The Sunday News
THE first day of July every year is a special day for Zimbabwe as the nation unites to celebrate the life of a revolutionary, nationalist, liberation war luminary and unifier, the late Vice-President of Dr Joshua Nkomo,.
Born on 19 June 1917, in Semokwe Reserve, Matabeleland, Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo died on Tuesday, 1 July 1999.
The news of his death sent a tremor across the nation as a giant had fallen, a giant both in the literal and literary senses.
Dr Nkomo was affectionately referred to as Father Zimbabwe, Umdala Wethu, Umafukufuku, or Chibwechitedza among many other titles in recognition of his various roles he played in making Zimbabwe what it is today.
The singular role played by Dr Nkomo in founding the country’s liberation from colonial rule, sacrificing his life, which was constantly on the line, earned him the undisputable title Father Zimbabwe.
Dr Nkomo, who by then was of a quite modest educational background gave up a well-paying job at the Rhodesia Railways to start his quest to liberate the country.
He founded a series of freedom movements and played a crucial role during the formative stages of the liberation struggle. In 1957 he was elected president of the African National Congress (ANC) which was to be banned in 1959 forcing Dr Nkomo into exile to escape imprisonment.
On his return to the country he founded the National Democratic Party in 1961 which again was banned by the repressive colonialist government. But because of Dr Nkomo’s undying desire to liberate the country he loved passionately, he went on and founded Zapu years later.
Most politicians of note that are revered today once worked under Dr Nkomo’s leadership. President Robert Mugabe, a political luminary of enviable stature himself worked under the leadership of Dr Nkomo in Zapu as the party’s secretary general and Dr Nkomo was president.
Dr Nkomo thus fathered not only the country’s independence, but also nurtured many present day politicians.
He had a big heart equal to that of an elephant. He was a man of peace and unity, selfless attributes he exhibited when he and President Mugabe signed the Unity Accord in 1987.
His illustrious political exploits, summarised above are so compelling and convince anyone that Dr Nkomo deserves the highest honour any political leader may be given.
Some quarters have, convinced by Dr Nkomo’s decorated political curriculum vitae, gone to the extent of calling on Government to declare 1 July as a national holiday in honour of the life of Dr Nkomo and the sacrifices he made to secure freedom for millions of natives.
Others, however, disagree.
It is no secret that the State has done considerably a lot in honouring the late former Vice-President, but those calling for a national holiday in his honour feel the holiday would be the ultimate honour befitting a man of Dr Nkomo’s stature.
Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Airport, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Road both in Bulawayo and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo polytechnic college in Gwanda are some of the notable institutions that have been named after and in honour of the late revolutionary.
The statue of Dr Nkomo at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Road is yet another historic gesture by Government to honour the late former Vice President and preserve his legacy.
Chief executive officer of the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo National Foundation (JMNNF) Mr Jabulani Hadebe believes more could still be done to honour and preserve Dr Nkomo’s legacy.
He reckons declaring 1 July a national holiday is a more befitting honour to a man of Dr Nkomo’s stature and would help future generations to remember the late revolutionary’s contribution in the founding of Zimbabwe.
“I feel we have delayed a lot in really honouring him (Dr Nkomo) adequately. The statue and renaming of the road was only done in 2013. Dr Nkomo is not just an ordinary liberation war hero, but one of the country’s founding fathers. When you look at all that he has done you come to the realisation that he and maybe a few other heroes deserve the highest honour of the land.
“Declaring a holiday to honour Dr Nkomo is the most befitting honour this nation can give him,” said Mr Hadebe.
His sentiments were backed by Mr Sibangilizwe Nkomo, son to Dr Nkomo, who said: “In my understanding, countries world over set aside days to honour their founding fathers. In Botswana for example they have 1 July as a holiday to honour Sir Seretse Khama their founding father. We too should do the same and honour our founding fathers in similar fashion. It is the only way that future generations may cherish and preserve the legacy of their heroes.”
Political and social commentator Mr Cont Mhlanga is, however, of a different view, arguing that declaring 1 July or any other day as a holiday in honour of Dr Nkomo would not add value to him, society and the country at large.
He said those calling for a holiday to be declared in his honour wanted to “celebrate out of context because of selfish personal interests with stressful agendas that will not take the nation forward”.
“Dr Nkomo already has a holiday. Unity Day on 22 December is his holiday and we don’t need to split his legacy into small pieces by declaring several days in his honour. Unity Day is a day that he created to unify the people of Zimbabwe. Dr Nkomo stood for peace and unity in the country, and throughout his struggle for independence those are the things that he fought for.
“We too should believe in the ideals that he stood for and that way we will be giving him the honour that he deserves. As a country we should start thinking on how best we can uphold Dr Nkomo’s ideals when we celebrate Unity Day, a day he created. That way we will move forward and progress as a peaceful nation, which is what Dr Nkomo stood for,” said Mr Mhlanga.
Mr Sibangilizwe Nkomo, however, stuck to his guns, dismissing Mr Mhlanga’s opinion and added that his family would go ahead with plans to lobby Government to set aside a special day as a holiday in honour of their father.
“Unity Day has its own purpose and that is to celebrate unity and peace in the country and that day cannot be said to be a holiday to commemorate Dr Nkomo. World over founding fathers have days set aside in their honour and it is our strong conviction that the same should happen here.
“We have made our request with the Ministry of Home Affairs and we were referred to President Mugabe. Unfortunately the President has been busy since last year and as you know it is not easy to get an appointment with him. We are still hopeful that we will meet him and present our proposal,” he said.
Zanu-PF spokesperson, Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo would not be drawn into the debate saying such matters did not fall under the party.
“Those matters are handled by a Cabinet committee that has been created for those purposes. We don’t want to express sentiments but we want facts, facts you can only get from the Cabinet committee,” he said.
