WATCH: Late VP John Nkomo was a perfectionist who feared failure

THE late Vice-President Cde John Landa Nkomo was a perfectionist who feared failure, an attribute he inculcated in his children who endured the formative stages of life without a father for years as he chose to free the country from colonial bondage.

Revered by many for his sacrifice, during the struggle for independence and diligent service in various portfolios in Government, the veteran nationalist was largely known for his humility and gentleness.

The late VP Nkomo succumbed to cancer on January 17, 2013, at the age of 79 and was buried at the National Heroes Acre on January 21.

This week President Mnangagwa led the nation in paying tribute to one of the sons of the soil who distinguished himself as a peacemaker and a unifier in public and yet with a unique private life that his family alone could tell.

“Our father was a perfectionist in everything that he did and he would make us work hard so that we exceed his expectations and as a result, we would work hard enough to exceed our expectations.

“The old man pushed us to be go-getters and not losers, even in his absence now you feel like he is watching you if you’re having a problem and can’t solve it,” his eldest son, Jabulani said in an interview.

“He used to tell us that if I ask you to do something and you can’t do it all the way, do something up to where you can instead of not doing anything at all. He hated laziness.”

As the late VP Nkomo’s children, Jabulani said they missed their father’s presence at a young age as a result of his activism in the liberation of the country while after independence, he was deployed to the Government where he spent most of his time in Harare, only coming home on Friday evenings.

Even when he was home during weekends, said Jabu, as a politician, the late VP Nkomo would be busy with his chosen trade, engaging in political meetings and on Sunday afternoon, he would travel back to the capital.

“We have missed him ever since we were young, I was born in 1963 and he was already running up and down, being arrested by the settler regime now and again.

“As it were, we never had a father ever since we were born. He went to jail for many years in the late 60s and early 70s and when he was released barely a few months later, he crossed over to Zambia when I was doing Grade Three only returning home when I was in Lower Six. So, you can imagine that all that time we never had a father around us,” said the late VP’s son.

He recalled how they grew up in Bulawayo’s Tshabalala suburb where their age mates enjoyed parental love as their parents would bring them goodies like sweets, but they did not see any father coming their way. However, the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu) community was very supportive.

Jabu said the only threat to them was security agents who would now and again visit the family house and harass everyone as they sought the whereabouts of their father.

“We missed him a long time before we got independence; he was not there at our formative stages in life but we knew he was alive. We had a devastating time when we heard that he was in the same room with Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo when there was that parcel bomb,” he said.

“We were told all sorts of stories that he was alive, but no one would tell us where he was. It was a mourning zone at home, literally. We told ourselves that these people were just hiding the truth from us, umdala kasekho or was badly injured, and that chances of recovering were close to zero.

“It was a huge relief when we were later told that he was flown to Germany for treatment and we also saw his photos as they filtered through the Zapu intelligence system,” said Jabu.

He said the family remains indebted to God that their father came back alive, but feels pity for those whose relatives did not come back alive.

“It was a war situation,” said Jabu.

Eleven years after the death of their father, he said the family dearly misses his visionary advice on how to run a business empire where they have faced many challenges like any other business entity.

“We are, however, still very grateful that through his vision he set up businesses, which he left for us and we are still running those businesses although it is an uphill task in his absence,” said Jabu.

“He taught us to be strong and not to expect handouts from anyone every time. He taught us to be self-sufficient and live within our means. The one fear that he always had was to be a failure, which was a very worrying issue to him that it must never happen, not in his lifetime. He left us that spirit — that we must not fail.”

According to Jabu, the late VP Nkomo adored his grandchildren so much, an indication that he too missed them.

“He would tell us that isikhathi senu sesadlula (your time is past), but instinctively he may have been seeing us through his grandchildren.

“My father was ubaba uNkomo to his family, he was not Minister Nkomo or later VP Nkomo. When he was not on official Government duties, he didn’t like being called VP Nkomo but instead would want to be called either baba Nkomo or SaJabu,” he said.

As a means of preserving the late VP Nkomo’s legacy, a John Landa Nkomo Memorial Trust has been set up with the official launch of his museum tentatively set for August this year.

To date, the Trust has embarked on several projects such as the building of a clinic in Manqe, the late VP Nkomo’s rural village in Tsholotsho; carried on with donations to the San community, donated bed linen to Tsholotsho and Landa John Nkomo High Schools, as well as a bus to Landa John Nkomo High School among other many charitable works.