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From Caesar Zvayi in LUSAKA, Zambia
President Mugabe has described the late Zambian leader Cde Michael Chilufya Sata as a great freedom fighter and a loss not only to Zambia, but to Southern Africa as a whole.
Cde Sata, Zambia’s fifth president since independence in 1964, died at a London Hospital on October 28 where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment.
“It is welling tears in our eyes, sorrow in our hearts, the Zambians are mourning and we Zimbabweans as well,” President Mugabe told journalists on arrival at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport yesterday afternoon.
The President — who is accompanied by the First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, National Assembly Speaker Cde Jacob Mudenda and several senior Government officials — joins eight other heads of state and Government, several Vice Presidents and former leaders at the burial scheduled to begin at Embassy Park Grounds at midday today.
Embassy Park, which is now dubbed Presidential Burial Grounds Monument, is where Zambia’s second and third republican presidents Drs Fredrick Chiluba and Levy Patrick Mwanawasa are interred.
The President and his delegation were welcomed on arrival at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport by the host nation’s ministers of health, and youth and sport Dr Joseph Kasonde and Mr Chishimba Kambwili, Zambia’s ambassador to Zimbabwe Ndiyoyi Mtiti and her Zimbabwean counterpart Gertrude Takawira and embassy staff.
The President then headed for State House where he viewed Cde Sata’s body before paying his condolences to Cde Sata’ widow Dr Christine Kaseba and Zambia’s founding president Dr Kenneth Kaunda after which he signed a book of condolences.
Wrote President Mugabe, “On my behalf of the Government and people of Zimbabwe, and on behalf of my party, Zanu-PF and indeed on behalf of my family, I wish to express my deepest and heartfelt condolences on the passing on of President Michael Sata. He indeed, was a great freedom fighter, fervent nationalist and lover of the people.
“He sought to improve the general welfare of his people and established excellent brotherly relations with Zimbabwe and it’s people. We mourn him in Zimbabwe as our own dear departed. May God rest him in eternal peace.”
Speaking to journalists soon after signing the book of condolences, President Mugabe described Cde Sata as a great freedom fighter.
“Well I said we have lost a great man, a great ally and a great freedom fighter not just for the Zambian people but for Zimbabwean people and indeed for the other people in our neighboring countries “Yes he is departed we will feel his loss tremendously he is of that age that fought the struggle against white colonialism very early on, the courageous age and that caliber of people is gone there are very few of us , KK (Kenneth Kaunda) etcetera, the others are fighting for money, leadership for money not so Sata. It was leadership to improve the lot of the people, to get them freedom, to bring them development, to bring happiness to them and hence he was a man of the people, there are every few like him,” the President said.
Zimbabwe and Zambia enjoy cordial relations having been brought together by the curse of history as the Federation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland after which independent Zambia provided material and logistical support as well as rear bases for Zimbabwean guerrillas during the liberation struggle.
Online Reporter