President Robert Mugabe has expressed concern at the rate at which unruly Zanu-PF elements are abusing his wife, First Lady Grace Mugabe.
Mugabe was speaking at the Great Zimbabwe Monument in Masvingo yesterday at the 30th edition of the 21st February Movement celebrations, which marked his 92nd birthday.
“I want to start by thanking, a lot our children in the Youth League of the party led by Cde Pupurai Togarapi for this programme, which is a programme of respect, respect they are giving me and also the general leadership,” said the President.
“We have had your pleas, that is Togarepi and his fellow youth, and the dedication they have pledged to us to safeguard the identity of the youth league.
“The identity of the members of the youth league saying they do not support certain behaviours that we are seeing today that are not in tandem with respect, some acts that are wayward from our traditions.
“As we are here at the Great Zimbabwe, this is the foundation of the Munhumutapa Empire. So this is a place that gave us a new life, we fought thinking of the way of living that was being done by our elders here.
“They were united and made sure their leadership spread to other areas far beyond the Limpopo.
‘‘Even at Khami, you find almost the same ruins that you see here. They could not have been built by people who were not united or strong or who did not have direction.
“No, that could not have happened with people fighting. So there ethos, which are the ethos that we inherited from our forefathers.
“Ukaona vana vadiki, hameno kuti vanenge vaputa mbanje here kana vadhakwa, vakutsoropodza madzibaba kusvikira mukutsoropodza vakuru vemusangano zvinotonyadza.
“Matsoropodzero ari kuitwa Mai Mugabe, mudzimai waPresident zvichiiswa kunana Al-jazeera, zvichiswa muma records, zvichitoimbwa, kuitira ani?
“Vavengi vanga vava nani vaisvika pakati pedu, nekuti mwana wazvarwa chaizvo-izvo pana baba namai anosimba kutaura izvozvo? Hazvitaurwe.
“So we got to a level where we asked are the youth league seeing it or hearing it, but I was happy to hear Togarepi saying we will discipline such elements or expel them from the party because we do not want such people.
“We cannot lead such misguided youth, no. The youth have got to be well disciplined, well behaved and respectful.”
