Violence mars Joshua Nkomo celebrations in South Africa

CELEBRATIONS of the life of the iconic nationalist and late Vice-President Dr Joshua Nkomo at Hillbrow Theatre in Johannesburg last week ended abruptly after the event was marred by violence which threatened to defeat the late Father Zimbabwe's vision of peace and unity.

A man believed to be a Zimbabwean, who could not be immediately identified, was hacked in a brawl by members of a gang, after an altercation erupted allegedly over alcohol.

The row led to the untimely end of the celebrations, as people were scurrying for cover and police officers had to be called to quell the chaotic situation.
The event had begun well around 5pm and ended at around 10pm, when the scenes of violence erupted.

The man was mobbed and stabbed by more than four people, who left him sprawled in his blood in the theatre's gallery only to be attended to after people had been dispersed from the scene.

Despite the fighting the commemorations were a hive of activity and went on as expected with performances from many entertainers living up to expectations.

The highlight of the commemorations was the honouring ceremony, where many Zimbabweans where given appreciation tokens for being community leaders and advocating for peaceful co-existence in their communities, which was the vision of the late nationalist Dr Nkomo.

Renowned South Africa-based actor Ernest Ndlovu was awarded for a job well done in raising the Zimbabwean flag high in the showbiz industry.

One of the organisers of the commemorations - Mothusi Bashimane Ndlovu - said as Matabeleland Entertainment News they were delighted to host an annual function that praised Zimbabweans living in South Africa and were positively advocating for change in various fields.

"If we don't honour and appreciate the good that our people do no one will. In our small way we managed to say SIYABONGA to our icon ubaba uErnest Ndlovu a well-known actor and ubaba uNgqabutho Nicholas Mabhena who has shown leadership qualities by working for the betterment of lives of fellow Zimbabweans based in Jozi. We thank you so much for your contribution," he said.

The event was the third annual gathering to celebrate the life of the late VP Nkomo through song, cultural dance, poetry and miming acts.

"For the past two years we have been bringing together Zimbabweans in the diaspora under one common signature to celebrate and restore, resurrect and preserve their culture and traditions through art. This event will give opportunities to all our artistes and cultural ambassadors based in South Africa to educate our people and give them hope.

"These events motivate our people to take pride in our identity. A people ignorant of their identity are as good as dead hence our desire to keep and pass on our culture and values to the coming generations," said Bashimane.

Bashimane said South Africa was a second home to many Zimbabweans, yet sadly, they were still being stereotyped.

"We live under a dark cloud, being stereotyped through disappointing unsavoury social labels, uniformly labelled criminals, fraudsters, pickpockets, thieves, sex workers, con-artists and bearers of illegitimate children," he said.

Bashimane added that "the impression that one gets was that South African jails and hospitals are bedecked with our dearly beloved, the streets laced with our children and young adults smoking cocaine, dagga and other drugs while no one seem to notice the good things that we do."

"Despite all this negativity there are a lot of our countrymen who continue to raise the flag and have done a lot in improving the lives of others, safeguarding our culture and dignity and raising the spirit of ubuntu," he said.