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to dedicate his life to the emanci-pation of Zimbabwe, a former schoolmate of the Head of State and Government and Commander in Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces has said.
Veteran African National Congress legal advisor Cde George Chaane, who was at Fort Hare University together with President Mugabe, disclosed that the revolutionary leader remains an oasis of humility despite having achieved most of the things he set out to do as a politician.
Speaking after a two hour meeting with Cde Mugabe here yesterday Cde Chaane, who also taught in Ghana and shared a house with the President in Zambia, said he is not surprised that his former schoolmate has risen to become a revered Pan Africanist.
“At Fort Hare he was one of the senior people we always looked up to. During those days we spoke about a hell lot of things, among them was the way he had been treated by the missionaries back in his country,” he said.
“During one of those discussions he told me that ‘I am going to struggle for the freedom of my country.’ So I wasn’t surprised when I heard that he had walked to Mozambique to join and lead the liberation struggle because the freedom of his country is something that has always been close to his heart.
“Up to this day President Mugabe continues to struggle for the emancipation of Zimbabwe and as someone who has known him since university I am not surprised by what he has achieved and the passion with which he has done it with.”
Cde Chaane said President Mugabe’s humility had left him “shocked”.
“A number of times he has asked me to come to Zimbabwe but I didn’t come. My fear was that he is a busy man, he has a country to run and I would probably see him for just five minutes and say ‘Hallo Mr President’ before leaving him to continue with State business.
“But that wasn’t the case today. I was shocked. President Mugabe is still as humble as the days I was with him at Fort Hare and stayed in the same house with him at Chalimbana Teachers’ College in Zambia.
“Being the concerned friend that he is he kept asking about my life. He wanted to know if I was happy. When I told him I was content he remarked that I was still as humble as the days when I assisted political parties such as Zapu and the ANC during the struggle for independence,” he said.
President Mugabe, added Cde Chaane, spoke glowingly about his family high-lighting that their daughter, Bona, was doing well in her chosen field of accounting while the boys — Robert Junior and Chatunga — were balancing the academic with a shared dream to play professional basketball.
Meanwhile, President Mugabe and First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe last night attended the Orange Caf Africa Cup of Nations 2013 closing ceremony at a packed National Stadium in Johannesburg.
The closing ceremony preceded the final between Nigeria and Burkina Faso.
Online Reporter