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VP Nkomo declared national hero

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THE late Vice-President John Landa Nkomo was yesterday declared a national hero and will be buried on Monday at the National Heroes’ Acre.

THE late Vice-President John Landa Nkomo was yesterday declared a national hero and will be buried on Monday at the National Heroes’ Acre. STAFF REPORTERS

Nkomo died on Thursday after succumbing to cancer at a local hospital in Harare.

Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo confirmed the development yesterday adding that his body would be flown to his parents’ home in Tsholotsho today.

“He has been declared a national hero and will be buried on Monday. Between tomorrow (today) and Sunday, his body will be taken to Tsholotsho where his mother is. From there his body will be taken to his high school in Tsholotsho before going to White City Stadium in Bulawayo,” said Gumbo.

Addressing mourners at Nkomo’s Milton Park residence in Harare yesterday, President Robert Mugabe described the late nationalist as a man who survived a bomb attack that claimed the lives of fellow nationalists.

Mugabe said Nkomo had joined other departed nationalists among them the late Vice-Presidents Joshua Nkomo, Joseph Msika and Simon Muzenda.

Several ministers from Zanu PF attended the funeral wake yesterday, while MDC-T’s Sekai Holland and Elias Mudzuri also attended.

The body of the late Vice-President will be taken to his rural home in Tsholotsho today before proceeding to Bulawayo tomorrow and finally to Harare for burial on Monday, Zanu PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa announced yesterday.

Mutasa said the body of the veteran politician would lie in state overnight at Bhule village in Tsholotsho.

“On Sunday (tomorrow) at 7am the body will be taken to his school, John Landa Nkomo Secondary in Tsholotsho,” he said.

“Later it will be taken to his house in Bulawayo at Worringham (Number 59 Muchbinding Road) before it is taken to White City Stadium. He will then be flown to Harare to lie in state at his Harare house for burial at the National Heroes’ Acre on Monday.”

Mutasa said people would be advised on other burial arrangements in due course as the programme proceeds in accordance with State procedures.

Yesterday afternoon, family members, Zanu PF activists and members of the police force were gathered at Nkomo’s house at Worringham, Bulawayo. Workers were busy patching the road leading to the house which is in a very bad state.

The nation was plunged into mourning as news of the death of Nkomo on Thursday filtered through the region. Matabeleland South governor and Zanu PF politburo member Angeline Masuku on Thursday evening described the death of Nkomo as a sad loss to both the party and the nation.

“We have lost a top administrator who helped to steer the party during the liberation struggle and after independence,” she said.

“He was a unifier — someone who preached peace and now was head of the Organ for National Healing, Integration and Reconciliation who had crafted the slogan: ‘Peace begins with me’. He was preaching peace and unity.”

In a separate interview, Matabeleland North governor and Zanu PF politburo member Thokozile Mathuthu said news of the Vice-President’s death was “devastating”.

“We had hope that he would recover and go back to assisting President Mugabe at the helm of the nation, but this was not to be. Nkomo worked for his country from the liberation struggle and after independence, now championing indigenisation, as well as being in the forefront of the national healing and reconciliation programme. As a province, we have lost a true leader,” she said.

Mines and Mining Development minister Obert Mpofu yesterday cancelled his rally scheduled for Victoria Falls to mourn Nkomo.

The Zimbabwe National Editors’ Forum also mourned Nkomo in a statement issued by its chairman Brian Mangwende.

“We have lost a gallant son of the soil. His death has touched our hearts as editors in Zimbabwe. I knew him personally and I often visited him for advice and so did many other editors. He was a champion of media freedom and did a lot to ensure that media space is opened in Zimbabwe, fruits of which we are now seeing. We will greatly miss his leadership, wisdom and stewardship. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” Mangwende said.

  • Meanwhile, exiled MDC-T treasurer-general Roy Bennett sparked controversy yesterday fuming and blasting even his party (MDC-T) and the United States embassy in Harare for being “stupid” by describing Nkomo as a hero and peacemaker.

“. . . excuse me. We may not like to speak ill of the dead, but let’s not tell lies. How can anyone with any sense say that Nkomo dedicated his life to Zimbabwe’s prosperity? Since the 1980s, he has sat at the heart of the beast that has destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy. He has held the hand of the dictator that has obliterated our hopes.

“Better to shut up and say nothing than to insult the millions of Zimbabweans who have been murdered and impoverished by Zanu PF,” he added.

Bennett’s outrage came despite the fact that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his party joined many in describing Nkomo as a unifier and a peace-loving politician.