'Road to Independence was never easy,' says Mnangagwa

ZIMBABWE's independence did not come on a silver platter and its attainment was not a stroll in the park, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.

Addressing hundreds of people during Wednesday's commissioning of the site where he and a fellow member of the Crocodile Gang blew up a Rhodesian locomotive in 1964, the VP said the journey to the country's independence was characterised by a lot of sacrifices and risks.

The site has been named the Trabablas Historical Tourism Enshrinement after VP Mnangagwa's chimurenga name, Trabablas Dzokerai Mabhunu.

The VP escaped the hangman's noose 51 years ago as he was deemed to be a minor by the courts which sentenced him to 10 years in jail.

VP Mnangagwa said there were a number of nasty incidents that he and his team, the Crocodile Gang went through but have not been told by historians.

"The route to Zimbabwe's independence was never an easy stroll in the park. In the Crocodile Gang, there were five of us and from that number I'm the only surviving one. I'm holding back tears as I narrate this sad story," he said.

"I cheated death by a whisker given my age. By that time it was a serious crime to undergo military training when one was 21 years old. The legal age of majority was 21 years but I underwent training when I was below 19."

He said he was forced to bury bodies of the other members of the Crocodile Gang and plant lawn on their graves. The VP said he developed partial hearing impairment due to torture during the war.

"If my wife doesn't speak to me from the 'correct' ear, I don't hear properly. I would have to tell her to come to the 'correct' ear so that we can hear each other. These are some of the health challenges that the war of liberation has inflicted on some of us," said VP Mnangagwa.

"It wasn't easy, hence the need to treasure this independence and remain peaceful and united at all costs. I'm happy that the Joint Operation Command led by Masvingo Officer Commanding Police Assistant Commissioner Martha Mofolo has confirmed to me that Masvingo is peaceful."

He said at one time during the liberation struggle, he joined an Apostolic Sect that was gathered for a night-prayer vigil and feigned speaking in tongues to survive after spotting Rhodesian soldiers in Mucheke Suburb at night.