Mugabe hails history-making Zimbabwean surgeons

The recent separation of Siamese twins who shared one liver and were co-joined on the chest and the abdomen at Harare Children's Hospital was a demonstration of medical skill by local doctors, President Mugabe has said.

Addressing thousands of people who gathered for the burial of Major-General Eliah Bandama at the National Heroes Acre yesterday, President Mugabe said there was unity of purpose among Zimbabwean doctors that should be emulated in other sectors.

"I am glad that our professionals are demonstrating that maturity and also that perfection we look for," he said.

"Recently, I was invited to go and see, really what was a demonstration of skill - medical skill, the separation of two children who were born joined together - Siamese twins. They were joined together pano pamoyo and they shared a liver.

"Zvino vakacheka liver yacho, uyu kapisi kake uyu kapisi kake, but fortunately liver inonzi inokura. Ndakange ndisingazive kuti inokwanisa kukura. So my wife and I went to see the kids.

"Zvino zvinongokutarisa zvivana zvacho, very much alive, very active and this was the first such operation by our doctors. We say congratulations to them and there is quite some unity among the doctors which is very good.

"We want to see more unity, more unity, among others also even at lower levels where we are working. Be united, have the discipline."

President Mugabe said the ultimate help was the one made by those who sacrificed their lives to liberate the country.

He said Major-General Bandama joined the liberation struggle at a very tender age after enduring serious oppression at the hands of the settler minority regime.

"The national service was much more difficult," he said. "It required much more from you, from the individual who had decided to undertake it than just doing a family service.

"The enemy will not just let you, if it was at home here, the political struggle, it was imprisonment, being locked up, being beaten up, being put into what were called keeps, restricted, if not imprisoned, suspected and of course perpetually oppressed and suppressed."

President Mugabe said the Smith regime took advantage of its education system to impose its will on the people.

He thanked missionaries for bringing education which opened the minds of the people to be able to organise the liberation struggle.

President Mugabe said Africans were not against Christianity, but the oppression that was masked behind it.