Zimbabwe bids farewell to opposition hero Tsvangirai

Odinga insists he was the rightful winner of general elections in Kenya in August which extended President Uhuru Kenyatta’s rule.

“We need to have clear and proper transparent elections in Africa. Rigged elections will not help Africa,” Odinga told mourners.

“Morgan’s election victory was stolen a year after mine was stolen in Kenya,” Odinga said, referring to the 2007 elections which Odinga alleges were rigged to ensure Kenyatta’s victory.

Zimbabwe Bids Farewell To Opposition Hero Tsvangirai. https://t.co/xRMTU8riKU pic.twitter.com/WFApfJrTuO

— Channels Television (@channelstv) February 20, 2018

Tsvangirai was a tenacious opponent of the ruling ZANU-PF party’s four-decade hold on power.

Following the 2008 election violence, he was forced into a power-sharing government with Mugabe, who was ousted last year following a military takeover.

“He agreed to sacrifice his victory in order to save Zimbabwe. He became one of the leading icons of the second liberation of Africa,” Odinga said, describing Tsvangirai as “my dear brother” and a “hero”.

– ‘A great African’ –

Zimbabwe is due to hold crucial general elections by July and the country’s new president Emmerson Mnangagwa has pledged they will be free, fair and credible — in honour of Tsvangirai.

After being repeatedly beaten and jailed by the regime, Tsvangirai became a symbol of resistance to the ruling ZANU-PF’s authoritarianism, entrenched since Zimbabwe broke from its colonial master Britain in 1980.

“We want to thank Morgan Tsvangirai for fighting for our rights. He was a humble man — a man who was loved by people,” said Christopher Chikwati, a 70-year-old resident of Tsvangirai’s village. “We will remember him forever.”

Former opposition leader Arthur Mutambara, who served as Tsvangirai’s deputy in the power-sharing government, said Tsvangirai was Zimbabwe’s rightful president.

“We are here to mourn the president of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai — a great Zimbabwean, a great African,” he said.

“He was arrested. He was beaten. The people of ZANU-PF are also here, they are the people who killed Morgan Tsvangirai.”

Tsvangirai’s death has sparked a bitter succession struggle within the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party which is threatening to divide the party to the benefit of ZANU-PF.

The party’s acting president Nelson Chamisa said Mugabe and his wife Grace had sent a condolence letter to Tsvangirai’s family.