Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 July 1999 Issue No. 438 Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 Egypt Region International Economy ... Letters Joshua Nkomo Our old man By Gamal Nkrumah Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo was an African icon. He never became president of his native land, but was universally acknowledged as the "Father of Zimbabwe" and the "Founder of the Nation," in the words of President Robert Mugabe, speaking at Nkomo's funeral last Monday. Nkomo, who passed away aged 83 in the early hours of 1 July 1999, was given a state burial at Hero's Acre, Harare, a national shrine where veteran liberation struggle leaders are laid to rest. There could be no more fitting place for a man who had for many years embodied the African peoples' aspiration to freedom and justice. Nkomo first visited Egypt in the early 1960s. For at least six months, he led the liberation struggle from the African Society building in Zamalek. The octogenarian vice president of Zimbabwe was affectionately known to his people as Umdala Wethu Our Old Man. I first set foot in Zimbabwe in 1986, to cover the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit meeting that was being held in the capital, Harare. I soon fell in love with the city's charms, and spent many hours hiking round its leafy neighbourhoods. Gardens were lush, and quaint bungalows, stately mansions and Olympic-sized pools alike were literally buried among the fragrant flowerbeds. There were roses, passion flowers, pomegranates, Bougainvillea and immaculate lawns. In the luxurious hotels, lavish restaurants and suburban villas life seemed to me to approach the idyllic. | |
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