Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe used the occasion of the burial of vice president and liberation hero Joshua Nkomo on Monday to call for unity and to say Zimbabwe's struggle for independence continues, news reports said.
"Unity is essential to retain a peaceful environment for economic
development," he said in a 90-minute eulogy. He called on whites not to "stand aloof, arrogant and conceited" and again urged the rapid transfer of white-owned farms to blacks. Mugabe also attacked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for imposing aid conditions and freezing payments.
"The IMF can go there way if they want. The struggle continues," he said.
Meanwhile, analysts told IRIN that speculation continues over who will replace Nkomo - the leader of the minority but increasingly politically restive Ndebele - as vice resident. "It has to be somebody that the Ndebele can accept and somebody that is not regarded as a threat to presidential hopefuls in the party," one source said.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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