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. Sunday Mail
0 comments:
Post a Comment