On the night of February 27, 1978, a Rhodesian military base situated between Kazungula Road Border and Victoria Falls was attacked by a detail of freedom fighters inflicting heavy losses on the Rhodesian forces. On the same night, a search and destroy team was dispatched to find the freedom fighters. Helicopters and tracking dogs and foot soldiers were used in the search.
The search party ultimately arrived at the village of Lesoma on the afternoon of February 28 and the village was literally under siege. Ironically, this was on the occasion of Brigadier Ian Khama’s birthday. No one knew that this day would be inedible in the history of a new military which at the time was less than a year old.
The chief of the village dispatched two youths to the nearest BDF camp. The information was passed directly to Second Lieutenant Benson Sennanyane who immediately dispatched a platoon to go and counter the Rhodesian force that had crossed into Botswana’s territory.
The BDF patrol came and combed the entire village and could only see boot marks of the Rhodesian forces. Once the village was cleared, the patrol team came across two guerrillas who apparently had been pursued by the Rhodesians. They were disarmed by the BDF Patrol and taken into custody as it was the practice. They were deposited to Kazungula Police Station.
The platoon was driving in three brand new Land Rover 109 Series. Amazingly, the vehicles were still covered in their green canvas when they went to attend this emergency at Lesoma. The canvas was later rolled up and left hanging as a roof for the patrol Land Rovers. The platoon was about to face tragedy and some in the detail could sense the danger that lay ahead.
The Rhodesians had hastily laid a deliberate ambush for the BDF platoon. They expected the BDF platoon to use the same route back to base, something totally unacceptable in any military practice. Amazingly, the Rhodesians got their wish. They took a chance laying this ambush banking on the inexperience of the newly formed military which they were facing in the war to liberate Zimbabwe.
Ahead of the ambush area, the platoon on patrol had halted and those in the leadership had some discussion on their choice of route back to base. Some in the patrol team insisted that they should use another route back to base. The guerrillas that were captured also advised the same but the platoon commander had none of that and insisted on taking the same route back to base.
A burst of machine gun fire opened up from the Rhodesian forces’ cut offs killing the rear and front Land Rovers. Immediately the middle vehicle was caught in the cross fire. The firepower was so immense that those remaining at base could literally hear it.
It was here that fifteen of BDF soldiers were killed and several others were maimed. The list of those who perished has finally been printed on a monument at the ambush site. The most senior of them is a sergeant. Interestingly, most of the victims were from Molepolole and Serowe and they were very young. Most of them were seeing action for the very first time.
A lot of these young fellows were fresh from the barracks as members of Intake 10 of 1977 and were still inexperienced. Initially, the northern sector of the country was taken care of by Alfa Coy based in Francistown. Bravo Coy which was based in Gaborone was mainly responsible for giving the president security at State House and providing escorts when he travelled around the country. A decision was finally made in early 1978 that Bravo Coy should also deploy in the north.
Those soldiers in Francistown belonging to Alfa Coy often referred to soldiers in Bravo Coy as “ladies of the south” in reference to their inexperience on operational matters. When this tragedy happened, for Alfa Coy troops it was like “we told you” though sad as it was at the time.
A platoon of Alfa Coy and just returned from Kazungula and had handed the base to another platoon from Bravo Coy. Their freedom was short lived as a war alarm was raised on the same night they had arrived from trip. They all left the Recreation Hall to swiftly get into their battle dress uniform and await further orders.
A platoon and a half led by Captain Malesu reached Kazungula at 3pm of the next day. Vehicles that were caught up in the ambush were still smouldering in smoke on the same afternoon. It was indeed a horrific scene even though the place had already been cleared.
There are still several survivors of the Lesoma ambush and all of them now have retired from the military. But the memory remains vivid and at times traumatic to the lives of these individuals. Some have chosen not to visit the site because it evokes terrible memories. After this incident, none of them received any form of counselling and they individually had to deal with their post traumatic stress.
The good thing is that a monument has been erected in honour of the dead. It came after a long struggle any way. The monument still lacks the vibrancy and stature it deserves because it is not funded. In other countries, this would be one of the most important land marks in the country.
But what saddens many of the survivors is that they are totally forgotten. As the only survivors of an ambush in Botswana, they should have been awarded medals in that regard. Major (Retired) Hudson Mosweu who is a survivor the Lesoma ambush remains unhappy about this turn of events. He says when he shared his ambush experience with other soldiers from developed countries; they all stand in awe for his deed. But all wonder how on mother earth an ambush survivor can remain unrecognized in that manner and remaining without a medal of honour.
