Lazarus Nkala
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Lazarus Nkala | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 February 1927 |
| Died | 3 December 1975 (aged 48) near Gadade Mbembesi, Rhodesia |
| Alma mater | University of South Africa (BA) |
| Occupations | Builder, trade union leader, activist, revolutionary |
| Political party | African National Congress (1957–1959) National Democratic Party (1960–1961) Zimbabwe African People's Union (1961–1975) |
| Spouse | Leah Nkala now 95 years old |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Enos Nkala (cousin) |
Lazarus Nkala (26 February 1927 – 3 December 1975), known in political circles by the nickname UMavava,[1] was a Rhodesian trade union leader, activist, and revolutionary. Born in Filabusi in Matabeleland, he attended mission and government schools, and trained as a builder. He worked in Bulawayo, and became a union leader and African nationalist activist. In the 1950s and 60s, he served in leadership roles in the Southern Rhodesia African National Congress, National Democratic Party, and Zimbabwe African People's Union. He was detained in 1964 and, with the exception of a three-week period the following year, was held in continuous detention for the next ten years. Upon his release in 1974, he was named Organising Secretary of the ANC, and attended the Victoria Falls Conference as part of Joshua Nkomo's delegation. He died shortly after in an automobile accident while driving from Salisbury (now Harare) to Bulawayo.
Nkala was born on 26 February 1927 in Filabusi, Matabeleland, Southern Rhodesia.[1][2][3] He comes from a large Ndebele family; one of his cousins, Enos, also became active in the independence movement and later served in parliament and as a cabinet minister.[4] His father, Madiga Nkala, was a peasant farmer, teacher at the local Methodist mission school, and later a cobbler.[1][2][4] His mother, Mbase Moyo, was a lay preacher of the American-led Brethren in Christ Church.[2] Nkala was raised in the Brethren faith and attended primary school Nkankezi School and at the Church's Matopo Mission.[1][2] He went on to study at Mzingwane High School in Essexvale (now Esigodini), where he became exposed to politics through fellow students, including Jason Moyo and others.[1][2] There, he received elementary industrial instruction, trained as a bricklayer, and qualified as a builder in 1947.[1][2]