'Don't be too ambitious,' Mugabe tells youths

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has implored younger generations not to be too ambitious in their quest for leadership positions but instead first learn the ropes of leadership from their superiors.

The President made the remarks in his address during the burial of the late national heroines, Victoria Chitepo and Vivian Mwashita at the National Heroes' Acre in Harare yesterday.

He said the conferment of national heroine statuses on the two comrades was testimony of the role that women can play in the development of the country.

Said President Mugabe: "Determination now on the part of the younger ones is to defend the nation at all costs, to remain vigilant, to remain prepared to defend the country and to follow the path of acceptance that if you want to be leaders you must first want also to be followers. You must be prepared to be followers in the first place.

"And to be leaders who lead honestly, leaders who aren't selfish, who don't think of themselves first, who don't think of their positions first, who think of the people and the people and forever the people because it's the people we fought for and the people include, naturally, our women."

He said it was important for men to accept that women could also surpass their male counterparts by contributing immensely to the country's development. He said the two late heroines were examples of love and courage which both men and women were supposed to take a leaf from.

President Mugabe implored Zimbabweans to draw lessons from the contributions of Chitepo and Mwashita, which proved that women were capable of contributing significantly to the country.

The President, who is the patron of war veterans, paid tribute to the late heroines saying their individual contributions to the country's liberation struggle deserved respect.

He described Chitepo as an angel of a character, warm, loving, humble and motherly.

President Mugabe said Chitepo was also strong, courageous and nationalistic, which saw her play a major role in the liberation of Zimbabwe despite being born in South Africa.

"Two people immensely influenced her political career. Her father, who was a South African African National Congress cadre and her husband (national hero Herbert Chitepo), who would land her in the heart of nationalist politics spearheaded by the NDP, Zapu and Zanu.

"Instead of choosing a bed of roses and a life of relative comfort owing to her good educational background and teaching career, Mai Chitepo chose a bed of thorns, characterised by nationalist politics of resistance against the oppressive white settler regime.

"And because of her political conviction, Mai Chitepo's life became one of lifelong commitment to the liberation struggle, fighting alongside her husband, when he was still alive and alongside other comrades in Tanzania and Zambia after the death of her husband."

He said the Chitepos risked their lives by opening their Highfield house for nationalist meetings during the liberation struggle.

President Mugabe said Chitepo also played a major role in the formation of the Zanu Women's League, besides smuggling books and other related literature to imprisoned nationalists at prisons such as Sikombela and Gonakudzingwa.

He said even after the assassination of her husband by the settler regime in 1975, Chitepo remained committed to the cause of the liberation struggle, which also saw her being appointed to various government positions after Independence.

On Mwashita, President Mugabe hailed her for going to the liberation struggle at a young age and contributing significantly to the country's independence.

"Like many of her peers, some of whom are ministers of government today, Vivian responded positively to the clarion call by our respective political parties, Zapu and Zanu then, to cross the border into neighbouring countries and joined the ranks of our young men and women, who were prepared to take up arms and wage a protracted war of liberation to end white settler colonialism.

"She crossed into Mozambique and joined the liberation struggle under the auspices of the Zimbabwe National Liberation Army (Zanla) in 1975. We're reliably told that she went there in the company of comrades Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Winnie Newanji, Erina Mukudu-Nyamweda, Susan Muchinguri and the late Tokodo Murinda," said President Mugabe.

He said Mwashita, whose Chimurenga name was Kundai Mabhunu also survived the bombings at Nyadzonia (1976) and Chimoio (1977) by the Rhodesian forces.

President Mugabe said Zimbabwe had the highest number of comrades who were killed by the settler regime in the whole of Southern Africa. He said former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith committed the worst atrocities as his forces indiscriminately bombed military and refugee camps in the process, killing hundreds of people including civilians.

President Mugabe said it was important for Zimbabweans to emulate Cdes Chitepo and Mwashita by contributing significantly to socio-economic development. "We thank these two women for the exemplary lives that they lived. And we say to other women and especially to the young girls, there are the two examples, choose if you want to be a Mwashita, follow her.

"But your fight now must be a fight in order to assist government in transforming our economy, in improving the lives of the people. That's a fight we must fight, and we need you young girls. So be Mwashitas in our socio-economic struggle, be Mwashitas in our Zim-Asset. We need you.

"And to the rest of women who are mothers and mothers to be, there's an example of Mai Chitepo – very humble. She wasn't known here. We brought her from Zululand. She came from outside the country and worked with our women to form the Women's League to show them that a committed woman can do what men do," said President Mugabe.

He implored Zimbabweans to avail resources to families of the late comrades so that they could earn a normal living.