Mujuru was a gallant soldier: Mnangagwa

DEFENCE Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa says General Solomon Mujuru who died in an inferno at his farmhouse in  Beatrice on Tuesday was a gallant soldier who contributed immensely to Zimbabwe's liberation struggle.

Speaking to journalists at One Commando Barracks in Harare yesterday when the remains of Gen Mujuru were about to be flown to his rural home in Chikomba, Minister Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe had lost one of the finest soldiers and pioneer of the liberation struggle.

"I knew Gen Mujuru since 1974 when I came out of prison. We met in Zambia where we worked together until today. Yes, the Mujuru family may say they have lost a father, brother cousin, and uncle and so on but indeed the nation has lost a gallant fighter.

"As a country, we are poorer without him. In Zanu-PF there are few veterans left who can tell the true story of the liberation struggle and Rex was one such solid cadre.

"We in the military have lost one of our strategists. During the war he was one of the commanders we relied on when it comes to strategising. Throughout the war we had great respect for him and we largely depended on him," he said.

Gen Mujuru's widow Vice President Joice Mujuru, his brother Joel, service chiefs and Mashonaland East Zanu-PF provincial chairman Cde Ray Kaukonde among others, accompanied the body.

Minister Mnangagwa said due to his prowess, Gen Mujuru was instrumental in the integration of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces at independence in 1980.

"He was one of the officers we had who preached the gospel of Mao tse Tang that politics should command the gun and not the other way round.

"That we can only survive by being fish in the water and that the revolution must be accepted by the masses for it to survive.

"He said the masses must embrace the revolution and we must be understood in prosecuting the correct grievances that the masses have.

"In all our commissariat work, we emphasised this and it was himself and Cde Josiah Tungamirai who were the head of the commissariat department in the High Command who were instrumental and key figures in the prosecution of the war."

Minister Mnangagwa said VP Mujuru had not only lost a loving husband, but a colleague in the armed struggle. He said Gen Mujuru's death was a huge blow to Zanu-PF in the present political arena.

As the nation mourns Gen Mujuru, Minister Mnangagwa said it was important for the youths to embrace the legacy he left and defend the country's sovereignty.

"We hope that we shall continue to pass this message to the younger generations that the survival of this country, the dignity and sovereignty of this country depends on us standing up and being counted and making sure that we got this independence through shedding of blood of our sisters and brothers," he said.