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Vincent Gono
THE day was Thursday, the date was 17 January just like today, the year 2013 and it was around midday when the country’s Vice-President Cde John Landa Nkomo breathed his last at St Anne’s Hospital in Harare after a long battle with cancer.
His death plunged the country into both mourning and celebration. They were mourning his passing on while also celebrating a life that was well lived, for those that have made meaningful contributions in the country’s development discourse do not die, they depart to the great beyond and their legacy lives on.
Cde Nkomo was one politician who was cut from the cloth of nationalists with an unwavering patriotism and a strong determination to see the country developing and realising the real objectives of the liberation struggle which he was instrumental in its execution.
He was the kind of politician who believed that the most important thing is not just that one has lived and died but the difference they would have made in other people’s lives. And of course the sacrifice that he made in the liberation of the country as well as in the post-Independence era was an important difference in the people of Zimbabwe’s lives and speaks loud of his selflessness, for there were many among his generation who lacked the courage to fight for their country.
And as Shakespeare aptly puts it, “cowards die many times, mostly because of fear,” Cde Nkomo was not a coward; he was a hero and was among the many comrades from whose ideas originated the surge towards the liberation of the country.
He therefore deserves a place in the country’s history as a man who gave other comrades a vision of an Independent Zimbabwe.
Cde Nkomo also knew very well that he was not only a father to his biological children. He had the family Zimbabwe first and his own family always came second.
He was a true patriot, a real son of the soil who remained true to his country and never dithered on development.
Cde Nkomo was a highly principled and honest politician — a very rare and expensive quality to find in most politicians. He was a man of impeccable integrity and unwavering resolve, a father, teacher, nationalist, fighter and strategist — the superlatives are just too many to mention to fittingly describe who he actually was. He was everything positive and everything the word development stands for.
His son Cde Jabulani Nkomo said in an interview with Sunday News that his father was an icon and pillar of strength whose demise left a big gap that the family still felt three years down the line.
He said as family they always look back with fondness reminiscing the times they shared with their father, the advice that gave them, especially his emphasis on hard work and the need to preserve the spirit of ubuntu which is largely defined by the spirit of communism, respect and work.
“We are very happy that we had such a great man whose contribution was towards national development as a father. We did not realise it when he was around but that gap is now being felt as we look at it and reminisce the good old times we used to share with him. His life touched a lot more lives in more ways than one. He was an icon and a pillar of strength to many who conversed with him.
“Although we were not always with him as we grew up, owing to his political life that was largely characterised by arrests and detentions, we got to fully appreciate his contribution after Independence when he came back for us and we realised we had a loving father,” said Jabulani.
Growing up, he added, they were just like any other village family that was devoid of a life of plenty. He said they also used to go to primary school barefooted as he was not always there for them and would only come home occasionally.
“With the type of life that we used to live back then, we learnt what it means to work hard for ourselves and not to depend on him as we were not even sure and guaranteed that we were going to be with him for a long time as he had dedicated his life to the politics of liberation struggle of the country where many never came back.
“He only came back to be with us when I was doing my Advanced Level, even then we never felt spoilt. He was a hard worker himself, a perfectionist, strict and harsh at times. In summary he was just a principled man who detested corruption and short cuts. He was humble and loved his traditional food, especially amasi. He always discouraged junk food, he didn’t like it.
“His advice to me was that you should always let people have good memories of you. And in keeping his legacy we have so far set up the John Landa Nkomo Memorial Trust, a museum and a business centre where the public can access his works as a liberation icon. A professional curator is currently working on the narrative of the man he was,” said Cde Jabulani.
Of the Landa John Nkomo School whose construction was spearheaded by the late Vice-President he said, “We have also donated about 11 cows to the Landa John Nkomo High School in Tsholotsho’s agricultural component which also has a chicken project. We will continue to support the school so that his vision is fully realised. His friends have also kept on supporting most of his projects through us as the family and we want to thank them for that.
“Mr Raj Modi donated a truckload of cement towards the construction of the clinic in Ward 12. We also have his friends who have pledged US$2,5 m for the construction of the school’s boarding facilities, sporting grounds and teachers’ houses. The school has an enrolment of 300 pupils now and some 20 pupils were given boarding facilities as they come from very far away from the school,” he said.
Cde Jabulani added that they also inherited the San community in Tsholotsho that used to get food aid from Cde Nkomo and said although expectations were high, there were no adequate financial resources and implored those who could assist to do so, so that the late iconic Vice-President’s vision could be realised.
He said his successor Cde Phelekezela Mphoko was organising a soccer tournament in Tsholotsho in memory of the late VP Nkomo.
Cde Jabulani also expressed his interest to continue running for the Tsholotsho South Parliamentary seat saying although he lost in the primary elections in 2013 he was strategising for a strong comeback in 2018.
The late VP Nkomo was born on 22 August, 1934, and was a member of the African National Congress between 1958 and 1959. In 1960, he joined the National Democratic Party and in 1961, he also joined the Zimbabwe Africa People’s Union (Zapu) when the party was founded.
Like many freedom fighters at the time, he was arrested and detained, spending 1966 to 1968 at Gonakudzingwa detention camp which was among the many camps established by the Rhodesian regime in the early 1960s as a quick but punitive response to the rising tide of nationalist politics.
In 1971, he joined the African National Council and became its deputy secretary-general. He went to Switzerland for liberation talks, dubbed the Geneva Conference, in 1976.
Cde Nkomo was then injured in a parcel bomb attack that killed liberation hero Jason Ziyapapa Moyo in Zambia in 1977.
After Independence in 1980, Cde John Nkomo went on to serve in a number of senior positions. He was the legislator for Matabeleland North between 1980 and 1985.
In 1981, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy before becoming the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, responsible for the Deputy Premier between 1982 and 1984.
From 1985 to 1990, Cde Nkomo was the Member of Parliament for Nyamandlovu constituency and then between 1990 and 1995, he represented Bulawayo North as a lawmaker. From 1988 to 1995, he served as the Minister of Labour, Manpower Planning and Social Welfare.
In 1995, he was re-elected to represent Bulawayo North in the august house and was appointed Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. In 1997, he was appointed to the renamed Ministry of Local Government and National Housing before becoming the Minister of Home Affairs in 2000.
In 2002, he was appointed the Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for Special Affairs and was the Speaker of Parliament between 2005 and 2008.
Following the 2008 elections, Cde Nkomo was appointed to the post of Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration.
He became the Vice-President of the country after the death of Cde Joseph Msika on 4 August, 2009 and remained with his ministry position in the Inclusive Government until his death.
Online Reporter