Online Reporter
We publish below President Mnangagwa’s message commemorating the sixth anniversary of the passing on of the late founding President of Zimbabwe, Cde Robert Mugabe, who died in Singapore on September 6, 2019.
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TODAY (yesterday), the 6th of September, 2025, His Excellency the President, Dr ED Mnangagwa, the party and Government joins the former First Family and the entire nation in commemorating the passing on of the late First Executive President of Zimbabwe, Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
A freedom fighter par excellence and veteran nationalist, the late Cde RG Mugabe was a revered frontline statesman who fearlessly championed the political and economic emancipation of Southern Africa and our continent of Africa.
A true son of the soil and an iconic liberation fighter, Cde RG Mugabe ushered Zimbabwe into Independence in 1980, following a protracted armed liberation struggle against colonial rule, better known as the Second Chimurenga/Umvukhela.
Cde Mugabe endured 11 years of incarceration and detention by the settler colonial regime bent on perpetuating minority rule in our richly endowed motherland.
Upon his release in 1975 and subsequent relocation to Mozambique, Cde Mugabe led the revolutionary Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) party in the country’s Great War of Liberation until final victory in 1980 and, thereafter, during the era of the First Republic.
The late President’s renowned political astuteness and zeal for social, economic and political empowerment of Zimbabwe’s indigenous people impelled him to champion the Land Reform Programme, which addressed historical land ownership imbalances emanating from the colonial era.
His undying quest to economically empower indigenous farmers and to transform the lives of all Zimbabweans saw him implement various indigenisation and economic empowerment programmes, which gave back Zimbabweans their self-belief and respect, thus building the resilience to overcome illegal sanctions imposed on the country.
Determined to promote and protect the human rights of every Zimbabwean citizen, regardless of race, colour, tribe or creed, Cde Mugabe broadened access to health and education to the marginalised sectors of our society.
In honour of his exploits and to serve as an enduring legacy worthy of emulation, the Second Republic added a National Honours and Awards category in his name, in the area of human capital development.
A revered revolutionary leader and embodiment of Pan-Africanism, Cde Mugabe belonged to a generation of fearless nationalist leaders who fought for the liberation of Africa, and who included Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere of Tanzania, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Samora Moises Machel of Mozambique, Agostino Neto of Angola, Sam Nujoma of Namibia, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo of Zimbabwe and Nelson Mandela of South Africa.
True to his stature, Cde Mugabe dedicated his life to fighting apartheid, promotion of Pan-Africanist ideals and African renaissance, and to encouraging solidarity and commitment for the development of Africa and the downtrodden, disenfranchised masses of the world. As we remember our late President, the Second Republic once again rededicates itself to preserving the legacy of Cde RG Mugabe by winding up the successful National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and preparing for NDS2, guided by the goal to have a society that is free, democratic and prosperous, which leaves no one and no place behind through inclusive development.
We commit to the revolutionary icon’s enduring refrain that Zimbabwe will never be a colony again, a mantra which finds expression in our national guiding philosophy of “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo!”
May the soul of the late great freedom fighter and liberator, veteran nationalist, frontline statesman, Pan-Africanist, champion of political and economic liberation of Africa, and a luminary leader, rest in eternal peace.
Long live our Independence, Unity Peace and Freedom!
Long live our Zimbabwe!
