The Sunday Mail
Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo
I first came to know (Gogo Maria Msika) in the early 1960s when I was a student at Fletcher High School. I also knew her husband, who was a nationalist, the late Dr Joseph Msika.
They owned a fish and chips takeaway outlet in Mpopoma South in Bulawayo.
I visited the place often to buy chips and to also get close to them.
I felt it was necessary for me to get politicised by people who were already in the game. Father Zimbabwe, the late Dr Joshua Nkomo, who was also very close to the Msikas, was my mentor.
Although the family was prominent, they took time to teach youths like me about what politics.
This was during the days of the National Democratic Party which was later abolished and Zapu was formed.
And they were the leaders, Dr Msika with the likes of Dr Joshua Nkomo – the national leader, and President Mugabe who was the Secretary for Information and Publicity.
In the NDP and ZAPU, we never knew anything called factions because everyone was mwana wevhu or umntwana womhlabathi.
During that time, activism was based on unity. The liberation fighters were welcome everywhere and anywhere.
In the villages, we would be given food and a place to sleep. This was practiced across the country.
We were so united and it made everybody’s work easier, especially for our leaders.
Gogo Msika, also being a prominent figure, mobilised people especially women and preached unity.
She encouraged people to embrace everyone, including those fighting for the country’s liberation.
Together with the likes of Jane Ngwenya, the late First Lady Amai Sally Mugabe, the late Gogo Mafuyane, Mrs Murape, the late Usisi Ruth Chinamano, the late Thenjiwe Lesabe and many other ladies, they were very active in mobilising women to support the struggle, to support their husbands during the liberation struggle.
That is how I came to know her.
The strikes were everywhere; strikes for one man one vote and so forth. However, the settler regime never gave in to people’s demands. All they did was ban the political parties.
The Rhodesians banned the ANC in 1959. They also banned the NDP afterwards before the banned ZAPU, which later went underground.
In 1963, ZAPU split then ZANU was formed. However, the nationalists never lost each other along the way.
We continued to reach out to each to fight to the common enemy – which was the settler regime.
The nationalists were arrested; Joseph Msika was arrested several times but Gogo Msika was brave. She fended for the family and also continued to support the liberation struggle.
Gogo Msika was harassed by the colonialists. She remained resolute and was at one time harassed because she housed fighters at her home.
While nationalists were imprisoned, the fight continued. Zanu and Zapu continued to work together.
They shared notes and women like Gogo Msika helped to solidify the struggle.
In 1976, there were efforts to get into talks with the British and that’s when we formed the Patriotic Front. The likes of Gogo Msika were always supportive.
Although Dr Msika was out of prison after 1976, she continued to fend for the family, because he was away from home at the peak of the liberation struggle.
During the Lancaster House talks, it was the support of the women such as Gogo Msika which kept us going. They gave us tremendous support.
When the Lancaster House negotiations ended, we came back home for elections.
After the elections were held, Zanu-PF got 57 seats and PF Zapu won 20 seats and that gave us 77 seats as the Patrotic Front.
With the support of our mothers like Gogo Msika, Dr Msika served well in Government.
So that wisdom from people like Gogo Msika led to talks which culminated into the Unity Accord of December 22, 1987.
After that we now had one party, when Zanu (PF) and PF Zapu joins hands to form Zanu-PF. The Unity Accord was signed by President Mugabe and Dr Nkomo.
So this is how women from every corner would push for unity.
Although she was born in Botswana, she remained resolute and never abandoned her role during the liberation struggle.
She was a determined character, humble, kind, down to earth, focused, never the talking type and as they say still waters run the deep.
Gogo Msika was a visionary and hardworking.
So, when Vice President Msika passed on in 2009, I remember saying that the sun had set in the Msika clan. Zimbabwe was thrown into mourning and sadness as our hero had gone.
The determined man had gone.
When Gogo Msika passed on September 22, 2017, I said to some of our friends, whilst with the passing on of Msika, the sun had set in his clan, the passing on of Gogo, the moon had also gone.
The moon had disappeared because when the sun set, the moon continued to give light to the family.
I am glad that Zanu-PF and Government supported her even from the time she fell ill until the day she breathed her last.
And I have said before that people of that character, people who know their purpose in this world, people who never beat their chests, never die but depart for higher responsibility.
I am certain that with the role Gogo Msika played, her deeds will live forever.
She has now joined her husband and the rest of the nationalists who went before her; the ones she knew for years; the ones she supported for years.
I am sure she has joined that revolutionary club again where they are discussing the state of affairs in the country.
It is now our duty to promote unity, to live unity and to breathe unity as we taught by Gogo Msika.
When the unity accord was signed in 1987, we from the then PF Zapu were called by Father Zimbabwe to be briefed about the accord.
He was supported by a number of people like the Msikas.
Dr Msika reminded us that even if he were to leave this world, we must always remain committed to the leadership of President Mugabe.
That is where Father Zimbabwe left us. We will not move. This is what Gogo Msika believed in.
That is why she stood until her last day.
It is our responsibility not to betray our leaders and not compromise our unity. We should never cherish tribalism, regionalism or racism because none of us at birth ever signed a form to say he or she wanted to be born at a certain place.
That’s God’s responsibility and therefore we must be upright leaders we must embrace each other people of Zimbabwe because we have got only one country for all of us that we call Zimbabwe our Zimbabwe.
We shall never betray Gogo Msika. We cherish what they did for our country. We cherish their humility, vision, love and kindness.
She leaves behind the legacy of hard work, dedication, commitment, principled, unity and kindness.
As the Bible says, be good to each other, love thy neighbour, that’s what Gogo Msika stood for.
Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo is the Spokesperson of the ruling Zan-PF party, and Minister of Policy Co-ordination and Promotion of Socio-Economic Ventures in Government
