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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Reporter

The late Vice President Cde Joseph Msika belonged to a generation of nationalists who devoted an entire lifetime to the liberation of the country from the tough hand of colonial rule, President Mnangagwa has said.

In his commemoration message to mark the 13th anniversary of the passing on of the late VP Msika, President Mnangagwa said Cde Msika played a crucial role in the transformation of nationalist movements into a formidable Patriotic Front which negotiated the end of the armed liberation struggle at the historic Lancaster House Conference in 1979.

Cde Msika died on August 4, 2009, at the age of 85.

“After serving as independent Zimbabwe’s first Minister of Natural Resources, the ardent nation-builder was again instrumental, as ZAPU Vice President, in talks which culminated in the signing of the watershed Unity Accord of 1987. As Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe from 1999 to 2009, Cde Msika devoted his energies to supporting the land reform program which restored the land to its rightful owners, the people of Zimbabwe. This too required steadfastness and resolve and Cde Msika ably demonstrated commitment to the empowerment of the majority indigenous people through ownership of their heritage, the land,” said President Mnangagwa.

He said affectionately known as ‘Bruno’, the late VP’s forthright talk and no-nonsense demeanour always inspired every Zimbabwean to be patriotic and instilled fear in the hearts of those that opposed the revolutionary goals of his generation.

The President said following the programmes he passionately drove, a whole array of opportunities opened up for the ordinary citizen and today’s adage, “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo,” resonates well with the late national hero’s work ethics.

“As the nation approaches the commemoration of the 42nd anniversary of Heroes Day and celebrates the Defence Forces Day, it is only befitting that we remember the late Vice President in his rightful place among the gallant sons and daughters of the soil, both living departed and from the First Chimurenga/Umvukela to the Second Chimurenga. With the economic programme now receiving renewed impetus under the Second Republic, the social justice that Cde Msika and the entire rank and file of our liberators fought for is becoming a reality as we seek to attain the objectives of Vision 2030 on a prosperous, knowledge and technology-driven upper middle-income society,” said President Mnangagwa.