BULAWAYO - The City Council has finally broken its silence on the honorary statue of the late Vice President Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Addressing a full council meeting last week, the Deputy Mayor, Amen Ndlovu, criticised the governments controversial handling of the statue.
The statue is covered in a black cloth and to us that is taboo, he said. The process was not done well from the beginning and a family member has since confirmed to me that the government has realised its mistake and is now consulting with the family over the statue.
After his short address on the statue he closed the meeting and declined to open the floor for further debate on the matter. However, this did not stop some seemingly irate councillors from airing their concerns.
One councillor questioned why the statue was facing North, the direction of the capital city, Harare. Why is the statue facing North, why should everything look up to Harare? This is not Cecil John Rhodes in Rhodesia, it is Joshua Nkomo, he said, referring to the statue of Cecil John Rhodes which once stood in the same spot and faced the same direction. Although the statue is covered, its outline clearly shows that it is facing North.
The choice of a black cloth, a symbol of mourning in the Ndebele Culture, and the origin of the statue have incensed residents of Bulawayo, who have called on government to replace the cloth. Kembo Mohadi, Co-Minister of Home Affairs, has dismissed the concerns as a petty.
These are not Nkomos remains therefore there is nothing taboo about the black cloth, he said.
Causing further outrage are unconfirmed reports suggest that the statue was carved in North Korea, one of Mugabes long standing allies. The North Koreans, are known for training the Fifth Brigade led by now Air Marshall, Perence Shiri. The group is said to have gone unleashed terror in parts of Midlands and Matabeleland, killing over 20 000 unarmed civilians in the 1980s.
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