Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Ingwavuma Unit Suffers Arrests – Part 2

Following his visit to Swaziland on 28 August 1984, the Commander of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Ingwavuma Unit, Robert Dumisa, was on 1 September 1984 back in Ingwavuma, where he paid a visit to Tindla Mngomezulu’s kraal in the company of Themba Maphumulo (aka “Tonkie”), one of the members of his unit.

While Dumisa and Tindla were having a meeting inside the house, “Tonkie” was keeping watch outside. Tindla informed Dumisa that he was glad to see him since he had learned about their presence in the region, being informed by some of the people that they had trained.

In addition, he told Dumisa about the plan to assassinate him, but he did not worry as he heard that they were soldiers of the liberation movement, the African National Congress (ANC). Actually, he mentioned to Dumisa that he could have reported them to the enemy if he wanted to, but he was even prepared to assist them where they needed help.

In appreciation, Dumisa responded that they were not intending to assassinate Tindla, as they were not roving bands or hired assassins. Their objectives were national, in ensuring that they welded the people together, for general wellbeing. Personal quarrels often endangered the aims of the national liberation movement, the ANC, which was always attempting to settle all personal feuds peacefully, and that it endeavoured to show each side the futility of such quarrels and how they jeopardised national objectives.

Consequently, their conversation ended up in great harmony between the two, and Tindla even bought Dumisa and Tonkie five bottles of beer. Later on, Dumisa noted in his diary that he had a delicious supper and even drank with their contact.

On 28 October 1984, Dumisa wrote in his diary that there were many recruits who were having doubts about their Ingwavuma Unit, particularly uncertainty around their credibility, whether they were hired assassins or apartheid agents that were deliberately sent to establish if the Ingwavuma communities had guns or not.

Scepticism even amounted to questioning their capability to challenge the apartheid security forces in real combat. At some stage, a local woman, known as “MaCwele” even asked them openly “whether are we not going to leave them behind when the war becomes fierce so that the boers will kill them” while they would be having a nice time in Swaziland.

For Dumisa, these sceptic perceptions among the villagers were worrisome, and he later wrote in his diary, “No we answered we’ll better die here than leaving them in the lurch. Really people are expecting much from us. It is up to us to prove our worth. To enhance the confidence people are already having to erase doubts in their minds about the myth of the invincibility of the whitema+SADF.”

On 5 November 1984, while members of the Ingwavuma Unit were on their way to Swaziland, they passed some Swazi soldier who were either sleeping or pretending to be asleep about a metre from the path they were walking on.

On 7 November 1984, the Unit met with the Commander of the MK Natal Machinery, Thami Zulu, in Swaziland, who suggested that they should shift their operations from Ingwavuma to the Ubombo area because of the strategic significance of Ingwavuma. Moreover, Zulu suggested that by shifting their operations, they would manage to confuse the enemy as to where they came from, since it was customary for MK to infiltrate through Golela rather than Ingwavuma.

Finally, shifting their operations would enable the establishment of a trail or passage to infiltrate people and material further south. When the Unit returned back to Ingwavuma, they passed a drunken Swazi soldier who divulged that he knew that they were ANC soldiers and that they came from the mountains. After they returned to their base, they managed to see traces of boots nearby. (To be continued…)

Castro Khwela
Good evening fellow Compatriots!