By Staff Reporter

---

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been honoured in his hometown after being awarded the ‘Freedom of the City’ by Kwekwe City Council.

Councillors recently resolved to give Mnangagwa the honour, becoming the second city in Midlands to do so after the provincial capital Gweru.

The move came after Kwekwe District Development Coordinator Fortune Mupungu advised the local authority to honour the Zanu PF strongman.

Mupungu, in a letter dated 08 March 2023, addressed to Kwekwe City Council Town Clerk Lucia Mkandla to honour Mnangagwa in his hometown.

“The conferment of the freedom of the city honour to the Head of State and President of the Republic of Zimbabwe is the highest honour that any Local authority can accord to the first citizen of the country,” wrote Mupungu.

“Several local authorities including Gweru in the Midlands Province have since given that honour to the President and, accordingly, since Kwekwe city is home to the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, I believe the local authority cannot be left behind in this worthwhile initiative.

“It is therefore in the context of the foregoing that in now write to advise your local authority to take up the initiative and confer the freedom of the City status to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe CDE Dr E.D Mnangagwa,” he said.

He added that Midlands Provincial Affairs Minister Larry Mavhima had since been notified

Mnangagwa has very strong ties to Kwekwe which he represented in Parliament before being ousted by Blessing Chebundo who as then with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

The Zanu PF leader also owns a thriving commercial farm at nearby Sherwood which recently hosted a field day attended by ministers, top government and party officials as well as some diplomats.