An honour long overdue: The push to declare July 1 a national holiday

IN a long-awaited recognition, Zimbabwe is set to honour the legacy of one of its most revered leaders, Vice-President Joshua Nkomo, by declaring July 1st a national holiday.

The historic decision is a demonstration of the profound impact that “Father Zimbabwe,” who died on July 1, 1999, had on the country’s liberation struggle and its subsequent development.

Dr Nkomo’s unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and the well-being of the Zimbabwean people-inspired generations. His diplomatic brilliance and strategic thinking were instrumental in securing crucial support for the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra) and in negotiating the 1987 Unity Accord, which brought an end to the devastating post-independence conflict.

In honour of a true revolutionary who challenged white colonial dominance and inspired generations to fight for the country’s liberation, Zanu-PF, during its 21st National People’s Conference, resolved that July 1 be declared a national holiday. Zanu-PF Secretary for Legal Affairs, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, read the party’s resolution to the delegates.

“The party directs that July 1 of each year be declared a public holiday in honour of the late VP Dr Joshua Nkomo,” said Cde Chinamasa as he read one of the resolutions.

Dr Nkomo’s family has for years been lobbying for July 1 to be declared a public holiday, saying this will immortalise the late Father Zimbabwe.

To honour Dr Nkomo’s legacy, the Government in 2013 renamed the Bulawayo Airport as the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport. It also renamed Main Street to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street and erected a statue at the centre of the renamed road and 8th Avenue.

His towering statue has become an attraction for both local and international tourists, while football fanatics also conduct their pre-match rituals at the site of the statue.

Dr Nkomo’s daughter, Thandi Nkomo Ebrahim, said the Zanu-PF resolution came as a pleasant surprise to the family, and they were looking forward to the declaration.

“This is very important; it is something that we have been advocating for quite some time now. We were kind of pleasantly surprised that it happened during this conference; we didn’t expect it to happen. We will be remembering him for his contribution throughout the whole struggle. This is from the time when he started to organise for the struggle when he was still working at the Rhodesian Railways and before that when he was a student in South Africa where he met Nelson Mandela, and where they formed a close relationship with the African National Congress (ANC),” said Nkomo-Ebrahim.

The relations with ANC resulted in future collaborations between Zapu’s armed wing, Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army, and ANC’s Umkhonto Wesizwe in fighting the colonial regimes. Sibangilizwe Nkomo, who is also a son of Father Zimbabwe, concurred with his sister, saying beyond the public holiday declaration, there is a need to erect the statue which was pencilled for Harare.

“Finally, that day is being recognised as a public holiday. We have been trying very hard for the past 15 years to lobby that July 1 be declared a national holiday. Let’s not forget that Father Zimbabwe is for the entire country.

“Declaring the holiday will be the beginning of truly declaring Dr Joshua Nkomo as the father of this nation. What needs to be done later is erecting his statue in Harare among other parts of the country to confirm his status as Father Zimbabwe,” said Nkomo.

Former freedom fighter, Cde Zephania Moyo, also popularly known as Jeconiah, said Father Zimbabwe was an architect of the country’s liberation, and it is befitting to honour him through a public holiday as it will immortalise his name.

“It’s long overdue, and to me, there are certain public holidays that are not necessary. It has been delayed, and that one should have been done a long time ago. The holiday in reference to the old man is very important. Ubaba uNkomo should have a holiday in his honour because he was the architect of the revolution. So, without Dr Nkomo, I don’t know how our revolution would have gone. It’s a missing link, and we pray that we see that public holiday being declared in the shortest period possible,” said Cde Moyo.

Zanu-PF Secretary General, Dr Obert Mpofu, said Dr Nkomo’s contributions and sacrifices to the liberation of Zimbabwe are unquestionable, hence all the provinces endorsed the resolution that July 1 be declared a public holiday.

“Umdala is revered across the country, and his importance was shown even when all the provinces unanimously resolved that July 1 be declared a public holiday in his honour.

“He is Father Zimbabwe through the sacrifices that he made for Zimbabwe to be liberated. He sacrificed all his life to ensure that the country achieves political freedom. He remains revered as a leader who championed the independence of the country,” said Dr Mpofu.

Dr Nkomo was born on June 7, 1917, in Kezi District of Matabeleland South to Thomas Nyongolo Letswana Nkomo, a prominent community leader and lay preacher of the London Missionary Society (LMS), who had two wives and 10 children.

He describes the formative years of his life as a mother’s baby always but turned out to be academically gifted.

In the 1940s, he went to study in South Africa, where he met South Africa’s late President Mandela and Sir Seretse Khama from Botswana, also late. In 1949, he returned home and married Johanna Fuyana (MaFuyana), and back home, he joined the Rhodesia Railways as a social welfare officer based in Bulawayo. The post exposed him to huge salary differences between blacks and whites doing similar jobs. Appalled by such injustices as well as generally poor social conditions under which Africans lived, Joshua Nkomo joined the trade union movement to fight against these conditions, which saw him against injustice his whole life.

He became the Commander-in-Chief of ZIPRA, and at the height of the country’s armed struggle, he was involved in diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba, and the countries provided military aid to ZIPRA in their quest to liberate the country. At Zimbabwe’s first elections in 1980, Cde Nkomo’s Zapu won 20 seats against ZANU’s 57. He turned down the largely ceremonial post of president before eventually accepting the portfolio of Minister of Home Affairs. In 1982, Cde Nkomo, together with some of his party members, was dropped from the Government as the country plunged into one of its darkest moments of Gukurahundi between 1983 and 1987. During the civil strife, Cde Nkomo briefly went into exile in 1984, only to return a year later to contest the legislative elections when he was elected MP for Magwegwe.

Dr Nkomo believed in a united Zimbabwe, and this is contained in his autobiography, The Story of My Life.

“I regard unity as Zimbabwe’s number one priority, the sine qua non of national happiness. I pray and hope that it will be achieved so that Zimbabwe can become one country for one nation, with opportunities, rights and privileges for everybody: white, yellow, black, Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Venda, Kalanga, Tonga, coloured and all,” he wrote.

From April 1988 until his death, he was Zimbabwe’s Co-Vice President. In 1988, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Commerce from Zimbabwe’s National University of Science and Technology (NUST).