The late Nkomos name being used for selfish political gains

Masked in anti-imperialist ideology, a new law for the indigenisation of foreign companies is being touted as Nkomo’s brainchild, yet the veteran nationalist’s real plan for economic empowerment of the poor was geared at focusing on local communities and the massive informal sector, which has been elbowed from the ongoing empowerment programme. Critics have warned it threatens foreign investment.

The massive State media campaign trumpeting Nkomo’s call for indigenisation exposes Mugabe’s dilemma in attempting to convince the electorate to support his disastrous empowerment drive without evoking the name of the late Vice president. He has to temporarily live in Nkomo’s shadow – the man he harassed and accused of sponsoring anti-government insurgents – to get the electorate’s attention.

Nkomo, died in the dingy Parirenyatwa Hospital on July 1, 1999 following a long illness.

Mugabe and Zapu’s Joshua Nkomo had signed a unity accord in 1987, leading to the integration of PF-Zapu and Zanu (PF).?

It appears Mugabe and his party are exasperated by the fickle nature of the electorate in supporting his indigenisation drive, and are now using Nkomo’s name to shore up support for the drive.

Critics said the disadvantaged people of Zimbabwe had not benefitted from the new law, touted as Nkomo’s legacy, simply because only the elite would be able to invest in shares.

“What was designed by Mugabe, therefore, looks like an attempt to indigenise the elite, rather than to empower the poor,” commented political analyst Ronald Shumba.

And the lack of buy in from the poor masses has forced the party to evoke the memories of the late nationalist, he added.

In attempting to whip up nationalist indignation, veteran Zanu (PF) leader Naison Ndlovu, the deputy president in the Senate, said the divisions that had rocked his party was an insult to Nkomo.

“It is disappointing to note the works of Cde Nkomo are celebrated the world over except here where he came from. Where is your pride?” asked Ndlovu at commemorations held at Mapisa Growth Point, 120 km south of Bulawayo to mark the 11th anniversary of Mudala Wethu as Nkomo was popularly known.

No one among the region’s surviving veteran politicians seems to have the charisma and political stature of the late Vice President, resulting in small groups trying to dominate the political landscape in both Matabeleland South and North provinces.

The commemorations come as Zanu( PF) has been rocked by massive resignations by officials trying to revive Zapu with war veterans from the Ndebele ethnic group. The Ndebele people have long been hostile to Mugabe’s government.

In the early 1980s, shortly after independence, Mugabe sent his notorious Fifth Brigade troops to Matabeleland, where they were accused of killing thousands of civilian supporters of the then-opposition Zapu party.

Even Zanu( PF) national chairman, Simon Khaya Moyo has been entrapped in the same mindset, evoke Nkomo’s magic wand and the political mentality of the people in Matabeleland will turn around.?

Zanu (PF) stalwart Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said: “The youth empowerment and indigenisation we are talking about today, he started it a long time ago. It was on top of his mind to ensure that people are empowered and control their economy.”?

But the electorate in Matabeleland can be forgiven for taking a defiant stance and providing Mugabe’s drive with lukewarm reception that appear to question empty promises that have not been fulfilled.

Said Khaya Moyo: I do believe and hope that that all of us, particularly the youths, must emulate the qualities of this great man, who was not only large in size but also large in his heart and indeed large in ideas, across the complexities of land re-distribution, in terms of re-building the country, economic, social and otherwise.

We would be very far if we borrowed a leaf from some of his great ideas and I do hope myself that those of us who worked with him very closely will contribute to the development of this country by writing as much as we can and record the victories he scored in order to take us to where we are today.”?

Rank and file party members said the problems in Matabeleland stemmed from factionalism fanned by senior members of the party trying to take over Nkomo’s role. After his death, Nkomo was replaced by the late Joseph Msika as deputy president, one of the founding leaders of Zimbabwe’s nationalist liberation movements.

After Msika’s death in August 2009, John Nkomo was appointed Mugabe’s deputy. Political analysts see him as a mere figurehead of political elites that was once influential in the southern Matabeleland provinces.