1 Recce, volume 2. Alexander Strachan

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      Hunters and woodcutters had previously used the road to go north to Coutado do Mucusso in the Cuando Cubango province. ‘It was a sandy two-track road that was almost overgrown and reminded one of the cutline,’4 Blaauw recalls.

      The three Recce operators were accompanied by a small Unita escort on two Unimogs that MI had made available. The escort also served as a bodyguard of sorts for Puna, who had come along.

      It took them the whole day to cover the distance of about 120 km to Coutado do Mucusso – a tiny Portuguese settlement on the Luiana River – which they reached by late afternoon. ‘There was a small Unita element that didn’t really look like a military organisation. We couldn’t get any information from them,’ Blaauw recounts, ‘because they had no idea where Savimbi was. In fact, they didn’t even know what we were doing there.’ Puna tried to talk to them but failed to learn anything; they were totally uninformed.

      The team spent the night there and set off the next morning in a north-westerly direction, moving up along the Luenge River. As it was winter, the river consisted only of pools of water that they managed to cross with relative ease. ‘Despite it being winter, the days were incredibly hot. And on top of that, there were flies – tsetse flies and mopani flies. Everywhere around you and all over you, flies and yet more flies. It was a terrible business.’

      Towards noon they stopped and decided to stay there for the rest of the day. They made a nice pot of curry, ate their fill and then relaxed under the trees. They had just finished eating when Puna came up to the Recces and said they were going to start walking, still on the same route but now on foot.

      At one point they came upon a pool of water in the river the size of half a rugby field, and there was a hippo in the water. Puna had an American military rifle with him and wanted to shoot the hippo. ‘Every time the hippo’s head popped up, he shot at it. And then the hippo would dive. We probably spent an hour there while we wondered why he was doing it. Maybe he thought the Unitas could eat the hippo.

      ‘It made me livid because we had been chased out of the base in the heat of the day, and now we were standing here at a pool of water and he was shooting at a hippo. The river didn’t flow at all there, and the pool was still. And for the life of him Puna couldn’t manage to hit the hippo. After numerous shots he gave up, and we continued walking.’

      They then went along the river to where it turned north in the direction of Mavinga, which was the closest town. ‘But it was still a good 100 km away from us.’

      The next day they were joined by a small group of Unitas. They were from the vicinity of Mavinga and had a commander, Col. Francisco, with them. Blaauw suspected that Puna had known about the group’s presence all along. There was no enemy in the area as it was far too remote.

      ‘The commander then asked through Puna if we could help him. This was after the two of them had first had a long conversation.’ The group intended to attack Mavinga, and wanted to know if the Recces could assist them with the operational planning.

      ‘So Mourão, Amilcar and I sat there under the trees and listened to the commander’s plan. Fortunately, I had a map of the whole Cuando Cubango area with me. There were a number of things I wanted to know: What type of forces did he have, where were they, what was their logistical capability, and with what weapons were they equipped? I also wanted to know who the enemy was, and how strong they were. The commander was extremely vague about the enemy, and I couldn’t establish whether it was Fapla or perhaps another force. All he could say was that there were Faplas in Mavinga.’

      Though the commander did not know where Savimbi was, he did confirm that the leader was not in the Cuando Cubango province. There was therefore no point in staying any longer. The team turned around and walked all the way back to their vehicles. The trip had not produced anything, except that they now knew Savimbi was not in the province.

      They reached the vehicles after about a day and a half and spent the night there. The next day they returned to Coutado do Mucusso, and again followed the old bush road and crossed the river at Bagani. Finally, two weeks after their departure, they were back at Rundu.

      ‘The only notable intelligence we had gathered was that Savimbi was not in the Cuando Cubango province. I briefed Unita’s liaison officer, Samakuva, as well as MI’s liaison officer.’ The three Recces then returned to Durban, but first landed in Pretoria where Blaauw reported back to Special Forces HQ. He also mentioned that Unita had decided it was the end of the matter because they had no further information. ‘If the situation changed in the future, we would hopefully be redeployed.’

      They arrived at the Bluff in Durban late on the Friday afternoon. Early on the Sunday morning Cmdt. Swart phoned and told Blaauw to come to the headquarters immediately. The other two team members were already there. The team had to return to Pretoria as soon as possible because the operation that had been called off was now going ahead again.

      Mourão da Costa, however, had already been earmarked for another operation. So it was decided Gert Eksteen would go in his place. They had to depart that same day still in some or other way. Swart liaised hurriedly with the air force base in Durban, and luckily there was a Dakota that had to fly to Pretoria. Since the matter was so pressing, the Dakota would already leave on the Sunday afternoon.

      Everyone rushed to get their kit ready again. Their washed camouflage clothing was still hanging on the washing lines. The new three-man team flew to Pretoria in great haste. At the Special Forces HQ they learnt the reason for the urgency: Unita had received intelligence that Savimbi was somewhere north of the Benguela Railway and moving southward in the direction of the Cunene province. Unita had a base there in the Chimpolo highland. He was probably on his way to this base and would arrive there within two days.

      Blaauw and his team had to make sure that they awaited Savimbi’s arrival at the base. Unita wanted the Recce team to help Savimbi get across the border to the safety of Rundu. The intelligence officer made no mention of the suspicion that Savimbi was being followed. Hence Blaauw was unaware that a strong group of Swapo, Fapla and Cuban soldiers were on the Unita leader’s trail.

      The Recce team arrived in Pretoria on the Sunday evening. According to Blaauw’s quick calculations, it was not feasible to be in the Chimpolo highland, 200 km inside Angola, within two days. He asked the commander of Special Forces, Gen. Fritz Loots, to urgently arrange for a plane to take them to Rundu the following morning. It preferably had to be a Hercules C-130 so that they could fly that same evening to the target area where they would jump in by freefall. There would not be enough time to bundu bash (drive through the bush) from Rundu to the Chimpolo highland with vehicles. Blaauw also requested that each of them be given a complete freefall kit because this equipment was not available at Rundu.

      After Loots had arranged for the plane, he summoned the storemen. The three team members had a free hand to pick whatever they needed … Elton altimeters, freefall goggles, parachutes, emergency parachutes and freefall helmets.

      The next morning they flew to Rundu where they again joined the liaison officer, Col. Flip du Preez, and Maj. Samakuva, the Unita representative. The latter confirmed that they had received an indication (possibly a report or via the bush telegraph) and had also had some radio communication with Savimbi. There was consensus that the Recces would jump in by freefall, but where the drop zone (DZ) was and who would mark it they did not yet know.