was also very participative in class,” he said.

“Generally, the class was competitive because at that particular time they were coming from primary schools where probably they were the top in their class.”

Comm Matshalaga was one of the teachers who crossed with the pupils into Botswana.

“The actual departure was on a Sunday, January 29, 1977 at around 6pm just before students were about to go for evening studies and I was the teacher on duty. As we trekked into Botswana the whole night, and of course as a teacher I knew their behaviour and responsibilities and people like SB were showing signs of being future leaders,” he said.

“The target was that we should cross the border before dawn and immediately when we had crossed the border, the Rhodesian spotter planes started looking for us. By then we were in a village called Gubajangu just before Bobonong.”

Comm Matshalaga said the Manana incident was not unique as students from schools such as Thekwane High School had already gone en masse to join the struggle.

“Even during history lessons students like SB Moyo were already asking about what was happening in Zambia. They would also talk about the likes of Jason Moyo, Herbert Chitepo and asking some questions which were very difficult to answer, but you would answer knowing that they would not go and tell anybody,” he said.

Comm Matshalaga said even when the Rhodesian government dispatched buses to Zambia to ferry Manama High School pupils back from Botswana, the likes of Dr Moyo stood their ground and refused to return as they were determined to liberate the country.

“The reckoning was that the students had been force-marched into Botswana en masse, which is why the Rhodesian government dispatched buses. On the part of students there has been a lot of freedom fighters who had been conscientising them,” he said.

“It was very clear as we were travelling to Botswana that some students were very close to guerillas spearheading the mobilisation of students and that they knew each other. Already the students were ready to go to war and no wonder why when the buses came to Francistown very few students offered to return home.”

Comm Matshalaga said as their teacher, he felt he had an obligation to be with them in case of any eventuality.

He said when they proceeded to Zambia, it was himself and a colleague, Paulos Matshaka.

“My brother also came to look for me, but I decided to join the liberation struggle. I went together with SB and all the other students. Upon arrival in Zambia, we were taken to a recruitment centre in Nampundwe where we underwent what we call a survival military training so that in the event Rhodesian forces attacking us, we would be able to take cover or roll to hide from the enemy,” he said.

Comm Matshalaga said after some time, they were called as teachers for reassignment and he was appointed director of schools tasked with setting up refugees’ schools for those who were young and could not go for military training.

“I continued seeing Cde SB and other Manama students although it was no longer a day-to-day interaction. Even until his death, Cde SB had not forget that I was his teacher and he would call me honourable teacher,” he said.

Comm Matshalaga said the kind of respect that he enjoyed with Dr Moyo continued until his death.

Another Zipra cadre, Colonel (Rtd) Whatson TwoBoy Tshipa said: “I first meet Cde SB at Kohima Barracks, which was under the Military Training Establishment of Zambia where he trained as officer cadets and the training lasted for 18 months.”

He said upon completion of training in October 1978, Cde SB was deployed to the Zipra headquarters in Lusaka.

“We then met after independence when he was commander of the now disbanded Sixth Brigade at Guinea Fowl in Gweru and I was commander of 6.2 Battalion and we worked together for about two years from 1992 to 1993 when I retired.”

Colonel Tshinga Dube (Rtd) described Cde SB Moyo as a well-disciplined cadre who joined the armed struggled at a very young age.

“He was part of the group that we recruited from Manama High School. He trained for a long time at Morogoro and he ended up being an instructor. Due to his intelligence, he was deployed to Russia to further his military training and he did very well, which why at Independence he rose through the ranks very fast,” he said.