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Bulawayo Bureau

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has described the late national hero and former Vice President Joseph Wilfred Msika as an illustrious and fearless founding nationalist who stood firm and strong in the defence of Zimbabwe until his last breath.

The late Cde Msika died on August 4 in 2009 at the age of 85 after a long battle with hypertension.

He was buried at the National Heroes in Harare. 

He served as the country’s Vice President from 1999 to 2009 after succeeding Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo.

In a message commemorating the 11th anniversary of VP Msika’s death, President Mnangagwa yesterday said the late nationalist will forever be remembered as a man who demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the nation by joining the liberation struggle at a tender age of 19.

“On 4 August, 2009, the nation lost an illustrious nationalist whose sacrifices and unquestionable patriotism saw him being laid to rest at the Heroes Acre. Cde Joseph Wilfred Msika was a visionary leader and fearless founding nationalist who stood firm and strong in defence of the Zimbabwe he helped to liberate until his last breath,” he said.

President Mnangagwa said during his years in detention, Cde Msika established himself as a fearless trade unionist and a brave and consistent fighter for Zimbabwe’s total emancipation.

“He will also be remembered for his frankness, candid talk and advocacy for justice, and for remaining steadfast in upholding the ideals of freedom and honest leadership. Cde Msika was not deterred by multiple detentions, until Zimbabwe was liberated in 1980,” he said.

The President said after Independence in 1980, Cde Msika’s passion for social justice and equitable development manifested through his unrelenting support for land reform as the bedrock of the socio-economic empowerment of the previously downtrodden majority.

“May the soul of the former Vice President and national hero, Cde Joseph Wilfred Msika, and indeed the souls of other true sons and daughters of the soil and distinguished revolutionaries rest in eternal peace,” he said.

Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda said the nation draws inspiration from the knowledge that from humble beginnings under colonial rule, the late Vice President unreservedly committed himself to the total liberation of his motherland through a protracted armed struggle.

He said Cde Msika, together with other nationalists including current leaders, went to the trenches to dislodge an unjust system.

“With hardly a week before we commemorate the 40th anniversary of our Heroes and Defence Forces Days, it is only befitting that the entire nation remembers the late Vice President among the many legends, both living and departed, from the First Chimurenga/Umvukela to the Second Chimurenga/Umvukela, for sacrificing the comfort of private life in order to liberate an entire nation,” said Dr Sibanda.

“Indeed, many paid the ultimate price, for a worthy cause. Some of them lie in unmarked graves in the country and in neighbouring countries that supported our struggle. 

“We shall always remember them and tell the story of their brave exploits which gave birth to an independent, free and democratic nation that now enjoys the respect of all sovereign nations,” he said.