Kambon: Mugabe was a hero

Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) president Khafra Kambon.
Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) president Khafra Kambon.

Former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was a hero for Africa who was wrongfully demonised by the West and who lost office on Monday not because of his unpopularity but his wife’s, Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) head Khafra Kambon says.

“I’m a great admirer of Mugabe, he’s been a great leader. He challenged those who oppressed Africa for centuries and who continue to oppress. His resignation, if it had not been forced, I would have accepted because of his age (93) at which there can be lapses in judgement. However, a forced resignation is tragic, as it can tarnish his legacy.”

Kambon lamented the world media’s current, “torrent of anti-Mugabe propaganda” and said Mugabe had the right to take land from white farmers, who themselves stole the land from the original black owners. Rather than Mugabe wrecking the country, Kambon blamed this ruin on foreign sanctions and drought.

GONE: Former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.

Kambon said Mugabe led Zimbabwe through its liberation war and sought to save it from the fate of most other African countries – ripped off by western powers. “Mugabe brought a lot of dignity to Africa by the stands he took,” Kambon said.

“He was a great figure in the continent’s history.”

Kambon reckoned that the former comrades who turned against Mugabe did so because they disliked his wife, Grace. While Mugabe’s “tremendous political instincts” let him keep Zimbabwe together and support the liberation struggle in the whole of Southern Africa, his loss of office was because time had dulled the sharpness of his political judgement, in his own Zanu-PF circles. “It is a tragic time for Africa. His legacy must not be tarnished,” Kambon insisted.

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