Malema’s plea to Mnangagwa
‘Give Mugabe a dignified burial, and let your opponents attend’
EFF leader Julius Malema yesterday pleaded with Zimbabwe president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to allow his political opponents to attend former president Robert Mugabe’s funeral.
Addressing party supporters at a memorial service to honour Mugabe in Orlando, Soweto, Malema said former Zimbabwean cabinet minister Saviour Kasukuwere, or “Tyson”, should be allowed to attend the funeral on Sunday.
“We call on Mnangagwa and his regime to allow this comrade (Patrick Zhuwao) to go and bury his uncle,” he said.
Zhuwao is Mugabe’s nephew and Zimbabwe’s former indigenisation minister. He lives in South Africa.
Malema said Mnangagwa must grant immunity to those who wanted to go to Mugabe’s funeral.
“It is logical for Tyson to bury Mugabe. Why is Mnangagwa threatened by the youth?” he asked. Malema said that if Mnangagwa wanted progress he would not be threatened by the youth, who now faced concocted charges and persecution in their country.
Zhuwao is 52 while Kasukuwere turns 49 next month.
Zhuwao said he had previously been a member of Zanu-PF’s politburo, but was expelled when Mugabe was ousted in 2017.
“Together with the comrades who are here we chose to stand with president Mugabe,” he said.
Zhuwao said his uncle’s family decided to prevent him from watching the news as they did not want him to see what was happening in the country after he was removed from power.
“Why do you want to pontificate over him? He was not wanted in Zanu-PF; he is wanted here in the EFF,” he said.
According to Zhuwao, Mugabe was admitted to hospital in Singapore five days before his death last Friday.
“Mugabe did not die in Zimbabwe because of Emmerson Mnangagwa,” he said. Zhuwao said Mugabe’s widow Grace instructed him to release a statement that Mnangagwa was coercing the family on where he (Mugabe) should be buried.
“I call upon you, commander-in-chief (Malema), to help the family have the wishes of president Mugabe recognised,” he said.
Kasukuwere said Mugabe was a stubborn man, but he had insisted that the land should be returned to black Zimbabweans.
He admitted that Zimbabwe’s land reform programme brought tremendous suffering to the country, but said it was also important not to sacrifice principle.
“Never sacrifice principle on the altar of expediency,” said Kasukuwere.
He said Mugabe had laid the foundation for the entire continent.
“Let’s build the economic freedom of our people from what this old man has done.”
Malema also banned the Daily Maverick and AmaBhungane from EFF events, saying party members would not be fooled by the online publications.
“We declare them as an enemy of the revolution,” he said.
He promised to honour and protect Mugabe’s legacy and pleaded with Mnangagwa to give Mugabe a dignified funeral, whatever their differences had been.