Condolence message to the Hove family - Morgan Tsvangirai

Morgan Tsvangirai wishes to express his condolences to the Hove family and the nation at large following the death of renowned writer, Chenjerai Hove.

Hove was not only a writer of international repute but a principled defender of human rights in Zimbabwe. Chenjerai was the embodiment of the ultimate artist who truly believed in the freedom of human expression and not the censorship of human thought, desires and aspirations.

For all the times I interacted with him, we both agreed on the importance of the value of freedom and the role of unfettered art in advancing democracy in our society. It is sad that he has passed away so soon after we lost yet another illustrious daughter of the soil and eminent writer, Freedom Nyamubaya. May her dear soul rest in peace.

That Hove died in exile for fear of his life is an indictment of the society we have become; a society where free and independent thought have become a threat to those in power. The good news is that while the physical body was in exile, his thoughts and art could not be exiled; itself a testament to the futility of fighting the freedom of the human mind.

The death of Chenjerai and Freedom represents the sad loss of part of the soul of our national art; indeed a great loss of the free and independent minds that truly represented the basic freedoms and the democratic society that we all aspire for.

May their dear souls rest in eternal peace.