President Emmerson Mnangagwa was on Friday conferred with the Freedom of the City by the Gweru City Council.
The conferment is the highest civic honour a council can bestow on a prominent man or woman for meritorious service, either of a national or local character, reported the Chronicle.
The event was attended by several senior Government officials, including Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri, and the Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda.
After unveiling the plaque, Mnangagwa headed for the Town House where he attended the City of Gweru special full council meeting.
The meeting was conducted at the Civic Centre grounds to accommodate all the people who came to witness the event.
Gweru mayor Councillor Hamutendi Kombayi welcomed the members to the special full council meeting.
Acting town clerk Livingstone Churu read the notice convening the special council meeting. He said:
At a meeting of the Council, held in the Council Chamber 696 Ordinary Council meeting held in the Mayor’s parlour, Municipal offices, Civic Centre Gweru on Monday, November 28 2022, it was resolved in pursuance of the provision of paragraph 52, of the second schedule of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15).
That the Mayor, Councillors and Aldermen, on behalf of the citizens of the City of Gweru, do confer the First Honorary Freedom of the City of Gweru Upon His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Head of State and Government, The Commander-In-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.
… His bravery in the execution of the war of liberation saw him spending ten years in the colonial regime prisons and his release from prison that occurred in Zimbabwe and Zambia. As a person born in the Midlands Province, and Gweru being the capital of the Midlands Province we will forever cherish and honour the bravery to fight for independence and economic development.
Gweru, originally known as Gwelo during the colonial era, and known as iKwelo “The Steep Place” by the Ndebele people, is near the geographical centre of Zimbabwe and the capital of Midlands Province.
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