Siphathisiwe Mpofu |  1 year ago | local

Zimbabweans have been urged to uphold the values of unity, love and peace in honouring the legacy of one of the country's founding fathers, Dr. Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo.

Speaking in Ntabazinduna, near Bulawayo recently, ahead of today's 22nd anniversary of the passing on of the late veteran nationalist, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said, the principles Dr Nkomo stood for, will always remain relevant to Zimbabwe

The lateVice-President died on the 1st of July in 1999, after a long battle with prostate cancer. The full utilisation of land continued to be his dream, post-independence, as he initiated a number of projects across the country, for the benefit of the people.

Dr nkomo earned many nicknames like "Umafukufuku", "Father Zimbabwe", "Chibwechitedza" and " Umdala wethu".

“Our Father Zimbabwe, one of our founding fathers for the independence of this country, Zimbabwe, the late Vice-President Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo’s anniversary is on the 1st of July but most importantly, the message which he left us, which we would also wish to leave the nation of Zimbabwe is unity, unity, love, love and harmony,” said President Mnangagwa.

After Dr Nkomo’s death, the country embarked on the land reform programme and corrected the colonial injustices where vast tracts of land were held by a minority at the expense of the majority indigenous blacks.