He was a true soldier, says President

in a house fire at his farm in Beatrice yesterday, as a true soldier whose life should be a “Bible” for generations to come.
Condolence messages started pouring in yesterday.

The Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces said Gen Mujuru’s death was overwhelming and shocking.
He was speaking after viewing the former Zanla Commander’s charred remains at One Commando Barracks in Harare yesterday.
Police have since launched investigations into the cause of the fire while the remains are being examined by pathologists at One Commando Barracks.

“Chigariro handisati ndaona mufiro wakadai. Kana vaye vanonzi vadzivirirwa mumba vakazofa inga vanenge vachioneka vanenyama dzavo. Ichi chishamiso,” President Mugabe said.
He said Rtd Gen Mujuru “deserved a better death than that” adding, “soldiers do not die but fade away.”
President Mugabe went on to narrate the pivotal role that was played by the veteran freedom fighter during the war and after independence.

He said so brave and committed to the struggle was Rtd Gen Mujuru that he earned the trust of the late Zanla Commander Cde Josiah Tongogara.
President Mugabe said after the death of Cde Tongogara in a car accident, Rtd Gen Mujuru, worked well together with the late General Vitalis Zvinavashe and Josiah Tungamirai.
“Ndivo vakomana vakazorova hondo ivavo. Rex (Rtd Gen Mujuru) ndiye aiiswa pamberi naZvinavashe naTungamirai,” he said.

President Mugabe said following the Lancaster House talks, Rtd Gen Mujuru played an important role in mobilising freedom fighters at assembly points throughout the country.
At independence, Rtd Gen Mujuru became the first black Army Commander.
“Saka you can see kuti Rex anga ari munhu akadii. Aifambidzana navamwe. Aiva munhu anoda kuseka ane majokes. Ndati ndikuudzei kuti muone kuti munhu anomushando wakadaro akazvipira akarwira nyika. A true soldier should have died nebullet, not this way, oh Lord,” President Mugabe said.

To Vice President Joice Mujuru, he said: “That is the way of life. Ndizvo zvada Mwari kuti aite mufiro uyoyo. Ndini ndakatanga kuva widower, zvinowava widow wo.”
VP Mujuru had told President Mugabe that she was disturbed by the way her husband died.
“Handisati ndamboona kutsva kwakadaro. Munhu kutsva kupera kudaro here?” she said.

President Mugabe urged the Mujuru siblings to support their mother during these trying times.
“He is one of the greatest among our people and his name will remain ever indelible. We can never forget what he has done. We must gain strength from his departure,” the President said.
In his condolence message, President Mugabe said the horrific tragedy robbed the nation of a veteran commander of the liberation struggle.

“A courageous fighter and commander who led from the front, General Mujuru was part of the wartime command, which moulded thousands of young men and women who had crossed borders into Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania into a formidable and disciplined guerilla army with the capability of militarily dismantling the racist settler colonial dispensation,” he said.
“We recall with admiration how he successfully steered the delicate integration exercise, which brought together three warring armies of the Patriotic Front on the one hand and the remnant Rhodesian

Army on the other, moulding both into one solid and disciplined national defence force, which he commanded until his retirement in 1992.”
He said Zimbabwe today boasts of a professional defence force traceable to Rtd Gen Mujuru’s pioneering command.
“On behalf of the party, Zanu-PF, Government and the entire people of a free Zimbabwe, I wish to express my deepest, heartfelt condolences to our Vice President Amai Joice Teurairopa Mujuru and the Mujuru family on this very sad and tragic loss, which shall be felt and acknowledged across the whole nation and even beyond,” President Mugabe said.

Senior Government officials including Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara and service chiefs were at One Commando Barracks where they viewed the remains of Rtd Gen Mujuru.
Zanu-PF national chairman, Cde Simon Khaya Moyo, described the death of Gen Mujuru as a great loss to the nation.

“Retired General Solomon Mujuru’s horrific and untimely demise is only comparable to a political tsunami, which has hit Zimbabwe with unparalleled ferocity.
“He was an accomplished military strategist and a shrewd political tactician. His impeccable liberation war credentials speak volumes of an aptitude revolutionary, a visionary and a courageous commander and a man of destiny,” he said.

Cde Khaya Moyo said Gen Mujuru was not just an ordinary commander.
“He was a digestive thinker, a man of purpose and indeed one of Zimbabwe’s jewels.
“As Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘In matters of style, swim with the current, in matters of principle stand like a rock.’ General Mujuru subscribed to this philosophy all his life,” Cde Khaya Moyo said.

He said to Gen Mujuru, the 1987 unity accord between Zanu PF and PF Zapu and the integration of Zipra and Zanla forces into the Zimbabwe national army was “irreversible and a milestone achievement.”

“He died on the farm he liberated and indeed Zimbabwe is free and independent because of the illustrious role he played and many other comrades in pursuit of our sovereignty.
“He has left us a duty to complete the circle for total economic emancipation. We will miss him greatly, particularly in the Politburo and other spheres of human endeavour. His legacy lives forever,” Cde Khaya Moyo said.

Zanu-PF national spokesperson, Cde Rugare Gumbo, said the party had received with a sense of sadness and grief the news of the death of Gen Mujuru.
“Police are carrying out investigations to establish the cause of the fire and only then can full details be released.
“General Mujuru was one of the architects of the Zimbabwe revolution. He together with the likes of General Josiah Magama Tongogara, Cde Josiah Tungamirai, Cde William Ndangana, Cde Mayor

Urimbo, Cde Joseph Chimurenga, Cde Justin Chauke, Cde Charles Dauramanzi, Cde Chinamaropa, Cde Gwauya and many other fighters formed the nucleus of the ZANLA forces, which started the war of liberation that dismantled the fascist and racist Rhodesian regime.
“The country has lost a rare breed of a cadre, indeed a commander par excellence who was one of the pioneers of the armed struggle against colonial tyranny and went on to remain firm and resolute.

“He was a strategic thinker who appreciated the political, economic and social dynamics of Zimbabwe and was always ready to offer possible solutions to such problems.
“On behalf of the Presidium, Politburo, Central Committee and all members of the party we wish to express our deep and heartfelt condolences to Vice President Joice Mujuru, children, the Mujuru family and indeed the country as a whole,” Cde Gumbo said.