Mpopoma-Mzilikazi Member of Parliament Charles Moyo has renewed calls for 1 July to be declared a public holiday in honour of the late Vice President and liberation hero, Dr Joshua Nkomo.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Moyo, urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to take steps towards establishing “Joshua Nkomo Day” through the Public Holidays and Prohibition of Business Act.
We are who we are today because of selfless leadership, immense contribution,
unifying efforts and the peace-making attributes of the late Dr. Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo, our late Vice President, also known as Father Zimbabwe, Umdala Wethu, Chibwechitedza,” said Moyo.
“Mr. Speaker Sir, it is in the same vein that I pray that we continue to have peace and unity in this Parliament and our motherland, Zimbabwe. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, most importantly, is to request His Excellency, the President of Zimbabwe, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa, who
is also our SADC Chair, to declare 1 July of every year as a public holiday through the Public Holidays and Business Prohibition Act [Chapter 10:21]. It is only one day out of 365 days that we are supposed to honour and respect Father Zimbabwe, Mr. Speaker.”
Dr Nkomo played a central role in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle. He later became Vice President following the 1987 Unity Accord, which ended years of civil conflict between rival nationalist movements ZANU and ZAPU.
He died on 1 July 1999 and was buried at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
The Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, welcomed the submission and confirmed he would relay the proposal to President Mnangagwa.
The appeal comes as the ruling ZANU PF party is under growing pressure to act on a resolution passed at its 21st National Peoples Conference in Bulawayo last year, which supported the institutionalisation of 1 July as a national holiday in honour of Dr Nkomo.
“The party directs that July 1 of each year be declared a public holiday in honour of the late VP Dr Joshua Nkomo,” said Zanu PF Secretary for Legal Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa as he read one of the resultions.
Despite his national stature, there is currently no public holiday commemorating the life and legacy of Zimbabwe’s founding Vice President. His memory is preserved through statues, roads, and institutions, mostly concentrated in the Matabeleland region.
Media executive and historian Zenzele Ndebele, writing in an opinion piece, said the absence of a holiday for Dr Nkomo was a “glaring omission”.
“If we can have a Robert Mugabe National Youth Day, why not one for Nkomo, the man who held the country together after a civil war?” Ndebele asked.
He added that recognising Nkomo would not only honour his legacy but also allow Zimbabweans to reflect on values such as peace, inclusion and reconciliation.
I support the MP it’s true so that we will always remember our Co leader. Father Zimbabwe.Umdala wethu.