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Bongani Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has sent a condolence message to the Banana family following the death of former First Lady Mrs Janet Banana who has since been accorded a State assisted funeral.

In his condolence message, President Mnangagwa said the nation joins the Banana family in this time of grief and would support them.

“On behalf of the Party, Zanu-PF, Government, the First Lady, my family, and indeed on my behalf, I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to the Banana family, especially to the children who remain, and have lost a loving mother. May I assure them of our support during this their darkest hour of grief. I have directed that the late former First Lady be accorded a State-assisted funeral,” said the President.

“When I last visited her at the family home in Luveve, Bulawayo, to console her following the death of her son Michael, she was ailing, and our thoughts and prayers were for her speedy recovery. Sadly, we have lost her when we thought she would be well again.”

The late former First Lady Mrs Janet Banana

President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe will remember Mrs Banana with fond memories and admiration for the important roles she played during the period of the liberation struggle, and as the First Lady.

“During the struggle for our Independence, the late former First Lady exhibited courage and bravery as she endured persistent harassment at the hands of the Rhodesians for supporting her husband, the late First President of the Republic, Reverend Canaan Sodindo Banana, in his activism,” said President Mnangagwa.

He said the country has been left poorer as it has lost the mother of the nation.

“To the very end of her husband’s life and her own, she remained a strong pillar of support to both her husband and children. We shall not forget her as the mother of our Nation. She carried herself with simplicity and dignity. Our country is all the poorer with her passing on,” he said. _Follow on Twitter @bonganinkunzi