The Sunday News
“I FIRST saw him in 1980, when I was just about seven years old. I remember he asked us whether we knew him and the answer was an obvious ‘yes’. When he asked where we knew him from, he burst out in laughter after we told him that we knew him from television.”
These are the words of Mr Dumisani Nyongolo Nkomo, a nephew to the late Vice-President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo, when recounting his first encounter with the late Father Zimbabwe.
Mr Nkomo is the chief executive officer of Habakkuk Trust.
Mr Nkomo — who is the son of Edward, the youngest and only surviving of Dr Nkomo’s siblings — has for the past few years been busy researching the life of Dr Nkomo, the Nkomo family and the late Vice- President’s contribution to the liberation struggle and the development of Zimbabwe.
His research, according to him, was more out of curiosity to trace the life of the late Father Zimbabwe not only as a nationalist but also as a family man.
On Wednesday 1 July the nation joins the Nkomo family in celebrating the life of the late Vice-President. Sunday News managed to catch up with Mr Nkomo, who although has not published his research said in the next couple of years he would either release a book or produce a film that would not only chronicle the life of Dr Nkomo but also other unsung heroes from the Nkomo family like the late Cde Stephen Jeqe Nkomo.
“So far it’s not really an exhaustive research but it’s based on family sources. My father is the last born in the Nkomo family and is the only surviving member of that family. I managed to research about the Nkomo family going up to Dr Nkomo’s great-grandfather who was Ramatsatsi Nkomo.
“I managed to trace the origins of the family from Lesotho and South Africa right up to when they came to Zimbabwe; my aim being to trace Dr Nkomo’s background, his ancestry and what impact this had towards the man as we know him. I foresee that in the next two years I will either publish my research findings or even go on to produce a film chronicling his life and other unsung heroes within the Nkomo family,” said Mr Nkomo.
Nkomo the family man
On recalling the late Vice-President’s association with the larger Nkomo family, Mr Nkomo noted that due to his role in the nationalist movement he became more of a father of the nation taking everyone to be his family.
“Obviously his involvement in nationalist politics made it very difficult for him to spend quality time with his own family. The 10 years which he spent in detention and all the other years which he spent fighting for the Zimbabwean cause further compounded the issue but this did not alienate him from the family, he was always a father figure.
“I must, however, emphasise that he was a person who so much loved family. I remember every year there would be a gathering for the Nkomo family in Maphisa. It only stopped when he passed on. During these gatherings he would emphasise that we also include even the Mnkandlas and the Dubes whom we are related to. He had a passion for family, always taking time from his busy schedule as Vice-President of Zimbabwe to come meet with the family. I don’t know whether he felt guilty for spending a lot of time away from the family but he would insist on having these meetings,” said Mr Nkomo.
He also revealed that during Dr Nkomo’s association with family, away from work, there was no discrimination or sign that he was one of the most powerful people in the country.
“I noted even through my research that when he was leading the nationalist movement he never discriminated according to class. He always referred to people as ‘bantwana bami’ (my children), regardless of the fact that he was leading these people he would never say ‘my people’ or try to emphasise his power.
“The degree of relationship that he had was superb, it is a good thing that he married MaFuyana, she spent most of her time either in Pelandaba or emakhaya with family. I can tell you that it is because of this family value that all their grandchildren, even those based overseas speak IsiNdebele very fluently and know all the family values and culture,” said Mr Nkomo.
“When you talk of family one will be talking about a sense of unity, a sense of belonging and a sense of ownership. This is one value which he inculcated into his Zipra forces, let us not forget that this was his family during the struggle and he was ever so loyal to family.”
In terms of entertainment, Mr Nkomo revealed that the late Vice-President enjoyed traditional music.
“I know he loved Pelandaba Band, he loved the likes of Solomon Skhuza; he was truthfully a traditional person,” said Mr Nkomo.
Nkomo the nationalist
Mr Nkomo further revealed that through his research he discovered that while Dr Nkomo was not the first in their family to enter the nationalist movement, his father and grandfather also had a history of fighting on behalf of the people.
“The first Nkomo to enter nationalist politics was the late Cde Stephen Jeqe Nkomo when he joined the African National Congress of South Africa in the early 1940s but if you go further upwards in the family line, Motsumi Mqabuko Nkomo, who was Dr Nkomo’s grandfather was a warrior, originally Sotho but captured by Mzilikazi to become a warrior in Mzilikazi’s army.
“If you note through this family line, Dr Nkomo was not the first Mqabuko but his grandfather Motsumi was the first, making Dr Nkomo the second Mqabuko in the family. As if by coincidence or inheritance, both Mqabukos were warriors in their own right,” said Mr Nkomo.
The researcher recalled that it was during Dr Nkomo’s time in the liberation struggle that the Nkomo family as a whole suffered a great deal, noting that at one time his own mother had been fired from work for being related to the late Vice-President.
“My mother Fransisca Sani Nkomo was fired from Empandeni Mission for being related to Dr Nkomo. During the liberation war there was a time when we didn’t go to the rural areas because of our surname. Yes our uncle was a hero in the war but it was also a time when it was not comfortable being a Nkomo.
“I only saw him for the first time in 1980. I had never seen him but I knew him very well. I was just about seven years old. I knew him from television,” said Mr Nkomo.
He said that as a nationalist, Dr Nkomo had a hero-like status in the family but the majority hardly knew or had interacted with him before independence.
“The truth is while he was part of the Nkomo family, his true family before independence was his Zapu cadres, the likes of the late Cdes Joseph Msika, Vote Moyo, Albert Nxele and Sikhwili Moyo. Before independence the family never knew him as a person but as a nationalist.
“He was a larger than life person, he was an enigma to us as a family. We would only see him on television or addressing rallies. Personally, I don’t recall having a personal conversation with him but his presence alone was mind blowing — you would all know that Father Zimbabwe is around. I think that is the price you pay for being a nationalist or people’s person — you belong to everybody,” said Mr Nkomo.
Dr Nkomo’s legacy
As part of a younger Nkomo generation, Mr Nkomo said they were still learning from Dr Nkomo’s and the rest of the Nkomo family’s legacy, which he said was one of the main reasons he wanted to pen the findings of his research and also produce a movie on the life and times of Dr Nkomo.
“You run out of superlatives to describe Dr Nkomo. He was a selfless individual, willing to lay down his life for others. He was magnanimous. He was willing to allow people who were younger than him in the struggle to take the lead. He was not just a politician but he was a statesman.
“He was a visionary. He was prophetic. He saw years ahead. Even things which are happening now, he predicted them years ago. A clear example is he predicted that one day people will be packaging water and selling it. Just look right now we are all buying mineral water. That’s how much of a great leader he was,” Mr Nkomo said.
