NNC president Gen Thinoselie Keyho laid to rest at native Chedema

General (Retd) Thinoselie Medom Keyho, president of the Naga National Council (NNC), was buried at his native village of Chedema in Kohima district on Saturday, a day after he died at the age of 96.

The funeral service was held at Rüvetsiezou in Chedema and drew leaders of Naga political groups and civil society organisations, members of his family, villagers and well-wishers, according to reports in The Morung Express and Nagaland Tribune.

Tributes from old comrades

NNC central executive member Zapuvisie Lhousa, who said his friendship with Keyho began when they were Class VI classmates in Kohima in 1950, recalled that Keyho joined the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN) in 1956 and went on to face imprisonment and years of hardship for the Naga cause.

Another executive member, Sanguto Chase, said Keyho had given his whole life to the Nagas without seeking anything for himself or his family, and acknowledged the sacrifices of his wife and children. NNC vice-president Zapu-o Zhasa, who first met him in 1966 and was part of the China expedition with him, said Keyho always held that the political rights of the Nagas were distinct and could not be surrendered.

'A generation measured by sacrifice'

Angami Public Organisation (APO) president Thejao Vihienuo said Keyho belonged to a generation defined by sacrifice and loyalty to the national movement. He recalled meeting Keyho at Maulai Jail in 1976 and noted that Keyho had himself led the APO from 1980 to 1984.

Vihienuo said that while Keyho stayed firmly committed to the NNC's principles, he also urged forgiveness and unity among Naga groups. He cited Keyho's efforts to ease tensions between the Ao and Sumi communities and his visit with an APO team to Merapani during the Nagaland-Assam border conflict. Political differences, Vihienuo said, should never be used to erase history or deny the sacrifices of those who shaped the movement.

Family remembers a gentle leader

Chedema Village Council chairman Khriekedolie Thevo called him a father figure and one of the tallest Naga leaders. A family member said 16 people from the Medom Keyho lineage had served as national workers, with Keyho contributing the most.

His daughter Akuonuo said her father had asked that his funeral be a celebration rather than only a time of mourning. Retired IAS officer Khekiye K Sema, speaking for the in-laws, described him as humble and soft-spoken, a man who preferred to listen and consult before responding, and who held for nearly 70 years that the Nagas had always been a free people.

The family thanked the villagers, Naga organisations and health workers at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima, and the Rhieo clan of Dapfhütsumia Khel for giving land for the burial. Nagaland Christian Revival Church president Rev Dr Neikedozo Paphino delivered the sermon at the final rites.

Keyho died in Kohima on October 30. NEInsider reported his death on Friday.