Derick Tsimba

In a press statement, the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda said the nation had joined as a whole in mourning the passing of the former President of Zimbabwe, Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe on 6 September 2019.

Sibanda said the nation and Africa as a whole had lost a revolutionary leader leaving behind a legacy of commitment to national peace and unity.

“In Cde R. G. Mugabe, our country, and indeed Africa as a whole, has lost a selfless revolutionary leader, outstanding nationalist and a Pan Africanist par excellence. Our beloved departed former President has left us an enduring legacy of commitment to national peace and unity, which he pursued through his far-sighted policy of National Reconciliation, the 22 December, 1987 Unity Accord between ZANU and ZAPU and other subsequent unifying efforts he undertook through his leadership.

Sibanda also extolled the achievements of the former leader in areas such as education, health and housing among others.

“As a people-centred leader, he assiduously laboured towards the upliftment of the livelihoods and dignity of the Zimbabwean people as a whole. This he pursued through policies such as Development with Equity, in the areas of Education, Health, Housing and Labour as well as pursuing the sacrosanct Land Reform Programme, which reposed in the formerly deprived indigenous majority control of their birth-right, the land,” said Sibanda.

Paying tribute to the former President on behalf of the entire Civil Service, Sibanda also said former President Mugabe’s exemplary leadership, love for his people and steadfast commitment to national duty easily permeated through all those he routinely interacted with, including his war time Special Assistant and now President of the Second Republic, His Excellency Cde E.D. Mnangagwa, who is providing continuity and incremental value to the development of the motherland and the livelihoods of its people.