Vusumuzi Dube
Nyore Madzianike, [email protected]
ACTING President Kembo Mohadi yesterday signed the Book of Condolences at the Algerian Embassy in Harare following the death of former Algerian President Liamine Zeroual, describing him as a resilient freedom fighter, peacemaker and champion of African unity.
Former President Zeroual died on March 28 at a military hospital in Algiers after a long illness.
He was 84 and was buried in his home town of Batna on Monday.
Acting President Mohadi signed the Book of Condolences on behalf of President Mnangagwa and the nation, in the presence of Algerian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mohamed Seoudi.
Speaking after signing the book, Acting President Mohadi said Zimbabwe and Algeria share historic ties dating back to the liberation struggle.
“Algeria had a struggle very similar to ours, fighting for their liberation, fighting against the French and they got their independence long before us in the 60s,” he said.
“But they did not wait for them to find their feet, but they actually took up on some of our first cadres to train and they trained in Algeria in the early 60s.
“And because they did not forget about those people that they trained, I think in the 2000s they tried to find out who was still alive. We got a few of them that were still alive and one of them, if I am not mistaken, was Moffat Hadebe.”
Acting President Mohadi said those who were identified went to Algeria and were honoured by the Algerian government.
“This goes to show how close we are with the People’s Republic of Algeria,” he said.
He described the late former President Zeroual as a committed Pan-Africanist and peacemaker.
“The man you are talking about, you are talking about a man who was quite resilient.
“A freedom fighter and a man who loved peace, a man who loved solidarity and the unity of Africa.
“That is what he stood for. He was a champion of Pan-Africanism on the continent.”
Acting President Mohadi said Zimbabwe was mourning together with the people of Algeria following the loss.
“So, we have lost really somebody of great significance, not only to Zimbabwe, but to the entire continent of Africa.
“So, we mourn and we share the same grief that the Algerian people are sharing,” he said.
Ambassador Seoudi said Algeria’s support for Zimbabwe during the liberation struggle was a duty rather than a favour.
“It is in the order of things that His Excellency, the Acting President, came to present his condolences and sign the Condolence Book, because you know the relations between Algerians and Zimbabweans go deeply in the history of our struggle against colonialism.
“I was glad to hear the Acting President say that our loss is your loss, and that is true, because between us, you know, we feel the same; we have the same struggle. Algeria, when it got its independence, after a very huge price we paid with more than one and a half million martyrs against France in the war of liberation between 1954 and 1962, and Algeria, just after that, as said by His Excellency, felt it was a duty; it wasn’t a favour, it was really a duty to help our brothers from Africa to get their independence.
“We train people, we support them in the international force, and Zimbabwe was, I mean, one of the biggest countries that we helped in that,” said the ambassador.
He described the late former President as a liberation hero who led Algeria during difficult times.
“He did his job in Algeria for stabilising and pacification and through dialogue, but he was also a real Pan-African.
“He paid, even in this short period, many visits through African countries, and I was really honoured to be a member of the delegation that visited Namibia, South Africa and here in Zimbabwe, to put, also, the stones of the relations between our two countries after the independence,” said Ambassador Seoudi.
Online Reporter