Riyaz Patel
Former president Thabo Mbeki has hailed Robert Mugabe as an “outstanding fighter” for the liberation of colonially and oppressed people everywhere.
Mbeki said Mugabe was an important member of the group of frontline states who contributed to ending apartheid in South Africa.
He added that “Africa will always remember him as a principled, steadfast and courageous Pan-Africanist.”
Mugabe stood out as a “great defender African interests,” Mbeki said, adding, that he was always “determined to advance the cause of the true independence and economic emancipation of the African continent.”
This commitment made Zimbabwe’s former long-time leader a prominent figure within the AU, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) as well as the G77+China, Mbeki said.
South Africa’s former president said his office had kept in touch with developments whilst Mugabe was undergoing treatment in Singapore.
He passed on his condolences to the Mugabe family as well to the people of Zimbabwe, saying Africans have lost an eminent leader and fighter for Africa’s emancipation.
Mugabe, 95, died in Singapore Friday.
