'My dead son was called an animal' Joshua Nkomo says

As the nation commemorates the death of the late ZANU PF Second Secretarey  and national Vice President Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo, little is told about the pain he suffered whebn his first born Themba Nkomo died.

In his book The story of my life, Nkomo narrates that when his son passed one  white man called him a dead animal.

Says Nkomo:

On a Saturday in July 1952 I addressed a meeting in the township to reaffirm our opposition to federation and returned home afterwards to our little home at 3 Railway Compound. My wife was upset: our son Temba, who was six months old, would not stop crying whatever she did. We took him down to the hospital, where the doctor examined the boy, gave him some medicine and told us to bring him back on Monday, Monday never came. On Sunday night Temba died.

We drove  out of the compound, over the maze of railway lines, and  past a  group  of shunters, white people. Hearing the wailing, one of them, a young lad, asked  the policeman what was  wrong. "A child has died in the compound, " said the officer gently.

"So where is this dead animal?"  asked the shunter.

Nkomo adds that the policeman pushed his window up to silence him, and drove on deeply embarrassed. Partly to spare his feelings, and more to spare MaFuyana's feelings he (Nkomo) said nothing.

"Until I wrote this down here today I have never allowed anyone, even my wife, to know that this thing happened when our first son died."

Nkomo died on 1 July 1999.