Mugabe salutes Batswana

President Mugabe has paid tribute to Botswana at the 35th Sadc Summit for assisting Zimbabwe's liberation struggle by being a transit point for freedom fighters travelling to Zambia and Tanzania.

Before delving into his prepared keynote address, President Mugabe, recounted how two men, in particular the late Chief Gaborone and Sir Seretse Khama assisted Zimbabwe and the region in the fight against the settler regime.

Meanwhile, Mugabe yesterday handed over the chairmanship of Sadc to his Botswana counterpart Lieutenant-General (Retired) Seretse Khama Ian Khama who pledged to pursue the agenda set for the regional bloc at last year's summit in Victoria Falls.

President Mugabe gave Lt-Gen Khama, who has been deputising him, the chairman's badge, ceremonially marking the end of his own tenure.

President Mugabe assumed the Sadc chairmanship at the 34th Sadc Summit in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in August last year and has been driving the industrialisation agenda for the region.