The National University of Science and Technology (Nust), in collaboration with the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Foundation, will this year host the inaugural Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Memorial Lecture.
The inaugural lecture will be held on Friday at the university’s recently refurbished Ceremonial Hall where former Industry and Trade minister Nkosana Moyo will be the guest of honour.
Moyo is now executive director of the Mandela Institute of Development Studies in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The organiser of the lecture and director of the Joshua Nkomo Museum and Centre for Dialogue, Mmillili Tapela, said they hoped the lecture series would preserve the unity that the late nationalist fought for.
“We are interested in making sure that the Joshua Nkomo dream of a united and prosperous Zimbabwe does not die,” he said. “The lecture series is one of the ways of doing so. This is the first of its kind to honour and celebrate the legacy of the late Vice-President.”
Other guests at the launch will include historian and academic Sabelo Gatsheni Ndlovu and Joshua Nyoni, an agricultural economist and consultant.
Tapela said Moyo’s presentation would be titled “Back to the Future”.
“Guests consisting of academics, politicians, Nkomo’s family, friends, and representatives of various organisations are going to attend the memorial lecture. It is also open to the public,” he said.
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Nust media studies department chairperson Nqobile Nyathi said the department first mooted the idea back in 2003 but failed to kickstart it due to financial constraints.
The lecture series will coincide with the 13th anniversary of Nkomo’s death.
The late nationalist died of prostate cancer on July 1, 1999. Meanwhile, Zapu youths have challenged government to declare July 1 a public holiday in honour of the late “Father Zimbabwe”.
Zapu Youth Front chairperson Ndodana Moyo told NewsDay last week that their pleas had fallen on deaf ears and so they had taken it upon themselves to make the declaration.
“To us July 1 is now a public holiday,” he said.
“Since July 1, 1999, we have had to constantly beg the government and the community to honour Nkomo by declaring July 1 a national holiday.
“Asking seems to make some people think that they have the power to decide on behalf of the people.” Moyo added: “We demand Main Street to be changed into Joshua Mqabuko Street by the eve of July 1, 2012.”
He denounced Unity Day celebrated on December 22 every year as “a day to make people not be aware of the truth”.
“We would like to let people know that December 22 is not a day of unity, but a mere farce to cover the insecurity of some people at the expense of the greater good,” he said.
“Which day is significant? The one when our people were forced into submission or the day the world lost a great leader like Nkomo?”
