Herald Reporter

Senate on Wednesday moved a motion that on January 17, Zimbabwe lost a liberation icon Cde Landa John Nkomo who died after a long battle with cancer. Zanu-PF national chairman, Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo moved the motion that was seconded by Zanu-PF Masvingo senator

Mainah Emelda Nachi Mandava.

Ambassador Moyo said news of Cde Nkomo's death left the nation devastated, numb, bewildered and shocked.

"The people of Zimbabwe retreated into plural mourning for the stabiliser, the inspirator, the unifier, the peacemaker and a visionary who was no more. Messages of condolence started pouring in from all corners of the world encompassing all sectors of the human race. A great man had departed and even the heavens opened up- rain, rain, rain, across the country," he said.

He added while hundreds of people gathered at VP Nkomo's Milton Park home in Harare, hundreds more were gathered in his Tsholotsho home and at his state of the art Landa John High School to bid him farewell.

Hundreds more people were to gather at his Worringham residence in Bulawayo and at the Large White City Hall to bid farewell to the fallen national hero. The waterlogged White City Stadium had to be abandoned for more secure venues, said Ambassador Moyo.

He added that scenes at Stodart Hall and the National Heroes Acre testified the fact that the multitudes of people who turned up were bidding farewell to a great revolutionary of impeccable liberation credentials.

Ambassador Moyo said President Mugabe had underscored the need for peace when he addressed thousands of mourners at the National Shrine saying: "Let us carry that message with us in our daily lives. It was his dear wish to see elections, which are scheduled for this year, carry this exhortation of peace, peace and more peace. For it is one way we could honour his legacy and that of others who fought for this country in order to make it the peaceful and tranquil oasis we have today. The overriding common denominator is that we are all Zimbabweans," Cde Mugabe had said.

Additionally, Ambassador Moyo revealed that President Mugabe had told the nation to derive solace from the fact that Cde Nkomo died on the day the parties to the Global Political Agreement resolved issues standing in the way of concluding the draft constitution.

This, he said, Cde Mugabe had revealed, would have been applauded by the late VP Nkomo, as his wish was to see the country rising above unnecessary skirmishes and achieve unity.

Ambassador Moyo said the biography of the late gallant revolutionary fighter from 1934 to 2013 had been well authored and indeed his role as chairman of the Organ of Peace, Reconciliation and National Healing in the inclusive Government working with Ministers Sekai Holland and the late Gibson Sibanda, who was later replaced by Minister Moses Mzila Ndlovu.

"The late VP J.L. Nkomo is credited with the everlasting message, "PEACE BEGINS WITH ME, PEACE BEGINS WITH YOU, PEACE BEGINS WITH ALL OF US."

He said the funeral of the veteran nationalist was attended by thousands from near and far including Sadc leaders, that is, South Africa's Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Botswana's Vice President Ponatshego Kedikilwe, Zambia's Vice President Guy Scott, Tanzania's Vice President Mohammed Bilal, Namibia's Prime Minister Hage Geingob and a representative from the Demorcatic Republic of Congo.

"This speaks volumes of the cordial relations in the Sadc region and the respectability our late VP commanded among his peers. I worked with this dedicated patriot for many years pre and post independence, in exile and back home. The experience we gained under the stewardship of Zimbabwe's two greatest sons, President Mugabe and Father Zimbabwe, Dr Joshua Nkomo was immeasurable," he said.

Senator Mandava also lauded the life of the late VP Nkomo saying he was a true liberator of the people of Zimbabwe and Africa as well.

MDC senator for Bulilima-Mangwe Addington Lutho Tapela said the late VP Nkomo was a very humble character who did not allow his political mighty to push him away from the generality of Zimbabweans.

"He was a man who did not want to show that he held the position of a very high office and would offer you a seat even if you were supposed to be doing that yourself," he said.