Nation remembers Father Zimbabwe

Political Editor

AS Zimbabwe marks the 21st anniversary of the death of former Vice President Dr Joshua Nkomo, the Chief Secretary to President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda has urged Zimbabweans to cherish the values of unity, freedom and peace that he strived and stood for in his life.

Dr Nkomo was one of the pioneers of the country’s Second Chimurenga.

He died on July 1, 1999 at the age of 82 and was interred at the National Heroes Acre.

Affectionately known as Father Zimbabwe for his role in pioneering the liberation struggle, Dr Nkomo was a rare breed of freedom fighters who sacrificed to free the country from colonial bondage.

In a statement, Dr Sibanda said the inspiring works of the late Father Zimbabwe, also known as Chibwechitedza, will forever be imprinted in the country’s history.

“As we heard towards the 40th Anniversary of our Heroes Day, we shall continue to cherish the values that Dr Nkomo stood for, among them unity, freedom, peace, patriotism, Ubuntu/Hunhu, non-racialism, selfless dedication to national duty and land reform.

“We therefore wish to reassure His Excellency the President that as the office directs and co-ordinates the process of Government policy formulation, monitoring and implementation, we shall discharge our roles and duties with utmost dedication and commitment towards the attainment of the objectives of Vision 2030 to contribute towards the development of a prosperous, knowledge and technology-driven upper middle income society,” said Dr Sibanda.

Apart from leading Zimbabwe to independence along with a host of other freedom fighters that included President Mnangagwa, Father Zimbabwe was also a champion of national unity and black empowerment.

The commemoration of his death comes just a month before the country marks the country’s 40th Heroes Day Anniversary, a day set aside to remember the role played by the country’s liberation heroes, in both the First and Second Chimurenga, in fighting the evil colonial system that favoured a white minority at the expense of the black majority.