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(NEWZIMBABWE) Mugabe mourns 'great son of Africa' Mutharika

Mugabe mourns 'great son of Africa' Mutharika
Allies ... President Mugabe meeting Malawi's Bingu wa Mutharika in February
08/04/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

THE late Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika was a “great son” of Africa, President Robert Mugabe said on Saturday, hours after his death was confirmed following two days of denial or silence.

Mugabe said Mutharika, who died of a heart attack after collapsing on Thursday, had “dedicated his professional and political career to the cause of Africa, all the time searching for innovative ways and strategies for improving the condition of its deprived and marginalised peoples.”

“It is telling that the late departed who was also the outgoing chairman of the African Union, was due to host the continental body later this year in July, in spite of Malawi’s economic challenges. Africa will miss its great son,” Mugabe said in a statement.

Mutharika visited Zimbabwe on February 2 this year, and Mugabe said the two men “explored ways of defending our economies and countries against illegal sanctions imposed on us by the West.”

Malawi's government on Saturday confirmed the president's death at the age of 78.

Malawian officials said wa Mutharika suffered a heart attack at State House at 11:15 am Thursday, and was pronounced dead upon arrival at a military hospital in South Africa the same day.

South African President Jacob Zuma urged Malawian people to “remain calm”.

"We are confident that Malawi's democratic institutions will ensure a peaceful and orderly transition," Zuma said in a statement.

"As the government and the people of South Africa, we reach out in our thoughts and prayers to the people of Malawi during this difficult time of mourning the death of President Mutharika."

South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance said Mutharika would be remembered for bringing development to his country.

"The president will be remembered for his guiding role in bringing economic growth and development to Malawi, for his leadership in the African Union, and for his commitment to a prosperous future for Africa," DA leader Helen Zille's chief of staff Geordin Hill-Lewis said in a statement.

[And going against the IMF/World Bank's free market theory, unlike the DA. He also extended a loan to the Government of Zimbabwe, breaking the US and UK imposed economic sanctions regime against the country, for which Malawi was punished by having it's budget and donor aid, 40% of their budget, suspended. This is the remote control that the trillionairs and their New World Order have over the domestic and foreign policies of African and now European countries. - MrK]

"His ethos and vision for the continent are best summed up in his own call for ‘Africa to develop Africa’.”

Under the Malawi constitution, Vice President Joyce Banda has assumed the presidency after taking the oath on Saturday. She becomes the first female president in the SADC region.

Labels: BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, LIBERATION, ROBERT MUGABE

posted by MrK @ 4:52 PM