Go Thee Well Our National Icon, Your Legacy Was Restored
07 SEP, 2019 - 00:09
Zimbabwe Chronicle
THE founding President of independent Zimbabwe, liberation struggle icon, elder statesman and pan-Africanist, Cde Robert Mugabe, died in Singapore yesterday, triggering national mourning and an outpouring of grief and eulogies from around the world.
He was 95.
We join the nation in mourning this giant of the our struggle for self-determination and hope his wife, Grace, children Bona, Robert Junior, Chatunga Bellarmine and the wider Mugabe family can find comfort in the fact that their tragic loss is shared by millions of Zimbabweans, our brothers in Africa and the generality of the oppressed people around the world whose lives resonated with what he stood for.
Announcing the sad news on his Twitter account yesterday morning, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, to whom former President Mugabe was both a father figure and mentor, said: “It is with the utmost sadness that I announce the passing on of Zimbabwe’s founding father and former President, Cde Robert Mugabe. Cde Mugabe was an icon of liberation, a pan-Africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of his people. His contribution to the history of our nation and continent will never be forgotten. May his soul rest in eternal peace”.
Indeed, former President Mugabe was a colossus who presided over the liberation struggle and later ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years. He was one of the remaining liberation struggle stalwarts who initiated the fight against colonialism in the 1960s and alongside the likes of Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Joshua Nkomo, Herbert Chitepo, Samora Machel, Sam Nujoma, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, they prosecuted wars of independence for much of southern Africa.
After Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, then Prime Minister Mugabe forged strong ties with other Frontline States in Sadc and together they fought for the liberation of the remaining colony of Namibia and the end of apartheid in South Africa. Wherever he went, former President Mugabe spoke strongly against imperialism and advocated for the political and economic emancipation of black people. He was very popular across the African continent and was respected across the globe because of his principled stance against colonialism and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the poor and downtrodden.
In bodies such as the Non-Aligned Movement which emerged as a direct consequence of the dominance of the United States, Britain and their allies on global issues, former President Mugabe was influential, counted in the same mould as the late Fidel Castro of Cuba. His speeches at the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations were fiery and captivating, often laced with barbs and diatribes against former colonial master Britain which reneged on its pledge to fund the land reform programme.
Cde Mugabe’s legacy is that of a liberator, educationist (for his much vaunted policy of free education for all after independence), economic emancipator for embarking on the land reform programme which empowered the majority black people of Zimbabwe and the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme.
As Zimbabwe bids farewell to this icon of the struggle, it is apt to mention that his legacy has been restored by his peers and comrades in Zanu-PF who in 2017 initiated Operation Restore Legacy during which the Zimbabwe Defence Forces intervened to weed out criminal elements who had surrounded the former President. The G40 element, which had literally captured Cde Mugabe and the Presidency through his wife Grace, was besmirching his legacy through their corrupt tendencies and hounding of the former President’s trusted lieutenants.
There was a clear and sinister plan to rid the ruling party of the liberation struggle element and its replacement with young Turks with a hunger for power and money.
We pay tribute to the ZDF for stopping them in their tracks and protecting the legacy of our founding father. Zanu-PF remains strong and united with its ethos and values still steeped in the principles of the liberation struggle —something the former President would have been proud of.
To his credit, President Mnangagwa remained calm and accorded Cde Mugabe the respect he deserved to his grave despite naked provocation and persecution by the G40 prior to November 2017. This was because of the strong bond the two shared for close to five decades from their days in the struggle.
Cde Mugabe was taken care of by the State with his medical bills paid by the Government. President Mnangagwa personally checked on the former President on a regular basis and kept the nation updated on his condition. We applaud him for his humility and compassion.
We also believe Cde Mugabe would have been proud of his protégé’s stewardship of the country where he has managed to stabilise the economy and steer it towards an upper middle income status by 2030.
Despite the current birth pangs signalling the dawn of a new economy, President Mnangagwa is on track to achieving his goals which will ensure that the legacy of the First Republic, presided over by Cde Mugabe, is restored in the fullness of time.
Go Thee Well Son of the Soil.
Zimbabwe Chronicle
THE founding President of independent Zimbabwe, liberation struggle icon, elder statesman and pan-Africanist, Cde Robert Mugabe, died in Singapore yesterday, triggering national mourning and an outpouring of grief and eulogies from around the world.
He was 95.
We join the nation in mourning this giant of the our struggle for self-determination and hope his wife, Grace, children Bona, Robert Junior, Chatunga Bellarmine and the wider Mugabe family can find comfort in the fact that their tragic loss is shared by millions of Zimbabweans, our brothers in Africa and the generality of the oppressed people around the world whose lives resonated with what he stood for.
Announcing the sad news on his Twitter account yesterday morning, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, to whom former President Mugabe was both a father figure and mentor, said: “It is with the utmost sadness that I announce the passing on of Zimbabwe’s founding father and former President, Cde Robert Mugabe. Cde Mugabe was an icon of liberation, a pan-Africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of his people. His contribution to the history of our nation and continent will never be forgotten. May his soul rest in eternal peace”.
Indeed, former President Mugabe was a colossus who presided over the liberation struggle and later ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years. He was one of the remaining liberation struggle stalwarts who initiated the fight against colonialism in the 1960s and alongside the likes of Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Joshua Nkomo, Herbert Chitepo, Samora Machel, Sam Nujoma, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, they prosecuted wars of independence for much of southern Africa.
After Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, then Prime Minister Mugabe forged strong ties with other Frontline States in Sadc and together they fought for the liberation of the remaining colony of Namibia and the end of apartheid in South Africa. Wherever he went, former President Mugabe spoke strongly against imperialism and advocated for the political and economic emancipation of black people. He was very popular across the African continent and was respected across the globe because of his principled stance against colonialism and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the poor and downtrodden.
In bodies such as the Non-Aligned Movement which emerged as a direct consequence of the dominance of the United States, Britain and their allies on global issues, former President Mugabe was influential, counted in the same mould as the late Fidel Castro of Cuba. His speeches at the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations were fiery and captivating, often laced with barbs and diatribes against former colonial master Britain which reneged on its pledge to fund the land reform programme.
Cde Mugabe’s legacy is that of a liberator, educationist (for his much vaunted policy of free education for all after independence), economic emancipator for embarking on the land reform programme which empowered the majority black people of Zimbabwe and the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme.
As Zimbabwe bids farewell to this icon of the struggle, it is apt to mention that his legacy has been restored by his peers and comrades in Zanu-PF who in 2017 initiated Operation Restore Legacy during which the Zimbabwe Defence Forces intervened to weed out criminal elements who had surrounded the former President. The G40 element, which had literally captured Cde Mugabe and the Presidency through his wife Grace, was besmirching his legacy through their corrupt tendencies and hounding of the former President’s trusted lieutenants.
There was a clear and sinister plan to rid the ruling party of the liberation struggle element and its replacement with young Turks with a hunger for power and money.
We pay tribute to the ZDF for stopping them in their tracks and protecting the legacy of our founding father. Zanu-PF remains strong and united with its ethos and values still steeped in the principles of the liberation struggle —something the former President would have been proud of.
To his credit, President Mnangagwa remained calm and accorded Cde Mugabe the respect he deserved to his grave despite naked provocation and persecution by the G40 prior to November 2017. This was because of the strong bond the two shared for close to five decades from their days in the struggle.
Cde Mugabe was taken care of by the State with his medical bills paid by the Government. President Mnangagwa personally checked on the former President on a regular basis and kept the nation updated on his condition. We applaud him for his humility and compassion.
We also believe Cde Mugabe would have been proud of his protégé’s stewardship of the country where he has managed to stabilise the economy and steer it towards an upper middle income status by 2030.
Despite the current birth pangs signalling the dawn of a new economy, President Mnangagwa is on track to achieving his goals which will ensure that the legacy of the First Republic, presided over by Cde Mugabe, is restored in the fullness of time.
Go Thee Well Son of the Soil.
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