President Robert Mugabe’s tribute to the late independence war hero Edgar Tekere:
CDE Edgar Tekere's demise, though increasingly likely especially in the last few months, nevertheless hit those of us who worked with him as especially tragic and a deep loss to our country.
Alongside his peers who include our two late Vice Presidents Joshua Nkomo and Joseph Msika, the late Maurice Nyagumbo, James Chikerema and Bonzo Nyandoro, his life story illustrates the ups and downs of our struggle as it assumed different forms and entered its various phases.
Fearless and highly temperamental, the late Cde Tekere did not hesitate to take risks for his cause, often paying a heavy price in the process.
For me personally, his death evoked memories of the hard and arduous road we walked together, right from the painful days of restrictions, detentions and imprisonment at the hands of racist Rhodesians, to the days of our escape from Rhodesia to join thousands upon thousands of young Zimbabwean fighters housed in various rear bases in Mozambique..
Cde Tekere served the struggle well, running many errands for it, especially after 1977 when he became the party's secretary-general.
This commitment remained unshaken well into our Independence when he chose to pursue a different vision in national politics. We respect his choices in the latter part of his life.
Later, he voluntarily decided to rejoin the party, but sadly too ill to serve it actively.
Today, we all mourn his sad passing on, urging his bereaved family, especially his wife and his children, to remain strong and hopeful, all the time drawing inspiration from Cde Tekere's well deserved place in the narrative of this country. He did not live his life in vain. May his soul rest in eternal peace.