Wallace Ruzvidzo-Herald Reporter
ZIMBABWE’s landmark Independence celebrations on April 18, 1980, nearly failed to take place after Rhodesian forces plotted to sabotage the event, President Mnangagwa has said.
He said the Rhodesians were thwarted through an intelligence network that he had quietly established during the transitional period following the landmark February elections.
In an interview with the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), President Mnangagwa reflected on the tense security environment that prevailed between the 1980 elections and Independence Day.
Plans, he said, were afoot to attack the main celebrations scheduled for Rufaro Stadium in Harare.
President Mnangagwa said the success of the independence commemorations hinged on intelligence operations that enabled authorities to neutralise threats posed by Rhodesian elements opposed to the transfer of power.
“The Rhodesians wanted to blow us up here in Harare. They wanted to blow us up at the stadium,” said the President.
“But I was able to . . . I recruited (Dan) Stannard, that white guy. So he tipped me about what was being planned, and we were able to diffuse it.”
President Mnangagwa said even on the day of independence itself, the security situation remained tense as there were continued attempts to disrupt the celebrations.
“Well, let me say, even on the day of independence at the stadium, it was not easy. It was not easy because then the Rhodesians had wanted to disrupt the independence celebrations in 1980.
“But fortunately, I had developed systems and a network of informers.”
Drawing on his background in both military and intelligence work, President Mnangagwa said he consistently stayed ahead of the imperialist forces by building an extensive information-gathering network.
He revealed that weapons intended to disrupt the Independence Day celebrations had been hidden behind Harare Central Prison, a development he only became aware of through his informers.
“If you go to Harare Prison now, at the back of Harare Prison, there’s an open area there . . . some isolated small hut somewhere at the back — that’s where the arms were hidden,” the President said.
“So I was tipped and we were able to go in and diffuse, and we took away the arms. Each time the enemy would make tricks left and right, I would find out. I would find out”.
President Mnangagwa said his intelligence reach was such that the late former President Robert Mugabe often publicly remarked on his awareness of security matters across the country.
“This is why Mugabe would say at the rally, ‘if you do anything behind that mountain and Emmerson is here, he will still know what is happening at the back there’,” the President said with a chuckle.
He further disclosed that his network extended into the inner circles of Rhodesian military command, allowing him to access information discussed by senior officers, including then Rhodesian armed forces commander Peter Walls.
“ . . . when Peter Walls and his generals were having dinner or whatever at KG6, most of the veterans who were serving them were blacks, and most of them were mine,” President Mnangagwa said.
“So now they were discussing (while) being served beers and meals . . . so I knew what they were discussing.”
The President said his role during the liberation struggle and the transition to independence earned him the trust of President Mugabe, who included him in critical engagements such as the 1979 Lancaster House talks.
“My boss, Mugabe, trusted me a lot, so I participated in most of these things.
“I was in Lancaster; I was everywhere.
“Where he went, he went with me,” said President Mnangagwa.
He added that he was also tasked with overseeing security and logistical preparations for the attendance of foreign dignitaries at Zimbabwe’s independence celebrations.
Among the leaders who attended were King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda and Botswana President Seretse Khama.
“I led the first group here to come and prepare for the coming in of our leaders,” he said.
“I was sent in by Mugabe to come and prepare for the leadership to come. So I stayed in Mushandirapamwe, and I made all the preparations, acquired all the accommodations and everything.
“So, when the leadership came, everything was sorted out. I was head of national security . . . I was an intelligence person, I was a military person — I blended the two, so Mugabe felt I was the most appropriate at the time.”
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