Chronicle Editor
Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S indigenous tree planting ambassador, Mr Never Bonde was adopted by the late Vice-President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo at the age of nine after he saw him at an orphanage in Mutare, Manicaland province.
The vegetation conservationist, together with another orphan, Brenda Ncube who is now late were identified for adoption by Dr Nkomo at the London Lodge Orphanage which is now called Hupenyu Hutsva Children’s Home.
Popularly known as Father Zimbabwe, the fearless freedom fighter succumbed to prostate cancer on July 1, 1999 at the age of 82, and was buried at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
Dr Nkomo used trade unionism as a stepping stone for politics before joining other young radicals who opposed white settler domination in the then Southern Rhodesia.
In an interview as part of commemorating 23 years after the death of the veteran liberation struggle stalwart, Mr Bonde, who is the director of Isandla Esihle/ Ruoko Rwakanaka Trust, described Dr Nkomo as a warm-hearted man who exuded humour and humility.
He said the late struggle icon loved jogging and treated him as his own son during their holiday visits to his home in Bulawayo.
Mr Bonde lived with Dr Nkomo for about 12 years.
“I got to know of Dr Joshua Nkomo in 1989 during his visit to London Lodge, an orphanage in Mutare where I was staying. He indicated that he wanted to adopt some children from the institution and I was lucky to be chosen together with another girl whose name was Brenda Ncube,” he said.
Mr Bonde said each time schools closed, Dr Nkomo sent a driver to collect them and they would spend the entire holiday at the Nkomo family home in Bulawayo’s Matsheumhlope suburb.
“I remember in the first days, we didn’t feel comfortable and we were deeply sceptical about spending the holiday at Dr Nkomo’s house. He, however, made us feel at home and in no time, we fitted into the family and became part of it,” he said.
“We would spend most of the time with his wife, Mrs Joana MaFuyana Nkomo, daughter Thandi and sons Sibangilizwe and Thutani. At first, he used to stay in Pelandaba before moving to Matsheumhlope suburb.”
Mr Bonde said each time Dr Nkomo visited Manicaland on official business, he never missed an opportunity to pay them a courtesy visit and would bring them goodies and money.
He said Dr Nkomo loved jogging and every morning, he would wake them up so that they could join him in exercising.
“When it was holiday time, Dr Nkomo’s drivers would come and pick us and take us to Bulawayo. What I also vividly remember is that after moving to Matsheumhlope, we would wake up at 5AM and began to jog along the road,” said Mr Bonde.
“He would jog up to as far as Rio Hotel, which is at the Waterford turn-off with us in tow. It was quite exciting experience for us.”
He said each time, they had school trips, Dr Nkomo funded them.
“My first time to Victoria Falls and Great Zimbabwe and Hwange National Park was during school trips, which Dr Nkomo funded. He had us at heart and we never ran out of food and other basic necessities during his life time,” said Mr Bonde.
He said Dr Nkomo was also a traditionalist who loved and valued his Kalanga and Ndebele culture.
“Dr Nkomo would urge us to be proud of being Africans and to value our culture as well as prioritising education. He would say ‘ngicela lifunde bantwana bami lingadlali ngesikolo,” said Mr Bonde.
He said Dr Nkomo and his wife MaFuyana, loved Mazoe orange juice, which they kept in stock at their house.
“Most of time, MaFuyana would send us to the shops to buy Mazoe orange crush. Because of his love for oranges, Dr Nkomo planted several citrus trees at his house in Matsheumhlope and I witnessed one of trees being planted,” he said.
Mr Bonde said Dr Nkomo loved traditional food such as isitshwala samabele (inyawuti), millet and dried vegetables.
“To me, Dr Nkomo was my father given that he offered to look after me as an orphan. He was a kind hearted man who openly interacted with a lot of people. I remember during school holidays the likes of the late Cain Nkala, Cde Jabulani Sibanda would frequently visit him,” he said.
Mr Bonde reminisced the day Dr Nkomo gently teased him after he had bought a pair of sports shoes that did not fit him.
“I recall at one time, Dr Nkomo bought me a pair of sports shoes during my absence when I was at school. When I came home for holiday, he asked me to fit the shoes, but they were smaller than my feet,” he said.
“He jokingly yelled at me saying ‘wena ngizakuthwala khathesi sihambe sonke koBata and have your toes chopped so that these shoes can fit.”
Mr Bonde said he had developed a strong bond with Dr Nkomo who used to address him as “Shona lami.”
“When I reached my 20s, I enrolled for a course in steel and fabrication at a local rehabilitation centre and during one of his numerous visits, Dr Nkomo offered to sponsor me to go to Germany to further my studies in that field,” he said.
“Just when my papers were now ready for me to travel to Germany, Dr Nkomo passed on and that is how my dream of going to Germany collapsed.”
Mr Bonde said despite Dr Nkomo’s death, he continued to maintain the bond with the Nkomo family.
“I have never stopped visiting Dr Nkomo’s family because that bond still exists. During Heroes Day commemorations, I make it a point that I visit his grave at the National Heroes Acre in Harare,” he said.
“I had developed a strong bond with Dr Nkomo and he loved me so much and treated me like his own son.”
Mr Bonde said before his death, Dr Nkomo bought him a house in Cowdray Park suburb.
“He bought me a four-roomed house in Cowdray Park, something which I got to know of three years ago. Sadly, the house has since been repossessed by Bulawayo City Council because no one was paying rentals and service charges,” he said.
“Dr Nkomo was a true nationalist who never discriminated against people on racial or tribal lines, which is why he actually preferred to come and adopt children in Manicaland.”–@mashnets
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