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Statement on the passing away of Gibson Sibanda
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
August 25, 2010

The Chairperson, Task Force, the Management Committee and members of the National Constitutional Assembly have received with great sorrow the news of the passing away of Gibson Jama Sibanda, the founding Vice President of the Movement for Democratic Change and former Minister of National Healing Organ.

Sibanda played a significant role in the liberation of the country as a former welfare secretary of the liberation movement, the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), he was detained without trial for three years by the former white minority government alongside other nationalist leaders between 1976 and 1979.

His search and quest for the realization of the Zimbabwean people's dreams of a better Zimbabwe and the realisation of the liberation ideals led him to fight for the cause of the working class becoming a veteran trade unionist and respected leader of the workers union.

He was very instrumental in the formation of the NCA in 1997 in pursuit of democracy and good governance, representing the ZCTU in the National Taskforce, with his Secretary General Morgan Tsvangirai becoming the first Chairperson of the Assembly.

His vision for a democratic Zimbabwe put him in the line of direct fire by the then ZANU-PF government facing arrests and torture but remained committed to the goal of a democratic Zimbabwe.

Our deepest condolences go to his children, the entire family, friends, colleagues and the nation at large.

We in the NCA assures the nation that we will continue to do all we can until a Zimbabwe envisaged by comrades such as Gibson is realised, a Zimbabwe built on a firm foundation of a genuinely people driven democratic constitution.

May His Soul Rest In Eternal Peace

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