newsMnangagwa salutes ZAPU’S Joshua Nkomo as the Father of Zimbabwe
Joshua Nkomo, national hero and founder of the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU) at a mass rally in Bulawayo shortly before Independence in April 1980 (Picture: Trevor Grundy)
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has described the late leader of the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU) Dr Josua Nkomo, as a towering nationalist who dedicated his life to the liberation of Zimbabwe.
Dr Nkomo, who died on July 1, 1999, remains one of Zimbabwe’s most revered liberation icons.
Rivals in life, the two men are now sharing honours as Father of the Nation figures who sacrificed everything but their lives during the long struggled for freedom from white rule in Rhodesia.
President Mnangagwa said the late nationalist’s values of selflessness, unity, diligence, peace and integrity remain the foundation upon which the nation stands.
He urged Zimbabweans to honour Dr Nkomo’s legacy by continuing to build “a united and prosperous Zimbabwe, where all citizens can thrive.”
Thousands of Nkomo’s followers were wiped out during the Gukurunhundi slaughter in Matabeleland and the Midlands between 1983-1987.
At that time, Robert Mugabe was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and Emmerson Mnangagwa oversaw military activities against ZAPU and Nkomo.
Since taking over as President in 2017, Mnangagwa has done his best to distance himself from the slaughters that took place at that time.
James Chikerema, founder of FROLIZI in outside the High Court in Rhodesia in 1979 (Picture: Trevor Grundy)
2026 marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of James Chikerema, the nationalist leader who was acting head of ZAPU when Nkomo was imprisoned under the regime led by Ian Douglas Smith and the Rhodesia Front.
Chikerema opened a gap that never closed between himself and Nkomo after forming a small political group which he called FROLIZI (Front for the Liberation of Zimbabwe) which attracted only a handful of mainly Zezuru activists, including the legendary George Nyandoro, Nathan Shamuyarira and Enoch Dumbutshena.
Chikerema died on March 23, 2006 at a hospital in Indiana (USA) after a long fight with cancer.