Late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo’s life will be celebrated in the Matobo area of Mshasheni with organisers promising a feast of traditional food and dance.
BY STAFF REPORTER
Zimbabwe on Wednesday commemorated the 16th anniversary of Nkomo’s death through tributes on social, print and electronic media.
The Mshasheni Cultural Project, an initiative of the people of Matobo — Nkomo’s home district — said today’s event would cap celebrations of the life of one of Zimbabwe’s most revered nationalists.
“Men and women, young and old have been working to prepare the ground and enclosures that will be used,” said Mildred Mkandla the Matabeleland Development Foundation events manager and member of the Mshasheni Cultural Project Steering committee Mkandla said the event would bring together people from different political and religious persuasions.
The Matobo community played a significant role in organising the event set for Halale in the Njelele area.
“In line with Ndebele tradition, villages have made contributions of grain, labour and other food items,” Mkandla said.
“Other well-wishers from outside the district have supported the event in various ways.
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“The process of making traditional brew started a few weeks ago with the preparation of malt (imithombo).”
In 2014 Nkomo’s death was commemorated at the same place and organisers hope it would be done there every year under the Mshasheni Cultural Project.
David Mhabinyana Ngwenya, president of the International Traditional Healers’ Association has been coordinating the event and has been working with the Matobo community.
“For some months, the communities have been meeting with the local leadership to prepare for this great day,” Mkandla said.
“They put in place modalities of how this year’s event will be run whilst at the same time sourcing resources in cash and kind to support the celebrations.
“What strikes you as an outsider is the warmth with which you are received and the determination and commitment as well as the unity of purpose in this community.”
She said the event would start at 10am and there “will be feasting and dancing all day long.”
“Alongside this main event will be a Festival of Living Traditions where the people of Matobo’s way of life will be show cased through arts, such as song, dance and artefacts as well as demonstrations,” Mkandla added.
“Some of the items will be for sale. The festival should have started on July 1 culminating in the main Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo main event.
“Although the festival is mainly an educational event, it is part of a bigger community economic empowerment project.”
Mshasheni is situated 100km off the main road to Kezi in Matobo, of Matabeleland South.
It is strategically positioned among the hills a few kilometres from the Njelele Shrine near Nathisa.
Njelele itself is a well known National Sacred Grove in Zimbabwe that is historically revered.
It is where every year before the onset of rains between August and September contributions of grain and money are made towards the Njelele Shrine pilgrimage.
“The strategic importance of Mshasheni is that it is a resting or cooling off point before the entry into the sacred shrine,” Mkandla said.
“In recent times, the rules and regulations that governed visits to Njelele have been violated and in some cases politicised in a negative manner.”
Mshasheni was identified as a resting place by Nkomo where he would meet with traditional leaders before going to Njelele.
“Working closely with the traditional leaders and communities Mshasheni is to develop into a project that will not only support the cultural aspects of the initiative but will also contribute to the economic and social development of the area,” Mkandla said.
“Before he died, Nkomo had supported the drilling of two boreholes and identified areas that would be used as fields. “Mshasheni itself would be developed along the lines of traditional setups using traditional architecture.”
