Mnangagwa tells war veterans let us show the world that democracy has come of age in Zimbabwe

Mnangagwa’s full address

It gives me great honour and pleasure to be addressing this historic revolutionary gathering of veterans of our liberation struggle following my ascendancy to the leadership of our party, ZANU-PF, and my in inauguration as the President of our great Republic. Today as we meet, I recognise that this is not a meeting between President and Patron, but most importantly between, comrades, cadres brothers and sisters who responded to the conviction those many years ago to go to unknown foreign lands, prepared to pay the protracted struggle for the liberation of our country.

I stand before you fully cognisant that I am a fellow comrade, freedom fighter with no superior endowments than any of us except that I have been chosen by the people of Zimbabwe as their President, at this moment in time. I am a servant of the people, your servant, a listening President.

Allow me, therefore to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the support that I have received from you to date. The task before us is to rebuild our economy, re-align our politics with current imperatives, without deviating from the founding principles of our party and revolution as well as chart a better future for the next generations. This will, however, never be accomplished by one person or a few select group of people but must involve all Zimbabweans, no matter their tribe, status or gender.

As we do so, we must recommit ourselves to the rule of law and constitutionalism as an indispensable means of governance. For if the rule of law prevails, then the country benefits; if it fails, the country suffers. Furthermore, when the rule of law is valued and thrives, a nation is stable and its people are content; when, however, it is neglected and weak, a country will fall into chaos and its people become discontent.

I, thus, commend you fellow Comrades for your embedded sense of justice, which dates back to the liberation struggle, and as such, you boldly defended the Constitution by fervently resisting the devious machinations of the G40 cabal.

Going forward, I urge all of us to inculcate the same vigilance and astuteness to the younger generations of our nation. Let it be known by everyone throughout the country that the fundamental code of all our activities is the Constitution. Let us heed the call by the national anthem, and raise our flag high, remembering the sacrifices of our brothers, sisters and comrades. Let us resolve to defend the country and work hard for the benefit of all its people, now and in the future.

Let the challenges, indiscipline and excesses that we experienced during the period of State capture by the G40 cabal, never again revisit our great nation. We all have a duty to uphold and safeguard the sanctity of the Constitution and ensure its enforcement. No organisation or individual has the right to overstep the Constitution or the law. We must therefore as veterans of the struggle in particular, and the nation at large, work tirelessly to ensure that the Constitution is enforced and that its full implementation is raised to a new standard. We cannot change the past, but the present and future are in our hands for us to shape.

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