Robert Mugabe Jnr attends Mnangagwa rally

Zanu-PF will always respect and honour the legacy of the party's founding fathers in the spirit of unity and harmony as is shown in the strong bond between Emmerson Mnangagwa Junior and Robert Mugabe Jnr, two sons of the country's liberation icons.

This was on display on Saturday in Bulilima as the party remembered the life of the late Joshua Nkomo, fondly referred to as Father Zimbabwe, at a rally that was attended by thousands of people.

President Mnangagwa headlined the rally along with the ruling party's top leadership, and among that bumper crowd were Robert Mugabe Jnr and Emmerson Mnangagwa Jnr, in a display of unity between the past and present that puts naysayers and merchants of disunity to shame.

In his address, President Mnangagwa said he was elated by the record numbers of people who attended the rally cementing Zanu-PF's status as the people's party.

"We did not expect to see such a huge gathering. You have surprised us and it's so beautiful. We are united. I want to show you that we keep our history and I want to show you Robert Mugabe Junior, who is here and ED Junior, who is here.

"We continue to respect the past. Robert Mugabe Jnr and ED Junior are showing that we are keeping intact. People think that we are not united. We are totally, totally united. We shall move together. This is the spirit, even when we are gone," he said.

The President added: "Those who come after us must respect leaders of the revolution. I have mentioned here when I began that the majority of revolutionaries who began the struggle for independence came from Matebeleland South, from the ANC, NDP, ZANU then ZAPU."

President Mnangagwa said Zimbabweans should never forget where they came from, the independence struggle and their heritage.

"Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo, Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo, Nyika inotongwa nevene vayo, Nyika inotongwa nevene vayo. Who does this country belong to? It is for all of us, right? You have the responsibility of building this country.

"You have the burden of carrying forward the vision of our founding fathers, the vision of unity, love and harmony among us. There is no Manyika, there is no muKorekore, there is no Ndebele; all of us are Zimbabweans," he said.

Ahead of the elections, the President reiterated his calls for peace and unity, before, during and after the polls, to be held on August 23.

"We shall remain united during the night, and during the day; in winter and in summer. Together with all our chiefs across the board, from Zambezi to Limpopo, from Mutare to Plumtree, we are united.

"We shall march forward, building our country, Zimbabwe, together. Every country is built by its own people. Those who think our country will be developed by the white men are lost," he said.

The President added, "We bring peace, we brought peace, we shall maintain peace. No one can teach us democracy, because we, ourselves, fought for that democracy."

President Mnangagwa challenged Europeans to come to Zimbabwe and learn about democracy.

"We are democrats and we are masters of democracy, so don't be cheated and don't be misled. We brought freedom, which they did not want us to have and we had to fight for that and we defeated them and became independent.

"We must vote Zanu-PF to defend our independence, our freedom, our sovereignty and make sure we defeat the pretenders, the detractors, the retrogressive elements among us," he said.

President Mnangagwa said while the likes of Ubaba Nkomo and JZ Moyo are all gone, their sacrifices must be remembered daily.

"The likes of Cdes Chitepo, Muzenda, Tongogara, Mangena, they are all gone so we must defend what they died for by voting. When they were in the armed struggle, people died, people were wounded, people were killed by snakes and wild animals in the bush, and people died from hunger.

"We must also praise mothers and fathers in the villages who looked after us, who gave us shelter and food as guerrillas and we survived. But today to keep that promise, to keep that independence, we must vote for that party that brought independence to this country and what is that party? It is Zanu-PF.

"When we vote, I see here, it's written Vote Team Zanu-PF, which means the President, MP and the councillor like what they do in heaven. Team Zimbabwe, President, MP and councillor, God is happy when He sees His people doing what they do in heaven. Who has ever sweated to vote? It's just putting an X and you go home.

"To women, please don't prepare food for husbands who would have not voted. I want to thank you all for coming here. We want to thank you for supporting the party, I want to thank you for showing discipline," he said.