Zimbabwe’s Vice President  John Nkomo has died at the age of 79, State Radio said.

VP John Nkomo died in a Harare hospital early Thursday after a long illness, the radio said.

Zimbabwe’s Vice President ,John Nkomo is Dead

A former opponent of Mr. Mugabe, Mr. Nkomo joined a unity government formed in 1987 at the end of an armed rebellion in the western Matabeleland province by fighters loyal to his party who opposed Mr. Mugabe’s domination of the first black government after independence from Britain in 1980.

Mr. Nkomo  a former teacher began his political activism against colonial rule in 1958. In recent years, he wasn’t seen as a political heavyweight with influence over Mr. Mugabe.

By UP