The South African Parliament yesterday paid tribute to the
late former President Robert Mugabe, describing him as an icon of the
liberation of Africa.
The legislators said Zimbabwe should be allowed to solve
its problems without the interference of external forces and illegal sanctions
imposed on it by Western countries should be lifted.
Paying tribute to Cde Mugabe, African National Congress
(ANC) MP Cde Joseph Maswanganyi said sanctions had done harm to the economy and
people of Zimbabwe.
Cde Mugabe died in Singapore on September 6 at the age of
95 and was declared a national hero before burial at his rural home in Zvimba,
Mashonaland West Province, in line with his family’s wishes.
“Today we join the people of Zimbabwe under President
Mnangagwa to call for the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe which have done more
harm to the people and the economy of Zimbabwe,” Cde Maswanganyi said.
“Our approach to this again would be guided by our
principle that the problems of Zimbabwe will be solved by Zimbabweans
themselves and through multilateral platforms like SADC and the African Union.”
Cde Maswanganyi said the late former President Mugabe would
be remembered for his bold step on land redistribution, which Zimbabwe is still
severely paying for through Western-imposed sanctions.
He said Zimbabwe’s land reform was inspirational to South
Africa which is on course to redistribute its land to the landless majority.
“Some years ago, the people of Zimbabwe under the
leadership of President Mugabe decided to advance with their land reform
programme,” he said.
“This has raised a number of responses from around the
world with some of the Western forces putting Zimbabwe under difficult
circumstances through sanctions.
“As South Africans, we would never be threatened by any
force to expropriate land without compensation. We will learn from the mistakes
and the good that the Zimbabweans have done.”
Cde Maswanganyi challenged Africans to reject
Western-imposed narratives that denigrate African heroes through telling their
own stories.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) president Mr Julius Malema
had moved the motion to honour Zimbabwe’s founding father, describing him as an
unwavering pan-Africanist.
He concurred with Cde Maswanganyi that the punitive
sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe should be lifted.
“President Mugabe was a devoted pan-Africanist, principled
revolutionary with unwavering commitment to the cause of the liberation of
Africa and development of the African continent in a manner that puts African
people first,” he said.
“We acknowledge that he stands head and shoulders above the
rest in his commitment to resolve the timeless question of the return of the
African land back to African people, of the use of the African wealth for the
development of Africa.”
Mr Malema said under Cde Mugabe’s leadership, Zimbabwe
sought to change the course of history through empowering its people.
He said this put him and the nation at crossroads with neo
imperialists who still wanted to control Africa’s resources.
Mr Malema said the Zimbabwean story should inspire other
African countries whose focus is to address colonial injustices through
empowering the black majority.
He said sacrifices by the late former President should
inspire today’s youths to fight for what is right while rejecting Western
influence.
“Robert Gabriel Mugabe was one of the distinguished African
leaders who sacrificed their youth for the emancipation of all Africans for the
restoration of our right to humanity denied over generations by the colonialist
forces,” said Mr Malema.
“We suffered untold humiliation at the hands of white
people who stand here today and lecture us about human rights, who want to tell
us how to feel about the pain they caused us.” Herald
CIC @Julius_S_Malema reiterates that all the troubles of Zimbabwe started when Zimbabweans began taking back their land.— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) November 12, 2019
The white world stood up and vowed to punish President Mugabe and all Zimbabweans for daring to take back what rightfully belongs to them. pic.twitter.com/vy1KJITxq9
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