President Robert Mugabe
Abayomi Azikiwe
During the early morning hours of 6 September, a news item shook the international community saying that President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, known affectionately as “Gushungo”, had passed away at the age of 95. Former President Mugabe had been receiving medical treatment in Singapore for several months. While he was president in his later years, Mugabe would travel to Singapore for his annual medical examinations.
In the immediate aftermath of his transition, the current President Emmerson Mnangagwa, declared his predecessor as a “National Hero”, an important designation reserved for the leading founders of the Republic of Zimbabwe, those who fought for the national liberation of the Southern African state. Zimbabwe won its independence from British settler-colonialism in 1980 having been under occupation since the latter years of the 1890s.
After the former president’s remains were returned to the country on 11 September, his body was laid in state for two days at the Rufaro Stadium where thousands of people from various regions of the country came to pay their last respects. People lined up for hours over a two-day period as mourners passed by the coffin.
A state funeral was held on 14 September where tens of thousands attended. The memorial services were attended by numerous contemporary and former heads of state.
Several of the leaders spoke in tribute to President Mugabe praising his legacy of courage, organisation, comradeship and Pan-Africanism. Mugabe had served as both the Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as the continental African Union (AU) from 2014-2016. He had repeatedly called for African unification under the extreme threats of imperialist military and economic intervention aimed at hampering the realisation of genuine development and social emancipation.
An article published by the Zimbabwe Sunday Mail on 15 September noted the importance of the historical significance of President Mugabe’s life saying: “That he was a revered statesman was made apparent by the presence of a number of African heads of State and representatives from China, Cuba and Russia. Among the African luminaries in attendance were Zambia’s founding President Kenneth Kaunda (95), Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Sam Nujoma of Namibia, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa. President Nguema was the last sitting head of State to see former President Mugabe before he died. He was in tears of grief upon arrival at the airport on Friday….”
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