PARLIAMENT has demanded that President Emmerson Mnangagwa declare 1 July a public holiday in honour of the late deputy president Joshua Nkomo.

Nkomo, affectionately known as Father Zimbabwe, died on 1 July 1999 due to prostate cancer.

The revered former ZAPU leader was credited for his selfless contribution to the unity of Zimbabwe after independence.

This has warranted calls for the day he died to be observed as a public holiday to cement his hero status.

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Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) lawmaker Charles Moyo said in accordance with Public Holidays and Business Prohibition Act, President Mnangagwa should set aside a Joshua Nkomo Day.

"We are who we are today because of selfless leadership, immense contribution, unifying efforts and the peace-making attributes of the late Dr. Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo, our late Vice President, also known as Father Zimbabwe, Umdala Wethu, Chibwechitedza.

"It is in the same vein that I pray that we continue to have peace and unity in this Parliament and our motherland, Zimbabwe. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, most importantly, is to request His Excellency, the President of Zimbabwe, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa, who is also our SADC Chair, to declare 1 July of every year as a public holiday through the Public Holidays and Business Prohibition Act [Chapter 10:21]," said Moyo.

Nkomo is hailed for the role that he played in ending the mass killings of ZAPU supporters in Matebeleland and parts of the Midlands by State security agents.

The Unity accord he signed with Robert Mugabe on 22 December signalled an end to one of the most divisive periods in an independent Zimbabwe.

Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda acknowledged the receipt of Moyo's statement in the National Assembly.

"I shall convey that sentiment to His Excellency, the President, as indicated in your statement," said Mudenda.