biography
| name: |
Nkomo, Joshua (Mqabuko Nyongolo)
|
pronunciation:
[nkohmoh]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1917–99)
|
| biography:
| Zimbabwean statesman, born in Semokwe, Zimbabwe. Educated mainly in South Africa, he became a member of the African National Congress in 1952, and president of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) in 1961. There followed a long period during which he was placed under government restrictions, but in 1976 he formed the Popular Front with Robert Mugabe to press for black majority rule in an independent Zimbabwe, and was given a cabinet post in the Mugabe government in 1980. However, tension between his party and Mugabe's led to his dismissal in 1982. Although Nkomo's native Matabeleland continued to harbour dissidents from Mugabe's rule, some reconciliation was achieved as Zimbabwe moved towards a one-party state. |
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