The Sunday Mail
Nehemiah Nyathi
Naison Kutshwekhaya Ndlovu also remained with Dr Nkomo, assisting us in many ways, including financially.
After the coalition Government collapsed, tension developed between Zanu and Zapu, but Umdala made things much easier. Few had imagined President Mugabe, who was Prime Minister then, and Dr Nkomo working together again. But that happened because of their political maturity and statesmanship.
From this I learnt not to retaliate; to hurl kitchen utensils even at someone who would have thrown stones at my house. I will dialogue and make peace with that person. That’s what Umdala taught me. I didn’t pay school fees for that; I only paid attention. Zapu leaders such as Vice-President Joseph Msika and Dr Nkomo’s bother, Stephen Jeqe Nkomo, didn’t want to hear anything about peace talks.
However, Umdala convinced them. Dr Nkomo was slow to anger, and when he got angry, he would not stay in that disposition for long. I remember an incident before the signing of the Unity Accord when some people came to his home in Pelandaba to tell him about their harassment by security details. Umdala resolved to meet Cde Mugabe to register his displeasure.
At Zimbabwe House, you could see that he was really livid. I asked if he wasn’t going to fight with the Prime Minister, and he said he wouldn’t fight with someone younger than him. That little talk defused the anger.
He went on to have a lengthy discussion with the Prime Minister. We don’t know what they spoke about, but they emerged from that meeting laughing and holding hands. The other time I saw Dr Nkomo very angry was when a BBC journalist interviewed him after his return from the United Kingdom. The journalist said, “You have just come back from self-imposed exile”, and went on to ask why Dr Nkomo had gone to the UK, Zimbabwe’s former colonisers, and not Russia. I saw flames in his eyes!
He nearly struck that fellow with his staff! Umdala restrained himself, and laughed at the journalist, telling him to read history in order to appreciate why he had gone to the UK and not Russia.
The other time he got cross was when the then Zapu National Chairperson, William Kona, resigned from the party to join Zanu. Kona’s son went to the Press and disowned his father, denouncing him for “cowardice”. Umdala wasn’t pleased with Kona’s son, so he sent for him and called a Press conference. Dr Nkomo chided Kona’s son in front of journalists. This was supposed to be a Press conference, but Umdala took time talking to Kona junior, telling him to respect his father’s decision to change parties.
He ordered him to retract his statement in front of the journalists and tell them that he was still part of the Kona family. Dr Nkomo was an upright man when it came to women. I wouldn’t know about his past, before I joined him and when he was younger, but I can tell you from my experience with him that he didn’t have any mistresses. As a security-conscious man, he believed “the other woman” was a problem.
In fact, he considered an extra woman an enemy. “When you have two women in your life, one of them is your enemy,” he would tell us. He loved his wife (Mama Johanna nee Fuyana). MaFuyana was a simple, yet very intelligent person. She was clever enough not to involve herself in Umdala’s issues.
She let the old man be. When he returned to Government after the signing of the Unity Accord in 1987, Dr Nkomo became Senior Minister responsible for certain ministries. Dr Nkomo changed the perception of most ministers.
He was hands on: When a minister submitted a report of his/her programmes, Umdala wanted to check for himself whether the report tallied with what was on the ground. He also arranged our re-integration into the State Security Department despite initial resistance. I started off in the standby team that would be deployed to visitors, and sometimes stand in for other teams that will be resting. I worked there for about a month before I was posted to the Deputy Minister of Energy and Power, Edward Silonda Ndlovu. I wasn’t there for long either. Umdala requested that I return to his team.
The triplets
When you look at Dr Nkomo, President Mugabe and Dr Simon Muzenda, you will realise that those three are a rare kind.
You won’t find many like them. I say so because I have been privileged to work for them. They were like triplets. One could never tell that there was a President and his two deputies. They were close and had utmost respect for each other.
I worked with Umdala, President Mugabe and Dr Muzenda, and really admire these three men. I learnt quite a lot from them. Dr Nkomo was a father figure; friendly and approachable. This was common among the three of them.
When we knocked off from work and were at Dr Nkomo’s house, one felt at home where you could talk to him about anything. Dr Nkomo played a fatherly role when my youngest sister passed away. He came to our home, paid his condolences and spoke to the elders. He then sent for me on the morrow to inquire about the funeral programme, and provided money to cover the funeral expenses. The money was more than enough and the elders kept the difference. He would do that for everyone. He treated everyone like his kinsman.
Dr Nkomo loved being with the people. In his spare time, we would drive around just seeing people. Sometimes he would stop and talk to them.
Dynamos Fan
He didn’t love football that much; he didn’t hate the sport either! His favourite team was Dynamos. He always asked us to keep him posted on Dynamos fixtures and results. It was one of our duties to keep him updated.
At times, he would watch Dynamos play whenever they were in Bulawayo.
He spoke about the team glowingly. Of course, he loved Highlanders, too, but not as much as he did Dynamos. He knew that most of us were Highlanders supporters, so when Dynamos were playing elsewhere, he would say, “Let’s go and watch your Highlanders.”
But, again, when we got to the Highlanders match, he wanted an update on Dynamos! The team he had problems with was Zimbabwe Saints. Umdala didn’t quite understand that team as it’s formation appeared to exalt a certain tribe. But Dr Nkomo and Dr Herbert Ushewokunze transformed that thinking by changing Mashonaland United to Zimbabwe Saints and Matabeleland Highlanders to just Highlanders.
When (Dr Nkomo) was ill, he didn’t want to show it, though we could tell. I was with him until the end. He was strong even during those last days.
He engaged visitors on different issues, but not his health; as if he were fit and strong.
