John Nkomo | Zimbabwe V.P., 79

John Nkomo, 79, vice president of Zimbabwe, died early Thursday after a long illness state radio said, citing President Robert Mugabe.

The second of two vice presidents, Mr. Nkomo had not appeared at Mugabe party meetings or state functions for several months.

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

A former teacher, he began his political activism against colonial rule in 1958. In recent years, he was not seen as a political heavyweight. - AP