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Full text of President Mugabe's address at the burial of retired Air Commodore Mike Tichafa Karakadzai at the National Heroes Acre in Harare
President Robert Gabriel Mugabe
August 25, 2013

The Second Secretary and Vice President of Zanu-PF, Comrade Joice Mujuru
The National Chairman of Zanu-PF, Comrade Cde Simon Khaya Moyo
The Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku
The newly elected Members of Parliament
Vemhuri
Mai vasiiwa nevana
The service chiefs
Senior Government officials
War veterans, detainees, restrictees and war collaborators
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Comrades and friends

Vana mai nanababa vose vauya kuzozorodza mumwe wedu, macomrades vose vari pano.

Ndinoda kuvamba nekuti kwamuri tasiiwa nava Karakadzai. Tanzwa mumwe mwana achipa shoko pano, taratidzwa machinda akasiiwa nomudzimai. Ndinoda, takamirira musangano, takamirira hurumende, takamirira ruzhinji rwenyika tichifungawo zvakare neavo vaakamboshanda navo, kwaakamboshanda kuAirforce kune hama dzakawanda, kwaanga achishanda kurailways kune vanhu vakawanda vanoshanda ikoko vari vezvigaro zvakati kuti.

Mose imi ndimi munonzwa kufirwa kupfuura vamwe vese nekuti makanga munaye.

Tinoda kuti tine urombo zvikurukuru. Tinemi mukusvimha, tinemi mundangariro dzamunadzo. Tinemi zvakare mukumunamatira tichida kuti awane zororo.

Kana Mwari achimuona semunhu wakashandira vamwe, waive nerunako, waive nechimiro chakatwasanuka sekumuona kwatinako, tinovimba kuti zororo racho richavapo nemberi ikoko kwatisingazive achapihwa mubairo naMwari.

Hongu sezvataura Pastor pano, tose takatarirwaka mazuva, tinonyatsoziva kuti tine mazuva. Zuva chairo iro hatirizive, tinozviziva kuti hapana anorarama narini wose nokuti muviri watinawo unopera.

Ukanzi uri mupenyu wazvarwa, watonzi uchafa tinogara takazviziva. Chinenge chinokanganwikwa pakati apa tichikura tichisamhuka paye nemufaro hweudiki ndechekuti hupenyu hwacho hwatinenge tinahwo huchava nemugumo.

Takurawo zviito zvedu vamwe zvinongova zviito zvisina gwara, vamwe vanofara nepfungwa nekuronga hupenyu kuti ndichadada ndichiti uyu akanga afanotara azvipira kurwira vamwe, kufira vamwe kurwira nyika yake, kurwira nyika yake hupenyu hwevazhinji.

Wakanga aine ruzivo rwekuti nzira yaazvitorera iyi ine rufu, asi haana kusangana narwo acharwira vazhinji.

Vamwe vasina gwara, vanongoti chauya hameno chichangosangana navo, vanoita zvemasanga muhupenyu vasingazvitarire, kuzvipa chinangwa ndivo vanhu vatinoti ava vanongovawo madzenga vakafanana nechidhakwa.

Vadiki isu tichakwasha kukwasha kwevadiki, kunongova kwemumadziro munenge, muchivhima hwiza, mhashu munoona dzimwe dzamunoti aah idzi ndoo chaidzo idzo.

Dzine hupenyu hwamunyatsoona. Kozoita zvimwe zvataiti zvidau nhau. Chinongotauka apo neapo, hauchanoziva kuti chii, chinobvebi chichiendepi. Kuchibata hauchibate unotosema.

Tinazvowo zvidaunhau zvakawanda imi woye, vanhu vakazooona kuti mhashu chaidzo idzo dzinogara dziri pamwe dzinoziva pokuenda nekurara ndedzipi.

Zvitaunhau ndezvipi zvisina hupenyu hunoonekwa ndezvipi. Saka makasarudza mhashu chaidzo idzo. Ndokwaanga ari murume uyu, hupenyu hwake kana muchihunzwa muchihutarira zviya chikoro ngachimbomira, ndinorwira nyika yangu. Yauya tozoona zvechikoro. Ende ichokwadi akazozviita mumashure zvemberi .

Wadaro unorongeka muhupenyu kana muzvikwata nezvikwata zvatinazvo muhupenyu chako chaunenge wasarudza chinosanouchengetawo chichikupa mubairo, zvigaro kutungamidza. Naizvozvo VaKarakadzai vabva kuhondo nyika yauya hezvo vaenda kuAir Force.

Hezvo vozobva ikoko toti isu tatambura tatambudzika tinoda munhu anegwara ruzivo, anokwanisa kufambisa basa mberi kunjanji uku kurailway tatambudzika, hatisi kuona mafambire ayo railway system yedu.

Kunongogara kuchinzi kune malosses everytime zvikwereti nezvikwereti ko chirikumboitika ikoko chii?

Tipeiwo aneruzivo tichidaro kumauto edu vakuru vacho. Ane discipline yemberi, aine ruzivo rwatingati rwungatibatsire kusimudzira railway system yedu. Takapihwa VaKarakadzai.

Ndokwavakanga vachiri, tikaona zvechokwadi aah nhanho dzirikutorwa ndedzemberi zvinhu zvirikuenda zvichinaka, zvichitwasanuka.

Hongu nemasanctions anga aripo handizvose zvaikwaniswa kuitwa kuti zvinotengwa zvitengwe, matruck anodiwa atengwe, maegine anenge asakara achibviswa matsva auye asi taizama, vakazama vaKarakadzai kuti kuve nesystem.

Mafambire echitima akanga asisina kutwasanuka, njanji, tanga tisisina mizo nayo, maccidents mamwe anga oitika anga otityisa asi zvese izvi zvakauya zvimwe zvikapihwa nyaradzo tikava nekufara kuti aah kuchishandiswa zvanga zviripo kwanga kwava nesystem yatanga tichiona.

Ndinovimba kuti system iyoyo yatanga tichiona ichaita kuti tienderere mberi sezvo takuzova nehurumende yedu isina zvitaunhau mukati.

Saka mukuchema kwedu vemhuri, vanakomana vandaona ndingadai ndichiti handina kuratidzwa vasikana dzimwe nguva pangadai paine vasikana, vakomana chete, vanakomana vandaona vemhuri tinotenda neshoko ramatipa rekuti makabatana.

Kana tichiuya kuzochema pano gwara remunhu raanenge asiya ndiro gwara ratinoti rinotevedzwa nevamwe kwazvo kwazvo, nevana vadiki asi nemhuri zhinjiwo nekuti handi vana vake vaanga oshandira chete.

Handi vana vake vakaendera kuhondo chete, nevana vevamwewo vakaona gwara rakateerwa naVaKarakadzai.Ndokurarama kunoita munhu kana afa, that is the life after death yatinoziva yekwamwari imwewo, yedu ndeyekuti izvi ndizvo zvaiitwa nangana tozviitawo iyesu kuti zita rake rirambe riri benyu.

Tichitevedzera nzira dzaakatisiyira, tsoka dzake tichifamba madziri. Ndozvatinoti izvozvo magamba edu,vatinenge tichirumbidza vasiire vamwe. Ndoozvatinotiwo nevamwewo kuneamwe masector kungave nemabusiness, kungave vari mucivil service vanotungamira ikoko, gwara remunhu ngarive gwara rakatwasanuka, iye anoritwasanura nezviito zvake,discipline yaanenge ainayo.

Achionekwa semunhu kana ari mutungamiri, anonzi uyu zvechokwadi mutungamiriri anosungirwa kuteverwa honai zvakati, aya ndoo maitiro ake. Kana achizenge abva nyangwe aretire asati afa vamwe vanoedza kuteedzera maiitiro ake.

Saka tiripano tinoti maiitiro iwayo aVaKarakadzai, zvose zviito zvavo zvakanaka tichizvichengete muzviito, zvive zviito zvedu, tivararamise muzviito zvedu kwete kuvakanganwa nekuti vatiisiiragwara rakanaka.

Asi sevanhu venyama tinochema kunyangwe zvikanzi zuva rerufu rakudeedzwa, rauya hama neshamwari nevese vanga vaine ruzivo nekufambidzana nemunhu vanochema. Isu tiri pakusvimha tiri pakusvimha kune divi rimwe asi divi ratanga tinaro ranga riri nerufaro.

Hayo maelections akaitwa tikava nerufaro mhemberero ikavapo. Tikasvika painauguration mhembero ikavapo, panag nga pachazonzi pava neparlimant pava nehurumende itsva asi chionai Mwari anotiwo hongu munopembera asi muyeuke mukupembera kwenyu kuti richasvikawo zuva renyu, go tatorerwa VaKarakazi,go tatorerwa vaNkala, go tatorerwa vaKumbirai Kangai.

That's how life is mungava nerufaro rwekuti vanhu vachata asi monzwa kuti ah kwakazoitika accident vakafa vachienda kuhoneymoon, kana hama yavo yakashaika ichienda, tova nemunamato watinovaitira.

August has turned out to be a month of mixed fortunes for our nation.

Last week, we gathered here to remember all our liberation heroes. This came against a background of jubilation and celebration following the successful conclusion of the harmonised elections resoundingly won by Zanu-PF.

The victory itself was a befitting tribute to both our fallen and living heroes of the liberation struggle. But, as preparations were underway, for the Inauguration Ceremony of the President-elect, tragedy befell the nation. Retired Commodore Mike Tichafa Karakadzai, known by his Chimurenga name as “Hip Level” was killed in a horrific car crash on Tuesday night while on his way to Bulawayo.

We were shell shocked by the sad news of his untimely death and wondered what was the meaning of it all. Why, why, why we repeatedly asked ourselves, had Comrade Karakadzai departed from us in that cruel fashion, without so much as giving us the slightest hint, and the timing of it all when the nation and the whole world were focussed on our inauguration of the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe?

As we were still searching for answers, cruel death struck again. On Tuesday evening I visited Cde Enos Nkala in hospital after receiving word that his health was failing him, and he was in a critical condition. A few hours later, on Wednesday morning, we received the sad news that Comrade Enos Nkala was no more.

As if that was not enough, yesterday we received yet again the shocking news that Comrade Kumbirai Kangai had also passed on. What a national tragedy this has been, all happening in the course of one week, in the course of one month, August, the month of our National Heroes. The week gone by therefore, has been a real sad one, indeed a week of national mourning.

The Nation is all the poorer, without the gallant sons of the soil.

On behalf of Zanu-PF and the people of Zimbabwe, I want to express my deepest sympathies and condolences to the affected families on the loss of their beloved ones.

Let me assure them, on your behalf, that theirs is a loss we bear together as a Nation. We are with them in our prayers and in our thoughts during their time of bereavement.

Comrades and friends, we are gathered here today to rest a gallant freedom fighter, a tried and tested cadre of the liberation war, a tried and tested military officer of the Air Force of Zimbabwe, and lately a tried and tested corporate manager Retired Air Commodore Mike Tichafa Karakadzai. He died, as we have heard under very tragic circumstances when the vehicle he was driving was involved in a terrible accident that claimed his life.

As we are told he hit a beast and at the same time also there was a collision with a big truck.

What a way to go. We can't quite fathom, let alone comprehend, what happened on that fateful evening.

Why had it to happen this way, his life taken away so easily, in that fashion, after surviving the harsh realities of war during the liberation period?

We are pained and hurt because we still needed him the most to complete his assignment at the helm of the National Railways of Zimbabwe. We are pained too because we would have wanted to celebrate with him Zanu-PF's victory following the successful conduct of the harmonised elections gone by.

I am aware that at the time of his death, he was seized with the burden of making travel arrangements by train for some of the multitude of Zimbabweans who intended to travel to Harare from Mutare and Bulawayo for the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony.

Fellow mourners, the life of the late departed hero has been well-chronicled in the small red book of his obituary, in the Press, on radio and television, and not at least, by the family representative.

The narratives has given us a wholesome picture of who this gallant son of the soil was.

It has given us a picture of the typical gallant son who was prepared to lay down his life for his country, his motherland, Zimbabwe. He was one of those brave young men and women who answered the clarion call to take up arms of war and fight the white settler colonial regime of Rhodesia.

He sacrificed his early education in order to swell the ranks of our freedom fighters when he too realised that freedom would not come through peaceful protests and other forms of political persuasion.

The entrenched white settlers were fortifying themselves to defend their ill-gotten gains, including the illegal occupation of our land. They were armed to the teeth, both their men, women and youths, to defend the status quo.

They paid no attention to the earlier pleas and petitions by the nationalist movements. The settler colonial regime reacted to our people's responses by brutally suppressing and banning one political movement after another.

When the African National Congress (1957) mobilised Africans to agitate for their political rights following their disenfranchisement, before addressing African people's grievances the party was banned in 1959. But the Africans were not deterred and the National Democratic Party (NDP) was soon formed in 1960. It was also banned in November 1961 and in its wake came the Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu) in December 1961. Zapu was also banned nine months later, in 1962.

The Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu) was formed in 1963 and suffered the same fate as predecessor political movements. The colonial regime became all the more ruthless, closing all avenues to peaceful protests for freedom and independence, thus leaving the Africans with no choice but to direct confrontation, the armed struggle, as the last recourse to achieve political independence.

Thus the late Comrade Karakadzai volunteered to join the armed struggle at a very young age like many of our young men and women who joined the liberation struggle in the late 1970s.

He abandoned his studies at Jersey Secondary School and crossed into Mozambique in 1975 to join the liberation struggle. He distinguished himself during the struggle, both as a political commissar and a military commander.

As political Commissar Comrade Karakadzai, played a pivotal role in the political education of our cadres, arming them with correct political ideology that would stand them in good stead on the battle front, and later on in post-independent Zimbabwe.

Men and women with correct political ideology and military prowess such as Comrade Karakadzai, formed the backbone of our defence forces at Independence.

With time their immense skill came to be deployed variously as the situation demanded. Hence these military cadres have from time to time been deployed to civilian positions in their various capacities.

Comrade Karakadzai was retired from the air force to go and head one of our critical parastatals, the National Railways of Zimbabwe as the General Manager were similar examples in other state owned enterprises.

They have brought into these institutions, invaluable skills and vital experience which have made great impact on parastatal performance and service delivery.

One gets surprised when our detractors questioned the wisdom of deployed ex-military officers in state institutions and describing such deployment as the militarisation of the institution concerned.

Nothing could be further from the truth. These men and women are role models, of valour, patriotism, honesty, industriousness and discipline, all qualities that are beyond reproach.

It's not just anyone, it's the chosen ones who are chosen for these qualities who are then transferred into those institutions. Let us emulate the life of the soldier and apply it to our own life situations under our new-found dispensation.

The outcome of the elections gone by where Zanu-PF has emerged the winner is an expression of the will of the majority of Zimbabweans.

The people have demonstrated that they have found expression of their interests, of their hopes and aspirations in a Zanu-PF administration and Zanu-PF formed from Zapu and Zanu.

Those organisations that made the struggle for independence, a matter of people's sacrifice both trained these young men and women, both instilled a high level of discipline and it is that high level of discipline and the skills they acquired, that we would want to see expressed in our civil organs of the country.

So the Zanu-PF administration has those qualities, its already militarised because it fought the struggle as a military entity, yes it had the political side, the political side which had the political ideas and principles for which the military side fought for but the life of the party and greater activity of the party which led to victory came from the armed struggle by both parties, so one should not get alarmed that persons are drawn from the army and the air force into civil service, whose civil service is it anyway?

Isn't it the civil service now of Zanu-PF, and does it not reflect the policies, legacy of Zanu-PF as a fighter?

So, what is all that nonsense? Then there is that talk of wanting to do what they called security sector reforms and ndanga ndisati ndambonzwa nezvereform yacho ini. Sector reform yamunoita imi zvitaunhau? Unoigona iwe? Aah! Since when has the frog aspired to being a crocodile?

Ehe takaruma masettlers muno. Without those biting teeth we would not have got our country back. Ko iwe unotauka taukawo zvakowo uri papapa? You want to do sector reform zvinotosekesa, knowledge yacho unoiwana kupi. Where will you get the knowledge to do that reform?

Security sector reform, you see chinoshupa ndechekuti pamunhu anenge asina ruzivo anozviziva kuti ini handina ruzivo you can deal with him better, you are better off with an ignorant person who is aware, conscious of his ignorance, who accepts that he is ignorant but if you are ignorant of your ignorance inhamo huru huru.

Uchifunga kuti kusaziva hungwaru, aaah unopinza vanhu munhamo, hameno makambovhotera 2008 vachiti that level of ignorance could run the country but tazova tose munoti kusvika pano kushiva, endurance, real patience yatanga tinayo kuti mufambidzane muchinzwanana, hurukuro dzacho nemaideas acho zvinobva zvasiyana kure kure.

Ndiani anotisika sika kufunhaidza majudge, vose kutuka asi mangwana wozoenda kwavari uchiti ndine nyaya yamunoda kuti munditongere. Ivo vawabva kutuka nezuro uno. Ko ruzivo rwaunarwo rwakaita sei, ndorainzi namai vangu dofo, dofo chairo iro.

Munhu ungave dofo kupfuura ipapo?

So, well, I hope our country will never repeat that. Mune vana vakaenda kumaUniversity, vakaenda kuzvikoro vatinosimudzira vamwe vanobva vati ndovatinoda ndovatinoda, hameno, chamunoyemura ipapo chii. Harare kuvhotera, Buruwayo kuvhotera, ehe ehe chiendai munopihwa zvamakavhotera ikoko.

Tine vakomana avo vatinosesekedza mberi, kana tichivaisa mberi tinenge tiine ruziivo takafamba navo saka kana aah varikunganganisa, nezuro pavaishanda nepovo vachitungamirira kuti tive nehondo inotsigirwa nevanhu uko tine macomrades vakanga vakunda vabati vepfuti, kuno kumusha vanhu vachinzi mukavaona vana venyu vauya, chengetei zvakanaka. Mabhunu mopota muchitiudza, vanenge varikupi, makomo api kwavanovanda ndekupi.hondo ikava hondo yevanhu.

Ndosaka tichiti it was a people's war, a people's struggle, zvino imi vamwe vacho vane makore vakuru kuna Karakadzai washaya uyu asi any chance yekubudawo kuenda kuhondo vakadududza.

Kutya, ndoyatinoti mityutyuka ivava. Vanonamata varungu nanhasi wese kuti varungu vadzoke kuzotora mapurazi zvakare.

Ndozvakarwirwa nanaKarakadzai izvozvo. Vauye semaboss avo ndovanga vachivatonga vachivapa gwara, vana Bennet, ndovavanotsvaga ivavo to give them advice.

Zvino ungapiwa advice memunhu anokuti iwe you are not better than just a young man. Vanokushora nanhasi, vese varungu havambotiona sevanhu, unonzwa vanana Blair uko vachiti ah hamusi kuita zvakanaka because they think we the blacks are inferior, but takavarakidza kuti kana muchidaro mune dzimwe nyika mungadaro, but in Zimbabwe we will never accept the white man merely because he is white, aiwa, tinovamhanyisa kuno, aizve.

Kana zvedu zvauya, aah, so they should not continue to harass us. The British and Americans we are treating their people well here. There will come a time when we also can lose our patience.

We have not done anything to their companies here, the British have several companies in this country and we have not imposed any controls and sanctions against them.

But time will come when we will say well, tit for tat; you hit me, I hit you. You impose this on me, I will impose this on you.

We have a country to run and we must be left free to run that country. We don't run it by taking ideas from London or Washington. Our ideas come from us here, our ideas come from organisations in Africa, and so they must not continue to treat us in a way they have been treating us in the past.

And I want to assure them that our attitude is not going to continue like what it was in the past. We have had enough and enough is enough.

So, I would want to say to Karakadzai as we lay him to rest: Thank you for all the excellent work you have done for our country.

For your people, for the sacrifices you made, son of the soil, you served your country and people well, well beyond the call of duty.

We recognise your contribution and as we lay you to rest, we undertake to follow in your footsteps and pledge to defend our country in the same way you defended it.

So, we say to you Karakadzai gallant son, go well, rest in peace. Famba zvakanaka, hamba kahle. Siyabonga.

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