Peter Matika

Leisure Reporter

THE Joshua Nkomo Foundation will soon release fresh insight into the life of the late Vice-President of Zimbabwe, Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo, who was warmly known as Father Zimbabwe, which is scheduled to premiere in Zimbabwe before the end of the year.

The foundation, which has already begun working on the project, teamed up with local media houses to work on the documentary, which will be a multi-media project that specifically focuses on the late Dr Nkomo’s non-political life.

“This is not a rehearsed story,” the director general of the Joshua Nkomo Foundation — Mmillili Tapela, told Sunday Leisure in an interview to promote the project. “It is totally new in what you will learn and experience.”

Work on the project began about a fortnight ago at the late Dr Nkomo’s home near St Joseph’s School in Kezi.

Tapela said the project was part of a series of ongoing projects the foundation was working on to commemorate the life and times of the national icon. Several people comprising his relatives, friends, people he went to school and grew up with were included in the making of the documentary.

“The project tells a story that nobody knows and will enlighten the public as to who he was. If a project is interesting, new and different people will be fascinated,” he said.

He mentioned that as part of a series of ongoing commemorations of the late iconic figure, there would be an inaugural annual lecture, which would be launched on 29 June at the National University of Science and Technology.

“This will purely be an academic lecture focusing on various topics and will be hosted by the foundation and Nust. We are still working on getting a notable guest speaker for the lecture. There will also be a golf tournament which kicks off on the 27th and will go on until the 30th of this month. The venue is however yet to be advised.

This is an annual golf challenge in remembrance of the late Father Zimbabwe,” he noted. Tapela also mentioned that they were planning to host a soccer match between Highlanders and comrades on 1 July.

“We are still working on the logistics of the match, what better way to commemorate his life. We are still working on building a team of comrades who worked and lived with him during the struggle,” Tapela added.