5. This is a synthesis of Che’s thinking about this method of struggle, a greater elaboration on which can be found in his works on guerrilla warfare already cited.
6. Taking into account the peculiarities of each of the exploited continents—Asia, Africa and Latin America—Che analyzes the place each people will take as part of the necessary strategy of global confrontation with colonialism and neocolonialism, which must be based on unity and solidarity through the practice of proletarian internationalism. See Che’s 1964 speech in Algeria and his “Message to the Tricontinental” (already cited). See Che Guevara Reader (Ocean Press).
APPENDIX 1
Glossary: Clarification of Swahili Names and Terms1
The majority of the words presented here are from the Swahili language and are geographical features or proper names. Swahili is a phonetical language, with pronunciation similar to Spanish.2
Abdallah: Cuban combatant, sergeant.
Achali: Cuban combatant, sergeant; volunteer in the rescue of the compañeros who had been left behind in the Congo.
Afendi: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Agano: Cuban combatant, sergeant.
Ahiri: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Aja: Cuban combatant, soldier; volunteer in the rescue of the compañeros who had been left behind in the Congo.
Ajili: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Akika: Cuban combatant, sergeant; platoon chief in the last of the mixed companies to be formed.
Alakre: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Albertville:3 Industrial and mining city; port on Lake Tanganyika.4 The base of operations for the repressive army.
Alfred: Congolese political commissar attached to the General Staff.
Almari: Cuban combatant, sergeant.
Aly: Cuban combatant; first captain; the officer in charge of the men in Kabimba almost the entire time.
Ami: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Amia: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Anga: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Angalia: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Anzali: Cuban combatant, corporal.
Anzurumi: Congolese colonel, head of the General Staff of the Second Brigade based in the Fizi area.
Arasili: Cuban combatant, soldier; volunteer in the rescue of the compañeros who had been left behind in the Congo.
Arobaini: Cuban combatant, soldier; wounded and evacuated prior to our departure.
Arobo: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Awirino: Cuban combatant, soldier; disappeared during a retreat.
Azi: Cuban combatant, lieutenant; commanded various combat groups.
Azima: Cuban combatant, lieutenant; second in command of Second Mixed Company.
Bahasa: Cuban combatant, soldier, died as a result of wounds received on October 24, 1965.
Bahati: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Banhir:5 Cuban combatant, soldier.
Baraka: Small port on Lake Tanganyika on the road from Fizi to Uvira.
Bemba, Charles: Congolese combatant; worked at my side as political commissar without holding that rank in the Congolese army.
Bendera, Feston: Political commissar of a Congolese unit.
Bidalila: Congolese colonel; head of the First Brigade based in Uvira. Promoted to general.
Birulo: Insect in Swahili. For us it was a synonym for lice.
Bondo: Settlement on the shore of Lake Tanganyika.
Bujumbura: Capital of the Kingdom of Burundi.
Bukali:6 Congolese food made from cassava flour that has been turned into a paste in boiling water.
Bukavu: Capital of Kivu province; population 35,000.
Calixte: Congolese commander, head of the Makungu front.
Changa: Cuban combatant, captain; in charge of the transportation of supplies and messages [across Lake Tanganyika] from Kigoma.
Chei:7 Cuban combatant, soldier.
Compagnie: Rwandese combatant incorporated into our troop.
Danhusi: Cuban combatant, soldier; my aide during part of the struggle.
Dawa: Medicine in Swahili; magic ritual through which a combatant is protected against enemy bullets.
Duala: Cuban combatant, corporal.
Faume: Congolese combatant who headed a guerrilla unit in the Katenga zone; we never established contact with him.
Fizi: Small settlement near Lake Tanganyika and seat of the General Staff of the Second Brigade; crossroads.
François: Congolese commander who died in the same accident that took [Leonard] Mitoudini’s life.
Freedom Fighters: Generic name used in English to designate members of revolutionary organizations in exile.
Front de Force-Front Bendera: A place fortified by the enemy near the Albertville-Lulimba highway where there is a hydroelectric power plant.
Gbenyé [, Christophe]: Self-designated president of the rebel Congo; as Minister of the Interior of the government of [Cyrille] Adoula he ordered the arrest of [Antoine] Gizenga.
Gizenga [, Antoine]: Former deputy prime minister of the Congo; imprisoned during epoch of [Moïse Kapenda] Tshombe;8 he was freed after the coup by [Joseph Désiré] Mobutu.9
Hamsini: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Hindi: Cuban medical doctor.
Hukumu: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Huseini: Congolese commander of the Congolese troops at the Upper Base10 and at the Lubondja Barrier.
Ila, Jean: Congolese commander, head of the troop quartered at Kalonda-Kibuyu.
Ilunga, Ernest: Congolese combatant; my Swahili teacher until he became seriously ill.
Ishirini: Cuban combatant, soldier; head of the group of volunteers for the rescue of the compañeros that remained in the Congo.
Israel: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Jungo:11 Settlement on Lake Tanganyika south of the Lake Base [Kibamba].
Kabambare: Settlement on the road from Albertville to Stanleyville.12 The zone was under the control of revolutionary forces for a long time.
Kabila [, Laurent Désiré]: Second vice-president of the Supreme Council of the Congolese Revolution of the Congo,13 head of the Eastern Front.
Kabimba: Settlement on Lake Tanganyika occupied by the enemy. The southernmost point of our front was nearby.
Kaela: Settlement on Lake Tanganyika between Kazima and Kisoshi.
Kalonda-Kibuyu: Hamlet on the Katenga-Lulimba route where a Congolese guerrilla unit was quartered.
Kanyanja: Rwandese settlement on the high plain, located between Nganja and Front de Force.
Kanza [, Thomas]: Congolese politician; minister of foreign relations in Gbenyé’s government.
Kapita: Political heads of a small Congolese village; the position is below that of chairman, the title given to the head of various groupings.
Karamba:14 Geographic location between Baraka and Kazima.
Karim: Cuba combatant, lieutenant; political commissar.
Karume [, Sheik Abeid Amani]: President of Zanzibar, first vice-president of Tanzania.
Kasabuvabu, Emmanuel: Supply chief of the General Staff.
Kasai: Province of the Congo where [Pierre] Mulele operated; it has large diamond deposits.
Kasali: Congolese commander attached to the General Staff.
Kasambala: Cuban combatant, corporal.
Kasolelo-Makungu:15 Location of Commander Calixte’s camp.
Kasongo: River port in the Congo and highway interchange; there are revolutionary forces in this area.
Kasulu: Cuban medical doctor (of Haitian nationality) and French translator.
Katanga: The wealthiest and most industrialized of the provinces of the Congo; located to the south of our zone of operations.
Katenga: Town on the road between Albertville and Lulimba.
Kawawa [, Rashid Mfaume]: Second vice-president of Tanzania.
Kawawa: Cuban combatant, corporal, killed in the action at Front de Force.
Kazima: Town on Lake Tanganyika, the only area where there was a small flat piece of land between the mountains
and the lake. It was occupied by the enemy to threaten the base.
Kent [, Sammy]: Political commissar, native of Kenya, attached to the General Staff.
Kibamba: Conventional name given to the place where the base on the Congolese side of Lake Tanganyika was established.
Kiliwe: Stream that flows into the Kimbi;16 in that zone we suffered the surprise of October 24, 1965.
Kimba [, Évariste]: Short-lived Congolese prime minister; succeeded Tshombe.
Kimbi [Kiyimbi]: Tributary of the Congo River; its headwaters are in the Lake Tanganyika mountains.
Kisoshi: Settlement located between Rwandasi and Kaela, on the lakeshore.
Kisua: Cuban combatant, lieutenant; Aly’s second-in-command in the Kabimba area.
Kivu: Congolese province and the northern part of our front.
Kiwe: In charge of information on the General Staff; journalism student.
Kumi: Cuban medical doctor.
Lambert: Lieutenant colonel; chief of operations of the Second Brigade.
Lubichako: Creek and settlement on the west side of the Lake Tanganyika mountains.
Lubondja: Settlement located between Lulimba and Fizi.
Lulimba: Town on the Albertville-Bukavu road; a branch road to Kabambare starts there.
Maffu: Cuban combatant, lieutenant; in charge of the group of Cubans that stayed with the Rwandans.
Maganga: Cuban combatant, sergeant.
Makambile, Jerome: Former provincial deputy of the Congolese National Movement.
Makungu: Settlement near Front de Force; it was no man’s land until the last enemy offensive.
Marembo: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Massengo [, Ildephonse]: Chief of Staff of the Eastern Front; succeeded Mitoudidi.
Moulana: Mayor General; head of the Second Brigade based in Fizi.
Mbili: Cuban combatant; led many actions; head of the First Mixed Company.
Mbolo: Settlement on the Baraka-Uvira road on the coast of Lake Tanganyika.
Mitoudidi [, Léonard]: Chief of staff of the Eastern Front; died in a drowning accident.
Moja: Cuban combatant, commander, member of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party; head of the Second Company as instructor of the Cuban officers.
Morogoro: Cuban surgeon.
Motumbo: Canoe, generally made from a tree trunk hollowed out with fire and a hatchet.
Muganga:17 Swahili word used without differentiation to designate both Western medical doctors and native medicine men.
Mukundi: A zone in the Congo near the Albertville railroad line.
Mulele [, Pierre]: Former Lumumba minister; the first to rise up and remains in the Kasai zone.
Mundandi [, Joseph]:18 Rwandan commander who led a group of Rwandans that operated in Front de Force.
Mustafa: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Mutchungo: Minister of public health of the Supreme Council of the Congolese Revolution; he was in the Congo until the end of operations.
Muteba [, Christophe]: Head of communications of the Congolese General Staff.
Muyumba [, Norbert]: Delegate of the CNL [National Liberation Council]19 in Tanzania; later he came back to the Congo to lead actions in the Mukundi zone.
Mwenga: Town on the Fizi-Bukavu highway.
Nabikumo:20 Name of both a stream and a settlement between Lubondja and Nganja.
Nane: Cuban combatant, sergeant.
Nbagira: Minister of foreign relations of the Supreme Council of the Congolese Revolution; remained until the last moment in the Uvira zone and said he was willing to return.
Nganja:21 Settlement on the high plain populated by Rwandese herders.
Ngoja, Andre: Congolese combatant, active in the Kabambare zone.
Ngenje: Cuban combatant, sergeant; named chief of the Lake Base at the end.
Nne: Cuban combatant, lieutenant; died in the action at Front de Force.
Nor-Katanga: Province of the Congo located south of our front.
Nyangi: Settlement near Front de Force; enemy spearhead.
Nyerere, Julius: President of Tanzania [1962-85].
Olenga [, Nicholas]: Congolese general, head of the Stanleyville front.
Ottu: Cuban combatant, corporal; withdrew due to illness before the end of the struggle.
Pascasa: Congolese colonel at Mulele’s front; died in Cairo in a dispute between revolutionaries.
Pombe: Distilled spirit made from fermenting of cassava and corn.
Pombo: Cuban combatant, lieutenant; head of the group of my aides.
Rabanini: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Rafael:22 Our representative in Tanzania.
Rebokate: Cuban combatant, lieutenant.
Rivalta, Pablo: Our ambassador in Tanzania,
Rwandasi: A point on the coast of Lake Tanganyika 4 kilometers from Kibamba.
Saba: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Salumu: Congolese captain; in charge of the defense of the Kazima zone in the last days.
Sele: Settlement about 15 kilometers to the south of Kibamba from where we embarked on leaving the Congo.
Siki: Cuban combatant, commander, member of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party; took charge of the responsibilities of a chief of staff.
Simba: Means “lion” in Swahili; title given to the combatants of the liberation army.
Singida: Cuban combatant, sergeant.
Sita: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Sitaini: Cuban combatant, soldier; withdrew due to illness.
Sitini: Cuban combatant, sergeant.
Siwa: Cuban combatant, lieutenant, second in command of the First Mixed Company.
Soumialot [, Gaston-Émile]: President of the Supreme Council of the Congolese Revolution.
Sultán: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Tano: Cuban combatant, soldier.
Tatu: Three in Swahili; my name in the Congo.
Tchamlesso [, Dihur Godefroid]: See “Tremendo Punto.”
Tembo: Means “elephant” in Swahili, the name used by Emilio Aragonés, member of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party.
Thelathini: Cuban combatant; sergeant; killed in the Front de Force action.
Tom: Cuban combatant, soldier; the political commissar of the troop until the arrival of Karim.
“Tremendo Punto”: Nickname of Tchamlesso, member of Massengo’s General Staff in the last period; previously a representative in Tanzania.
Tuma: Cuban combatant, lieutenant, head of the transmissions group.
Tumaini: Cuban combatant, sergeant; my aide.
Uta: Cuban combatant, captain.
Uvira: Settlement located at the northern edge of Lake Tanganyika and the northern limit of our front.
Zakarias: Rwandese captain who led the troop of Rwandans in the absence of Mundandi.
Zombe: Congolese food made from cassava leaves.
1. This glossary was prepared by Che Guevara as part of his manuscript for this book.
2. The spelling of many names and places in this manuscript (and the diary and notes that served as sources for the manuscript) often varies, partly due to differences in the spelling and pronunciation of Swahili. Therefore the editors have opted, as far as possible, to correct the spelling of both the names assumed by the Cuban combatants as well as those of geographic locations. Footnotes have been used to indicate where this has occurred.
In the case of the Swahili names of the Cuban combatants, various available sources have been compared and, where possible, a Swahili dictionary was consulted.
The names of geographic locations have also been checked with maps of the region, both current and from that era, and in addition Swahili phonetics has been taken into account. When differences have been found between the way the names are spelled in the text and the correct spelling, the correct spelling is indicated in a footnote the first time the name appears in the text.
3. Today Kalemie.
4. In the case of some geographical names, the spelling used in the ori
ginal has been respected when it corresponds to that accepted then in Spanish even though today it has changed. That is the case of Tanganyika, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa and Korea.
5. It has not been possible to identify the real name of this combatant; it is possible this is due to a typographical error in the original manuscript.
6. The correct spelling is ugali.
7. The name is presented as Chei or Chail referring to the combatant who was given the pseudonym Chen.
8. Moïse Kapenda Tshombe led the separatist movement of Katanga (a southeastern province of the Congo) initiated in 1959. On June 30, 1960, 11 days after independence and the installation of the government of Patrice Lumumba, and with the support of the Mining Union of Katanga and Belgium, Tshombe declared the secession of Kananga, thereby creating his own government. A conflict began that escalated over the following months, marked by the presence of Belgian troops and secessionist actions, culminating with Joseph Kasavubu’s betrayal of Lumumba and the assassination of Lumumba on January 17, 1961, in Elizabethville, the Katangan capital, with the participation of the interior minister of Tshombe’s government. The years that followed were marked by imperialist maneuvers seeking the neocolonial domination of the country, the intervention of the United Nations, as well as the resistance and struggles of Lumumba’s followers. In 1963, faced with the actions of the forces under the UN flag, the Katangan secessionists were forced to renounce their objectives, and Tshombe went into exile in Spain. But with the advance of the insurgents, who gained strength by the end of that year and continued to win victories in 1964, as well as the total withdrawal of the United Nations and the inability of Mobutu’s army to contain the rebels, a transitional government was formed and with the consent of the United States, Tshombe became prime minister, so that his influence could be used in negotiations with the rebels. Tshombe remained in that post until October 13, 1965, when the transitional government’s mandate ended by a decree from Kasavubu. Tshombe returned to Spain and died in Algeria in 1969.
9. Joseph Désiré Mobutu (adopted the name Mobutu Sese Seko after January 10, 1972) was an undercover agent of the Belgian special services and, from 1960, CIA collaborator. During his first week in power, Lumumba promoted him to colonel and chief of staff of the Congolese National Army. When parliament refused to remove Lumumba and the traitor Kasavubu, on September 29, 1960, Mobutu named a “technical cabinet,” suspending parliament and ordering “communist ambassadors” to leave the country. Mobutu was one of those responsible for the assassination of Lumumba, and remained head of the army that, with Belgian and US support, and the participation of white mercenaries, fought against the revolutionary Lumumba forces. On November 25, 1965, he overthrew President Kasavubu and proclaimed himself president for a five-year term, although his dictatorship lasted more than three decades. A rebellion led by Laurent Désiré Kabila, head of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire, was initiated in December 1996 and in May 1997 succeeded in taking control of the Congo. On May 16, 1997, Mobutu left the country and went to Morocco, where he died on September 7 of the same year.