News / Local
Gukurahundi, Joshua Nkomo's son speaks out
14 Jun 2012 at 09:57hrs | Views
The son of the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo, Sibangilizwe, has accused President Robert Mugabe's security forces of attempting to kill his father and brother at the height of the Gukurahundi atrocities.
Sibangilizwe made the revelations at the inaugural Makhathini Guduza Unsung Hero Lecture Series in Bulawayo yesterday.
Guduza was Nkomo's bodyguard during the post-independence disturbances in Matabeleland and Midlands where the army's 5th Brigade was accused of killing more than 20 000 civilians.
The former Zapu central committee member died in exile in South Africa.
Sibangilizwe said the Nkomo family would be forever grateful for the role Guduza played in whisking the Zapu leader and his son the late Thuthani into exile when the army was hunting for them.
Sibangilizwe claimed government was after Nkomo's life and Guduza, as his close adviser, played a role in spiriting him out of the country to Botswana and finally the United Kingdom.
Nkomo fled the country in 1983 after an attempt on his life before he was persuaded to return and eventually rejoined Mugabe's government.
Nkomo's son said Guduza also played a crucial role in looking after the Nkomo family when the late nationalist was in detention.
In his biography, The Story of My Life, Nkomo wrote about how Guduza was instrumental in helping him dodge thousands of soldiers sent by the authorities to "have me out of the way."
The lecture, delivered at the Presbyterian Church in the city centre, was organised by Masakhane Trust and was attended by over 100 people.
Former Bulawayo councillor Alderman Michael Batandi Mpofu and Retired Colonel Khutshwekhaya Nketha jointly delivered the lecture.
Sibangilizwe made the revelations at the inaugural Makhathini Guduza Unsung Hero Lecture Series in Bulawayo yesterday.
Guduza was Nkomo's bodyguard during the post-independence disturbances in Matabeleland and Midlands where the army's 5th Brigade was accused of killing more than 20 000 civilians.
The former Zapu central committee member died in exile in South Africa.
Sibangilizwe said the Nkomo family would be forever grateful for the role Guduza played in whisking the Zapu leader and his son the late Thuthani into exile when the army was hunting for them.
Nkomo fled the country in 1983 after an attempt on his life before he was persuaded to return and eventually rejoined Mugabe's government.
Nkomo's son said Guduza also played a crucial role in looking after the Nkomo family when the late nationalist was in detention.
In his biography, The Story of My Life, Nkomo wrote about how Guduza was instrumental in helping him dodge thousands of soldiers sent by the authorities to "have me out of the way."
The lecture, delivered at the Presbyterian Church in the city centre, was organised by Masakhane Trust and was attended by over 100 people.
Former Bulawayo councillor Alderman Michael Batandi Mpofu and Retired Colonel Khutshwekhaya Nketha jointly delivered the lecture.
Source - newsday
