Lulu Brenda Harris

Sunday News Correspondent

PRESIDENT Mugabe revealed his soft nature and support for women when he spoke tenderly of all women who are mothers, saying their role in life is greatly valued and cannot be equated to any other.

Speaking at the joint official launch of the Presidential High Schools e-Learning Programme for the southern region and Landa J Nkomo High School in Tsholotsho last Friday, President Mugabe took moments to reflect on the presence of women and moments with his mother when he was growing up.

It was evident to the crowd that he still held those memories dearly.

Those soft moments were brought about by the presence of                     Vice-President John Landa Nkomo’s mother, MaDube, who is 109 years old.

The President was touched by gogo MaDube’s presence and thanked her for her company, which he said reminded him of his mother.

He then spoke tenderly and fondly of his mother saying as he was growing up and when she was still alive, he used to wonder about the mystery of giving birth.

President Mugabe said it puzzled him to think how persons of huge proportions were nurtured for in their mother’s small womb.

“I often used to look at my mother when she was still alive and wonder, thinking to myself how with this huge body of mine came out from that small womb. Think about it, that is the wonder and the mystery of motherhood,” he said.

President Mugabe said life would be empty without a motherly role and presence because she was the foundation of one’s life since babyhood until they grew up.

“Look at what we are now. How do we get to be here? We ask but it’s from our mothers. We are carried nine months where we are nursed and nurtured, thereafter our mothers experience the great pain of delivery. After which they suckle us, look after us and our nonsense that takes place on their laps and men don’t want to touch the messy behinds,” he said recalling the affectionate moments between mother and child.

The Head of State and Commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces said mothers were key players in one’s life, and directed the steering wheel so that their children could prosper.

Turning to gogo MaDube, President Mugabe said she represented the face of all the women and how they supported their children evidenced by her support for her son VP Nkomo.

“I want to thank saying, thank you, thank you, to all the mothers,” he said to cheers from the crowd.

President Mugabe also said he hoped all women could overcome oppression which was caused by different circumstances.

“May God bless our women. May they succeed and overcome the hazards of life, man-made hazards and those created by husbands or those they encounter with men,” he said.

VP Nkomo also supported what the President said about mothers, and said his mother counselled him in each step until the completion of the Landa J Nkomo High School.

“Often a time I will complain to her that some sectors were hesitant or slow and she would advise me to keep on pushing until the project was done and today the school is open,” he said.

VP Nkomo said womanhood depended on the girl child, whom Government should ensure is enrolled into school.

“Girls should also have an education. There is a girl child in our lives, we should take care of them. Even my mother who is 109 years old, she is a girl child. I have to look after and provide for her,” he said.