The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
LACK of funding has strongly affected facilitation of programmes meant to perpetuate the legacy and tell the history of the late Vice-President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo with the Joshua Nkomo National Foundation struggling to maintain a museum set up in his honour.
The Foundation has appealed to the Government to consider setting aside a grant so that it can do more in educating people about the legacy left behind by the late Father Zimbabwe as well as preserve the history of the iconic liberation stalwart.
The Joshua Nkomo Museum was opened in Bulawayo’s Matsheumhlope in 2006 and has since partnered with the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ).
Mrs Thandiwe Nkomo-Ibrahim daughter to Father Zimbabwe and a trustee at the Joshua Nkomo National Foundation said they were seeking funding for the museum.
“We need to get a grant from the Government if possible then supplement with our own fundraising initiatives. Things were better before but the economy is struggling and money is hard to come by. We will be glad if we can get a Government grant. We know we can do a few things with it,” said.
She said there was a period where the Foundation was not operating well because of lack of funding adding that assistance was pronounced during the birthday and death anniversary of the late Father Zimbabwe.
Mrs Nkomo–Ibrahim said the foundation was responsible for raising its own funds and have been doing this through well-wishers over the years.
“We have done dinner dances, marathons, tours of the museum, golf and soccer tournaments and many more. But this has become a bit difficult over the years. We need a consistent grant because we have a secretariat that needs to be paid too,” she said.
When the museum was opened the foundation worked with the NMMZ to set it up as it had to meet certain standards. The information that was going into the museum also had to be approved and some of the materials came from the NMMZ.
“This museum was first displayed at the main museum for about a year or two. The idea was to have a moving museum, where we take it to different parts of the country and stay for a few months.
“So it was done for a little while but we realised that the artefacts were being damaged and lost in the process of moving. So we decided to take the Mandela Museum model and convert one of Baba Nkomo’s homes into a museum and we chose the house in Matsheumhlope,” she said.
The family donated a house to the foundation to set up the museum so they turned his main house into a museum where most of the displays are from family, and some are from the public.
Mrs Nkomo-Ibrahim said there were some materials that were still with the public.
“We are facing a big challenge in that materials and artefacts are still out there with people and we are calling on them to come forward and have the things displayed.
“These include pictures of Baba Nkomo, letters, newspapers, statues, videos, tapes from the liberation struggle, be it in detention at Gonakudzingwa, Zambia, many people have these things,” she said.
She further said the foundation had done its best to set up the museum in segments starting from partitioning of Africa, the colonial period, early activists and even the first wars that were fought before the actual war of liberation.
She said Father Zimbabwe’s history as a trade unionist, the federation and why it failed were also captured including his involvement in the national movements and how he took it abroad.
It also chronicles negotiations that were done as the struggle was not just about violent confrontation but negotiations also were part of what Baba Nkomo did for the country.
“We also capture his 10 years at Gonakudzingwa, the involvement of Frontline States and their role in the struggle. The independence of Zimbabwe is highlighted together with the role of Baba Nkomo after independence and the Unity Accord of 1987 and subsequently his death which was a huge event is also well documented in the museum,” she added.
The foundation’s biggest clients are schools.
“We have an agreement with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education where we have tours that start form the JMN
Nkomo Airport, the statue and they end at the museum. They can see pictures and hear stories about Father Zimbabwe. They can also ask questions. We want them to come up with lessons from Nkomo, his values and beliefs,” said Ms Nkomo-Ibrahim.
Mr Jabulani Hadebe the projects manager for the Joshua Nkomo National Foundation said there was a national quiz for schoolchildren hosted by the foundation.
“We are calling on people who want to partner the foundation; they are free to donate stationery and other things. The quiz is about the history of Zimbabwe and largely on Father Zimbabwe,” he said.
Mr Hadebe said they have also established Mqabuko Gardens where they were working on the museum gardens with the intention of hiring them out for functions, weddings, parties, picnics and any other functions. This way they said they would be fundraising for the museum.
Mrs Nkomo-Ibrahim said they were planning to put signposts from the airport up to the museum so that people know how to get there.
