Mqabuko Deserves Better, Not Just Tokenism

The late Dr Joshua Nkomo... The selfless icon who dedicated his entire life in the liberation trenches of modern Zimbabwe.

BY THE EDITORIAL TEAM | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | JUL 10, 2021

Have we forgotten his sacrifices? Shall we allow ourselves to reduce his memory to a single day of commemorations? We can do better.

BULAWAYO (The Citizen Bulletin) — Globally, when renowned nationalists, particularly those deemed to be founding fathers of a nation pass on, there is always a scramble to preserve their legacy.

Statues are mounted in their honour. Charity foundations bearing the name of the departed nationalist are set up while several other initiatives from talk shows to glittering ceremonies in their name are also held.

In Zimbabwe, the name Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, that selfless icon who dedicated his entire life in the liberation trenches of modern Zimbabwe, easily comes to mind.

Names like Father Zimbabwe, Umdala Wethu, Chibwechitedza are attached to Nkomo, the founder of modern Zimbabwean nationalism, who died on 1 July in 1999 at the age of 82 after battling prostate cancer.

To honour Nkomo, his residential Matshamhlophe home in Bulawayo was turned into a museum. The house was converted into a museum by the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo National Foundation (JMNNF). It was completed in 2007 and opened to the public in 2012.

In front of the house parks a navy blue bullet-proof Mercedes Benz that Nkomo used. Inside the rooms are neatly decorated portraits of his personal life, including his love letter to his late wife Johanna, his immediate family, liberation war history and family roots.

Prominently captured are newspaper cuttings about what Nkomo did up to his time of death and after. However, the lack of funding has affected the smooth running of the museum.

His family has made public appeals for funding from well-wishers as the government of the day was at the time understood not to have contributed towards the project.

Several proposed projects aimed at preserving his legacy have also failed to materialise. Those that kicked off are struggling financially and rely on the benevolence of well-wishers.

Nkomo’s life was that of struggle and sacrifice. He spent a greater part of his life away from his family. After his death, 22 years ago to be precise, that struggle and sacrifice associated with his living years persisted through struggling foundations formed to preserve his legacy.

Jabulani Hadebe, projects coordinator for the Joshua Nkomo National Foundation previously called Themba Trust told this publication that at its inception the foundation had no budget.
 
“It had no budget at its formation. It was the family sorely donating to the foundation, and then later on well-wishers were invited to assist. The main aim was to come up with projects that perpetuate the legacy of Nkomo, and also to undertake programs that will benefit the well-being of our people. One of the major projects of the foundation was to convert the Matshamhlophe house to a museum,” says Hadebe.

“The Museum saw hoarders of people flocking to it for guided tours, particularly schools. However, with COVID-19 restrictions, it has been a struggle; a struggle in also paying salaries for the workers employed there.”

Granted, COVID-19 has disrupted all facets of life but we ask: Years before the pandemic struck, why was the foundation left to “beg” for funds if Nkomo is a true national treasure?

It has now been the norm that in the lead up to 1 July, there is a stampede to launch various initiatives “aimed” to preserve Nkomo’s legacy. Weeks later, it would be history.

At the 20th anniversary of Joshua Nkomo Day Commemorations – Joshua Nkomo Legacy Walk and Umdala Wethu Dance in Bulawayo, tourism authorities made commitments to properly package the Trails into a fully-fledged tourism product. Again, we still await that project.

It is our view that preserving Nkomo’s legacy should not be a struggle.

A Government annual grant should have long been in place to meet the daily needs of the foundation. We are alive to the fact that as recently as June this year, the Central Government paid tribute to Nkomo’s family for the work they have done in preserving his legacy.

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President Mnangagwa said the Government was “embarrassed” for having allowed the Nkomo family to take lead in preserving the legacy through the establishment of the museum.

The President then pledged support to the Nkomo family to ensure that the museum gets the status it deserves.

Said the President, “We as Government feel embarrassed that we did not lead ourselves, but now that it is there, I have assured my young sister (Mrs Thandiwe Nkomo-Ibrahim, daughter to the late Dr Nkomo) that she will receive support from Government to make sure that this place gets the status that it deserves”.

Joshua Nkomo’s legacy is at risk of being trivialised and wiped out if the trend of only remembering the Gentle Giant on 1 July continues.

Nkomo deserves more.