Lazarus Nkala

Lazarus Nkala (26 February 1927 – 3 December 1975), known in political circles by the nickname UMavava, 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.

Early life Nkala was born on 26 February 1927 in Filabusi, Matabeleland, Southern Rhodesia. 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. His father, Madiga Nkala, was a peasant farmer, teacher at the local Methodist mission school, and later a cobbler. The ANC colleague he was traveling with, Aggrippah Moyo, was also killed.