Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo (June 19, 1917 – July 1, 1999) was a Zimbabwean nationalist leader and revolutionary, a member of the Ndebele (or Matebele) ethnic group, and the leader and founder of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 195 days remaining. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... This article relates to the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe. ... The Zimbabwe African Peoples Union was a political party in Zimbabwe. ...

Early life

Nkomo was the son of missionary teacher in Matabeleland and was educated in South Africa, where he met Nelson Mandela and other regional nationalist leaders at the University of Fort Hare. However, he did not attend university at Fort Hare University. After returning to Bulawayo in 1948, he became a trade unionist for black railway workers. He also became one of Zimbabwe's wealthiest self-made entrepreneurs. He is known as father Zimbabwe - by both Shona and Ndebele. Matabeleland is a region in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. ... Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (IPA pronunciation: //) (born July 18, 1918) was the first President of South Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic elections. ... Fort Hare University is located on the Tyhume river in a South African town known as Alice in English or as eDikeni in the local isiXhosa language. ... The City of Bulawayo is highlighted in this map of Zimbabwe. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

Armed struggle

Nkomo was detained by Ian Smith's government in 1964, with fellow revolutionaries Robert Mugabe and Ndabaningi Sithole, until 1974, when they were released due to pressure from South African president B.J. Vorster. Following Nkomo's release, he went to Zambia to continue the liberation struggle through the dual process of armed conflict and negotiation. Unlike ZANU's armed wing, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army, ZAPU's armed wing, the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army, was dedicated to both guerrilla warfare and conventional warfare. At the time of independence ZIPRA had a modern military stationed in Zambia and Angola, consisting of Soviet Union-made Mikoyan fighters, tanks and armoured personnel carriers, as well as a well trained artillery units. The Rt Hon Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia, 1964 (official portrait) Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID (born 8 April 1919) was the Premier of the British Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 11 November 1965, and Prime Minister of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 11 November... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Robert Gabriel Mugabe KCB (born 21 February 1924) is the President of Zimbabwe. ... Ndabaningi Sithole (31 July 1920 – 12 December 2000) was an Ndau, a Methodist minister, and a veteran of Zimbabwes liberation struggle. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... B. J. Vorster Balthazar Johannes Vorster (December 13, 1915 - September 10, 1983), better known as John Vorster, was Prime Minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978, and President from 1978 to 1979. ... ZANLA or the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army was the armed wing of the Zimbabwean political movement ZANU (the Zimbabwe African National Union) and participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule in Rhodesia. ... ZIPRA or the Zimbabwe Peoples Revolutionary Army was the armed wing of the communist party ZAPU (the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union) and participated in the Second Chimurenga against white minority rule in the former Rhodesia. ... Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Mikoyan, formerly Mikoyan-Gurevich (Russian: ), is a Russian military aircraft design bureau, primarily for fighter aircraft. ...

Joshua Nkomo was the target of two attempted assassinations. The first one, in Zambia, by the Selous Scouts, a pseudo-team. But the mission was finally aborted, and attempted again, unsuccessfully, by the Rhodesian Special Air Service (SAS) ^[1]. The cap badge of the Selous Scouts was a stylised osprey. ... False flag operations are covert operations conducted by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to appear as if they are being carried out by other entities. ... This article covers C Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment (to 1960), C Squadron (Rhodesian) Special Air Service (1962-1978), and 1 (Rhodesian) Special Air Service Regiment (from 1978). ...

ZAPU forces committed many acts of terrorism during their war to overthrow the Rhodesian government including the torture and brutal murders of many black women and children. But the most widely reported and possibly the most notorious were when his troops shot down two Air Rhodesia Vickers Viscount civilian passenger planes with surface-to-air missiles. The first, on September 3, 1978, killed 38 out of 56 in the crash, with a further ten survivors (including children) shot by ZIPRA ground troops dispatched to inspect the burned-out wreckage. The eight remaining survivors managed to elude the guerrillas and walked 20km into Kariba from where the flight had taken off (it was headed for Salisbury, Rhodesia's capital, now renamed Harare). Some of the passengers had serious injuries, and were picked up by local police and debriefed by the Rhodesian army. The second shootdown, on February 12, 1979, killed all 59 on board. The real target of the second shootdown was General Peter Walls, head of the COMOPS (Commander, Combined Operations), in charge of the Special Forces, including the SAS and the Selous Scouts. Due to the large number of tourists returning to Salisbury a second flight had been dispatched. General Walls received a boarding card for the second flight which departed Kariba 15 minutes after the doomed aircraft. No-one has been brought to trial or charged with shooting down the aircraft due to amnesty laws passed by both Smith and Mugabe. In a televised interview not long after the first shootdown, Nkomo laughed and joked about the incident while admitting ZAPU had indeed been responsible for the attack on the civilian aircraft. In his memoirs, Story of My Life, published in 1985, Nkomo expressed regret for the shooting down of both planes. Southern Rhodesia, todays Zimbabwe. ... Air Zimbabwe, formerly Air Rhodesia, was privatised in 1997. ... The Viscount was a medium-range turboprop airliner introduced in 1953 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world. ... Akash Missile Firing French Air Force Crotale battery Bendix Rim-8 Talos surface to air missile of the US Navy A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Kariba is a town in Mashonaland West province, Zimbabwe, located close to the Kariba Dam at the northwestern end of Lake Kariba, near the Zambian border. ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ...

Politics

ZAPU election badge, c1980

Nkomo founded the National Democratic Party (NDP), and in 1960, the year British prime minister Harold Macmillan spoke of the "wind of change" blowing through Africa, Robert Mugabe joined him. The NDP was banned by Smith's white minority government, and it was subsequently replaced by the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU), also founded by Nkomo and Mugabe, in 1962, itself immediately banned. ZAPU split in 1963 and while some have claimed this split was due to ethnic tensions, more accurately the split was motivated by the failure of Sithole, Mugabe, Takawira and Malianga to wrest control of ZAPU from Nkomo. ZAPU would remain a multi-ethnic party right up until independence. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (594x700, 38 KB) Summary Brass and enamel election supporters badge depicting Joshua Nkomo in traditional Ndebele head-dress; ZAPU, c1980, Zimbabwe. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (594x700, 38 KB) Summary Brass and enamel election supporters badge depicting Joshua Nkomo in traditional Ndebele head-dress; ZAPU, c1980, Zimbabwe. ... The Zimbabwe African Peoples Union was a political party in Zimbabwe. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. ... Robert Gabriel Mugabe KCB (born 21 February 1924) is the President of Zimbabwe. ... The Zimbabwe African Peoples Union was a political party in Zimbabwe. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ...

An unpopular government called Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, led by Abel Muzorewa, was formed in 1979 between Ian Smith and Ndabaningi Sithole's ZANU, which by now had also split from [Mugabe's more militant ZANU faction. However, the civil war waged by Nkomo and Mugabe continued unabated, and Britain and the USA did not lift sanctions on the country. Britain persuaded all parties to come to Lancaster House in September 1979 to work out a constitution and the basis for fresh elections. Mugabe and Nkomo shared a delegation, called the Patriotic Front (PF), at the negotiations chaired by Lord Carrington. Elections were held in 1980, and to most observers' surprise Nkomo's ZAPU lost in a landslide to Mugabe's ZANU. The effects of this election would make both ZAPU and ZANU into tribally-based parties, ZANU with backing from the Shona majority, and ZAPU the Ndebele minority. Nkomo was offered the ceremonial post of President, but declined. Flag Capital Salisbury Language(s) English Government Republic President Josiah Zion Gumede Prime Minister Abel Muzorewa Historical era Cold War  - Established June 1, 1979  - Disestablished December 12, 1979 Area  - 1978 390,580 km2 150,804 sq mi Population  - 1978 est. ... Bishop Abel Muzorewa Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa (born 1925 in former Rhodesia), a Methodist bishop and nationalist leader, was prime minister of the short-lived coalition government in what was called Zimbabwe Rhodesia; he held office for only a few months in 1979. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... The Rt Hon Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia, 1964 (official portrait) Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID (born 8 April 1919) was the Premier of the British Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 11 November 1965, and Prime Minister of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 11 November... Ndabaningi Sithole (31 July 1920 – 12 December 2000) was an Ndau, a Methodist minister, and a veteran of Zimbabwes liberation struggle. ... The Zimbabwe African National Union was a political party during the struggle for Rhodesias, ultimately Zimbabwes, independence, formed as a split from ZAPU. It won the 1980 elections under the leadership of Robert Mugabe, and eight years later merged again with Joshua Nkomos ZAPU to form Zanu... The Lancaster House Agreement was the independence agreement for Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... Lord Carrington wearing his robes as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter, in procession to St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle for the annual service of the Order of the Garter. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The Zimbabwe African Peoples Union was a political party in Zimbabwe. ... The Zimbabwe African National Union was a political party during the struggle for Rhodesias, ultimately Zimbabwes, independence, formed as a split from ZAPU. It won the 1980 elections under the leadership of Robert Mugabe, and eight years later merged again with Joshua Nkomos ZAPU to form Zanu... Shona is the principle language of Zimbabwe, in southern Africa. ... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. ...

Coup d'état

Nkomo was appointed to the cabinet, but in 1982 was accused of plotting a coup d'état after South African double agents in Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organization, attempting to cause distrust between ZAPU and ZANU, planted arms on ZAPU owned farms, and then tipped Mugabe off to their existence. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // A coup dÉtat (pronounced ), or simply coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, often through illegal means by a part of the state establishment — mostly replacing just the high-level figures. ... The Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) is the national intelligence agency or secret police of Zimbabwe. ...

In a public statement Mugabe said, "ZAPU and its leader, Dr. Joshua Nkomo, are like a cobra in a house. The only way to deal effectively with a snake is to strike and destroy its head."^[2]

He unleashed the Fifth Brigade upon Nkomo's Matabeleland homeland in Operation Gukurahundi, in an attempt to destroy ZAPU and create a one-party state. The Fifth Brigade was an elite unit of specially-trained Zimbabwean soldiers. ... Gukurahundi is a traditional term in Shona (one of Zimbabwes native languages), which means the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains. The chaff, i. ...

"NKOMO FLEES: ZAPU leader, Joshua Nkomo, fled in self-imposed exile to London after illegally crossing the Botswana frontier disguised as a woman on March 7th. 1983, claiming that his life was in danger, and that he was going to look for “solutions” to Zimbabwean problems abroad.” (Government Printer, Harare 1984)^[3]. "...nothing in my life had prepared me for persecution at the hands of a government led by black Africans." (Nkomo - My Life, p.1)

After the Gukurahundi, in 1987 Nkomo consented to the absorption of ZAPU into Zanu-PF, leaving Zimbabwe as effectively a one-party state, and leading some people to accuse Nkomo of selling out. These Ndebele individuals were, however,in such a minority that they did not constitute a meaningful power base within the cross-section of ZAPU. In a powerless post, and with his health failing, his influence declined. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) has been the ruling party in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, led by Robert Mugabe, first as Prime Minister with the party simply known as ZANU, and then as President from 1988 after taking over ZAPU and renaming the party ZANU...

When asked late in his life why he allowed this to happen, he told historian Eliakim Sibanda that he did it to stop the murder of the Ndebele (who supported his party) and of the ZAPU politicians and organziers who had been targeted by Zimbabwe's security forces since 1982.

For most of his life, Nkomo had been an inactive member of the Missionary Church. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1999, shortly before he died of prostate cancer on July 1 at the age of 82. [1] The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 183 days remaining. ...

References

• Nkomo: The Story of My Life, Joshua Nkomo, Nicholas Harman (Autor); 1984; ISBN-10: 0413545008,ISBN-13: 978-0413545008, Autobiography
• The Zimbabwe African People's Union 1961-1987: A Political History of Insurgency in Southern Rhodesia.
• Terence O. Ranger, ‘Nkomo, Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo (1917–1999)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 18 June 2006

The Strategic Studies Institute (SSI)[1] is the U.S. Armys institute for geostrategic and national security research and analysis. ...

External links

• The Hunyani Disaster (about the first Viscount shootdown)
• BBC Obituary
• Joshua M Nkomo: A Bulawayo man who became "Father Zimbabwe"