ANC MOURNS THE PASSING OF FRIEND, STATESMAN & REVOLUTIONARY COMRADE ROBERT MUGABE
The African National Congress mourns the passing of our brother Comrade President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, who passes away having devoted his life to the service of his country and his people.
In his Independence Day speech delivered on March 6, 1957, the father of Ghana's independence, Kwame Nkrumah delivered the rousing words that went on to nourish and sustain the hopes of all Africans who at the time yearned for independence and self-determination. ”We have awakened..we will not sleep anymore. Today, from now on, there is a new African in the world.”
”The new Africa "is ready to fight his own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs.” The life of Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe came to epitomize the 'new African' - who having shrugged off the colonial yoke, would strive to ensure his country took its rightful place amongst the community of nations: firmly in charge of its own destiny. Born on 21 February 1924, Comrade Mugabe led the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) in the Second Chimurenga: the war against white minority rule in the then-Rhodesia during the 1960's and 1970's.
The revolutionary struggle of ZANU-PF was an inspiration to the then-banned and suppressed African National Congress (ANC) who was fighting the apartheid government in South Africa.
A trained teacher, Comrade Mugabe was held as a political prisoner by the racist Rhodesian regime of Ian Smith between 1964 and 1974. His prison years came at a great personal cost, much like that of his long-time comrade and friend the late Comrade Nelson Mandela: his wife was arrested and his child died whilst he was in prison.