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An icon of success … and failure

Columnists
If I were to be asked what two things the late hero of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle Joshua Nkomo shares with Morgan Tsvangirai — apart from being citizens of the country — I would opt for that at one time they each led the largest opposition political parties and that they failed spectacularly to dislodge President Robert Mugabe from State House.

If I were to be asked what two things the late hero of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle Joshua Nkomo shares with Morgan Tsvangirai — apart from being citizens of the country — I would opt for that at one time they each led the largest opposition political parties and that they failed spectacularly to dislodge President Robert Mugabe from State House.

This despite dangerous sacrifices they made in confronting one of the most abrasive dictatorships in Africa. Did you hear me say this “successful failure” was partially of their own making? No, not yet. Yet in my short life as an activist and family man, I have learnt that there are things where no matter how hard one tries, are virtually indestructible. These things or events characteristically leave an indelible mark that would require ingenious self-immolation to erase. Doctor Joshua Mqabuko kaNyongolo Nkomo is one such phenomenon.

This month, Zimbabweans are savouring “extended moments of pleasure” remembering the exploits of a man who for decades took lead in the political relay, crossed the line, yet never laid his hands on the prized presidential silverware. A case of so near, yet, so far. And for good reasons. For the greater part of the past 35 years, Mugabe — with the complicity of his State-funded political machinery, including the compliant and partisan State media — has, with meticulous precision and malicious intent, undermined the contribution that Nkomo made to Zimbabwe’s history.

In the early 1980s, it was considered an act of punishable criminal negligence, if not treason, even to associate with the Nkomo brand, only because Zanu extremists falsely blamed him for inspiring an insurgency in Matabeleland. At that time and up to now, whenever Zimbabwe’s liberation history is narrated, the invisible hand of hypocrisy routinely and unashamedly rears its ugly head. The conventional terms in the lingua franca of liberation have become “Mbuya Nehanda”, “Nyadzonya”, “Chimoio”, “Mugabe”, Zanu and “Zanla”.

There is another emerging irritant in this cycle of historical delusions. After the “Surrender Agreement” of December 22, 1987, Mugabe attempted to include Nkomo in the political big picture, but because the Zanu PF system had already been contaminated, this act of fallacious reconciliation failed to make its mark. The rhythm and tempo of animated praise-singing escalated after Nkomo’s death on July 1, 1999.

I want therefore to share my small part of memory of this man who inspired a whole generation of humanity with his humility. For us July is also our “moment of silence” (not moment of madness) as we savour the goodness of the life and legacy we inherited from Nkomo. I may have been too young in the sixties and early seventies to encounter the magic of “Zhii” and “Chibwe Chitedza”, but certainly I know what life was under the shadow of Father Zimbabwe in later years — a few aspects I will raise below for the benefit of those who subscribe to my political ideology.

How Zanu PF has missed, for so long, the simple fact that Nkomo was a nationalist/guerilla/statesman of international repute beats the “cow dung” out of me. This is a man who shared the name “African National Congress” with Nelson Mandela in the 1950s, occupied prison cells with Mugabe in the 1960s and fought the colonialists from Zambia in the 1970s.

Mugabe only “now” awakens to land “reform”, indigenisation and economic empowerment of black people, having once said, “Zapu (had) bought more than 25 farms and more than 30 business enterprises throughout the country” in Marondera on February 14, 1982. He was partially correct, since Nijo Products was a $1,2 million Zapu Composite Agricultural Project.

Zapu’s business portfolio included Walmer Ranch, Makwe Irrigation Scheme, Makwe, Escort, Hampton, Kennellworth-Carisbrook, Lingfield farms; Mbalabala Village and the Mguza complex and if, I am not wrong, DTZ Nuanetsi. Communications mogul Strive Masiyiwa ought to be grateful because “Joshua Nkomo directed Information minister Joice Mujuru to give Econet the contract”, but, of course, Mujuru, suffering from a tribalism malignant tumour, could only label Mdala Wethu “a senile old man”.

Nkomo was a family man whose wife Joanna “MaFuyana” transferred quality ideals to her four children —a far cry from Winnie Mandela’s gangsterish shenanigans. I guess his prophetic words of April 12, 1986 at the burial of Lookout Masuku have now come true: “. . .We are enveloped in the politics of hate. The amount of hate that is being preached today in this country is frightful.” He continued: “What Zimbabwe fought for was peace, progress, love, respect, justice, equality, not the opposite. Our country cannot progress on fear and false accusations, which are founded simply on the love of power. There is something radically wrong with our country today and we are moving, fast, towards destruction. No country can live by slogans, pasi (down with) this and pasi that. There is too much conformity. People work and then they shut up. We cannot go on this way. People must be freed to be able to speak.”

I therefore submit today, that this Zanu PF-inspired “uMdala ngowethu” pretence and hypocrisy must stop. I submit that it is okay to name roads, airports and galas, but woefully inadequate until Zimbabwe declares July 1 of every year as a fully-fledged public holiday.

Nkomo might have failed to wrest power from Mugabe, but in our minds, he remains the only nationalist who would have steered this country to prosperity.

Actually, Nkomo’s Zapu, like Tsvangirai’s old MDC, did Zimbabweans a great favour. Having been both cheated in all elections, the former would have “re-convened to camp” so as to give Mugabe an eye-for-an-eye treatment. The latter spared Mugabe the blushes by accepting the crumbs in the GNU. However, they both opted to “escape” to the UK and Botswana to save us from fully-fledged civil war.