MDC-T leader Mr Nelson Chamisa’s attempt to ride on the
legacy of the late Vice President Dr Joshua Nkomo has backfired after the
family dismissed as false claims that they endorsed and offered him the veteran
nationalist’s intonga (sceptre).
Addressing an MDC Alliance rally in Bulawayo, made up of
bussed people from outside the city, Mr Chamisa falsely claimed that the Nkomo
family had told him that he was the first “national leader” to visit the Joshua
Nkomo Museum in Matsheumhlophe suburb since Dr Nkomo’s death in 1999.
“I was so touched when I went to Dr Nkomo’s Matsheumhlophe
house. I was going there to see the history of this nation. However, the family
told me one thing, they said ever since the death of Dr Nkomo I am the first
national leader to visit the house, they even offered to give me Dr Nkomo’s
traditional sceptre (intonga),” he said at the rally at White City Stadium on
Saturday.
However, Dr Nkomo’s son, Mr Sibangilizwe Nkomo said none of
the family members knew about Mr Chamisa’s visit to the museum while dismissing
as an abomination claims that they offered the MDC-T leader the late VP’s
intonga.
The sceptre became synonymous with Dr Nkomo’s identity as
he carried it everywhere he went.
“There is nothing like that. Chamisa went to the Matsheumhlope
house which is now a museum at the invitation of the chief executive officer of
the Joshua Nkomo foundation, Mr Jabulani Hadebe. None of the family members
knew about his visit,” said Mr Nkomo.
“I live in the Pelandaba house and it is a lie that he met
any of the family members unless he came here as a ghost. In actual fact, I
have never met Chamisa in my life.”
On claims that the family offered Mr Chamisa Dr Nkomo’s
intonga, Mr Nkomo said he was shocked, that a young man like Chamisa can speak
such an abomination.”
“It’s not a matter that you can joke about. It’s an
abomination that he can talk cheaply about intonga ka baba. That’s no ordinary
stick but it carries so much significance in terms of culture and tradition,
it’s the property of our ancestors. It represents our family’s ancestry and it
is unacceptable for him to joke around with such matters,” said Mr Nkomo.
“In our African tradition, we do not offer intonga ka baba
to anyone one who is not a member of the family. None of the care takers at the
museum know where that stick is so we really do not know what he is talking
about.”
Historian and culturalist Mr Phathisa Nyathi said it was
impossible for intonga to be given to anyone from outside the family.
“Firstly, the children are not the ones who give the stick
to the next person but another relative who was at par with the deceased. It
could be the older or younger uncle and the stick strictly follows a blood
line. It is impossible that it could be given to a person outside the blood
line.
“The stick is then given to the qualifying son in the blood
line. The determinant of qualifying son does not necessarily follow that the
eldest son gets it first but the chosen one,” he said.
Mr Nkomo warned Mr Chamisa against seeking political
mileage at the expense of Dr Nkomo.
He also dismissed Mr Chamisa’s claims that he was the first
“national” leader to visit the Joshua Nkomo Museum, opened in January 2012,
saying many leaders had visited the monument.
“Even claims about his visit to the museum are not true.
The likes of Dumiso Dabengwa, Simon Khaya Moyo and many national leaders have
visited that museum. He must not mislead the people with lies,” he said.
Meanwhile, MDC-T functionaries yesterday distributed
pictures of Mr Chamisa visiting former war veterans leader, Cde Jabulani
Sibanda at his Nkulumane home on Saturday, creating a false impression that he
was in support of their cause.
However, sources privy to the meeting disclosed that Mr
Chamisa desperately tried to woo Cde Sibanda into the MDC-T but without
success.
“He tried in vain to convince Sibanda to join them. He
promised that they would reward Sibanda if he joins them with more benefits
than those he got in Zanu-PF. However, Sibanda made no commitment towards
Chamisa, he just listened but did not respond,” said the source. Chronicle
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