Set in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces of Zimbabwe in the 1980s, the novel is based on a sad tale of the 1980s. But Masuku entertains the reader with an abundance of action, enhanced by abundant humour in incongruous circumstances.
Soon after a ceasefire and transfer of power from colonial rule, the war-torn state of Zimbabwe plunged into armed insurrection, mainly caused by mistrust between the two military wings of the liberation movements.
State security agents engage in a witch-hunt after a series of subversive activities suspected to be carried out by former Rhodesian agents and the South African secret service. Suspicion is later extended to former members of the Zapu party’s Zipraguerilla army.
The behaviour of some of the squabbling politicians spills over to the military forces of both components of the liberation movement, causing mistrust, anger and fear. The ending has an intriguing twist in the tail, which gives insight that the state agents involved in the campaign were not serving the interests of Zimbabwe after all.
The novel is also available in ebook format on: www.smashwords.com/profile/view/thegunsofmat.
Skid Masuku is a former Zapu cadre who spent most of his youth fighting the Rhodesian colonial government. He grew up in the Mpopoma suburb of Bulawayo and attended Mzilikazi High School. He trained as a teacher at the United College of Education. After that he left for Zambia where he underwent military training and was deployed in the Zambezi valley. Though he was trained and participated in untold violence in the 1970s, Masuku says he abhors the use of force in whatever circumstances, and urges today’s politicians to settle their differences peacefully.
Post published in: Arts