Online Reporter
Mashudu Netsianda, Deputy National Editor
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has reaffirmed Government’s commitment to safeguarding the country’s independence and advancing inclusive national development, saying the Second Republic draws strength and inspiration from the legacy of the country’s late founding leader, Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
Cde Mugabe died on 6 September 2019, at the age of 95 and was declared a national hero. He was buried in the courtyard of his home in Kutama village, Zvimba District in Mashonaland West Province.
In a statement to mark the sixth anniversary of Cde Mugabe’s passing, President Mnangagwa said the ruling party, Zanu PF, Government and the nation at large stood with the former First Family in honouring a liberation icon who shaped the destiny of Zimbabwe and Africa at large.
“As we remember our late President, the Second Republic once again re-dedicates 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,” he said.
“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!”
The President noted that Cde Mugabe’s leadership during the liberation struggle and in the formative years of the First Republic laid the foundation for social and economic transformation. His pursuit of land reform and indigenisation policies, President Mnangagwa said, restored dignity to Zimbabweans and instilled resilience against external pressures, including illegal sanctions imposed by the West.
“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,” he said.
“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 Zimbabweans back their self-belief and respect, thus building the resilience to overcome illegal sanctions imposed on the country.”
President Mnangagwa said Cde Mugabe was a freedom fighter par excellence, a veteran nationalist and a revered frontline Statesman, who fearlessly championed the political and economic emancipation of Southern Africa and the continent at large.
Describing Cde Mugabe as a true son of the soil and an iconic liberation fighter, the President said the late national hero ushered Zimbabwe into Independence in 1980, following a protracted Second Chimurenga/Umvukela armed liberation struggle against colonial rule.
“Cde Mugabe endured eleven years of incarceration and detention by the settler colonial regime bent on perpetuating minority rule in our richly endowed motherland,” he said.
President Mnangagwa also highlighted Cde Mugabe’s efforts in expanding education and healthcare access, especially to previously marginalised communities, adding that the Government under the Second Republic honoured this legacy by introducing a National Honours and Awards category in his name.
Beyond Zimbabwe, President Mnangagwa said Cde Mugabe stood tall as a Pan-Africanist, belonging to a generation of continental giants such as the likes of Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Samora Machel, Agostinho Neto, Nelson Mandela and the late former Vice-President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, whose sacrifices forged Africa’s independence and renaissance.
“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 downtrodden, disenfranchised masses of the world,” he said.
“Long live our Independence, Unity Peace and Freedom! Long live our Zimbabwe.”
Cde Mugabe remains one of the most influential figures in Africa’s liberation history. 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 war of liberation won in 1980 and, thereafter, during the era of the First Republic. Cde Mugabe led Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2017, first as Prime Minister and then as President.
Cde Mugabe was born on February 21, 1924, in Kutama Village, Zvimba District. He was the third of six children born to Gabriel Matibili Mugabe and Bona Mugabe. He became a teacher and then joined the liberation movement against the white-minority Government of Rhodesia.
Bongani Ndlovu