BUSINESS REPORTER
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said the late nationalists Ndabaningi Sithole and James Chikerema will be honoured among a list of heroes and heroines as Zimbabwe seeks to correct the errors of the past.
Zanu founding president Sithole, removed from his post, in the “struggle within the struggle” during the liberation war, died in 2000 and was buried in Chipinge.
Chikerema died in 2006 and was denied a hero’s status.
In his Heroes Day speech, Mnangagwa said his administration was committed to giving a holistic account of Zimbabwe’s long war of liberation.
“We are therefore rising to the occasion and recognising other heroes and heroines such as the late Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole and the late Cde James Chikerema for their historical contributions, despite their areas of weaknesses, with regards to the observance of the correct line of the revolution,” Mnangagwa said.
“For that reason, we now honour them among the list of our national heroes and heroines.”
Meanwhile, Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe is a unitary state and has no room for “divisive” elements, as he talks tough amid a deteriorating economy and alleged human rights abuses.
He said the heroes and the heroines fought for independence knowing no tribe but bonded together by their love for Zimbabwe and desire to see “our people free” adding that everyone should play their part as there no spectators.
“Divisive elements which act contrary to the values and ethos of the liberation struggle and national interest have no place in our society,” Mnangagwa said, adding that Zimbabwe is indivisible as it has diverse but one people.
“No countries, institutions, person or group of persons, must be permitted to infuse toxic and alien agendas into our national culture and psyche.”
