Chibarinya (Lancelot) Matyatya was a polygamist. He took three wives - Marian Musande (1901-1998), Agnes Ndadzira (died 1989) and Grace. He was a master farmer and lived in the Mahungwe district of Rusape, in a country which was then known as Rhodesia. Close nearby lived their neighbours, the Mukonomuwi family.

Agnes bore Lancelot six sons, Abishy, Christopher, Justin, Dennis (born 1938), Francis and Onismo and five daughters. In November, 1967 all six sons moved with their mother to Chideu in the Wedza district. Chideu was sparsely populated country in a magnificent setting. Surrounded on three sides by Rove Mountain and the kopjes of Nharire and Hanje and bordered on the fourth by Kurongonora River, it was the place of their dreams and a perfect location to build a better future for themselves and their families. Soon they had carved new homes and fertile fields out of the virgin forest.

On 11^th. November, 1965 almost two years to the day before their move to Chideu, the Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, had made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (U.D.I.) from Britain in an effort to preserve minority white rule and deny the rights of the black majority. "The winds of change sweeping acoss Africa" of which Harold MacMillan had spoken were not to be allowed to cross the borders of Rhodesia, it seemed. But from the moment the first seven ZANLA guerrillas fought, and were killed by, a far greater number of Rhodesian air and ground troops outside the town of Sinoia (now Chinhoyi), the writing was on the wall for the Smith regime.

The "hondo" (war) or "Chimurenga" (liberation struggle) gradually increased in intensity. The African guerrilla forces opposing the white regime were known as "vakomana" (the boys) or "magandanga" (terrorists) depending on one's political views. From their bases in Zambia and Mozambique they infiltrated the countryside with the objective of disrupting government control of the rural areas and politicising the local populace. The all-night "pungwe" (meeting) became a common feature of village life - they were designed to explain what African self-rule would mean and so to mobilise the "povo" (people) in favour of the struggle.

Meanwhile the first ten years in Chideu proved a tough struggle as the Matyatya brothers fought to protect their crops of "chibage" (maize) from marauding bands of "makudo" (baboons). By 1977 three Matyatya brothers, Dennis, Christopher and Onismo, were married to three of the Mukonomuwi sisters, Pelagia, Anna and Sophia, and a new generation of Matyatya children filled the village with their laughter by day. By night the cries of the "mapere" (hyenas) filled their dreams accompanied by the occasional cough of a prowling leopard.

But the wilderness surrounding Chideu proved attractive also to the "Dogs of War". The "vakomana" were frequent visitors to the area and Rhodesian Army Selous Scouts were thought to be camped in the nearby kopjes. Towards the middle of 1978 a helicopter dropped a bomb close to the village. All the thatched rondavels were badly damaged. It was a portent of worse to come.

On 12^th. August, 1978 a Dakota aircraft and three helicopters emerged from behind Rove Mountain. Sixteen soldiers dropped by parachute from the Dakota. When the area had been secured, one helicopter landed close to the bedroom of the Matyatya "musha" (village). Eight soldiers emerged from the helicopter - seven whites and one African, a "mutengesi" (sellout) named Langton Goto.

As was the norm at the time, the menfolk were employed in Harare, so only women and children were in the village that day. These included Joyce (wife of Abishy), Diana (wife of Justin), Anna (wife of Christopher), Sarah and Rosewinter Matyatya, (twin sisters of the Matyatya brothers) and Agnes, their mother. There were also four children present, Diana and Norah (daughters of Dennis and Pelagia) and Francis and Marjorie (son and daughter of Justin and Diana).

The soldiers inquired roughly who was the eldest child (Diana) and asked if the children had seen the "magandanga" (terrorists). Francis replied "No!" and was slapped in the face for his troubles.

Four women (Joyce, Diana, Rosewinter and Anna) were then taken away by the soldiers. They were brought out to the main road at Chisasike and subjected to electric torture.

The following morning, Saturday, 13^th. August, 1978 the soldiers decided to release the women as some of them were breast-feeding children at the time. They returned to the village. At around 11.00am the Dakota and helicopters returned. One helicopter in particular circled the village. The family hid in the bedroom, which had an asbestos roof, hoping it might provide them with some protection against bombing. Dorothy Matyatya (eldest daughter of Christopher and Anna, 16 years old at the time) decided that she would find better shelter in a nearby cave. But she wouldn't leave the room without her favourite green hat. She spent some looking for it and having found it ran off to find her best friend, Irene. Shortly afterwards the sound of battle commenced as the "vakomana" engaged the Rhodesian forces.

About noon one Rhodesian helicopter was shot down. The Dakota returned, bombing indiscriminately. Fighting continued until around 3.00pm but the family waited until dark to run away, leaving all their possessions behind them. There was no sign of Dorothy and it was presumed that she had made her way to safety. Three days later the bodies of Dorothy and Irene were discovered near the cave. They had been killed by a bomb. In her left hand Dorothy still held on tightly to her green hat.

The family made their way to Chibukira near Goto where they were provided with a room by Mr. Karikoga, who was a relative of Agnes. They remained together in that single room for about two months and almost all the children had to endure attacks of head-lice, chicken pox etc. - problems brought on by the strains of living in an overcrowded environment.

In spite of having spent more than ten years of their lives building up their homes in Chideu, the Matyatya brothers decided that it was no longer a safe place for their wives and children to live. They moved en bloc once more, but this time as refugees, to Chifamba village, where they reside to this day.

Nota bene:

1. At a later date Langton Goto was stopped by Rhodesian Army soldiers and found to have a letter for the "magandanga" in his possession!! (Might he have been a double-agent, perhaps?) It is said that he was shot as a result.
2. Of the seven white soldiers who landed in Chideu on 12^th. August, 1978 a fat, bearded, soldier named Stewart is remembered as being the most cruel. Some time later an army convoy of three Bedford trucks struck a landmine near where St. Peter's School, Makwarimba is now located. Stewart is thought to have perished in the explosion.

Zimbabwe achieved independence on 17^th. April, 1980.