Mandela cherished his own freedom and forgot about economic freedom, says Mugabe

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has taken a swipe at former president Nelson Mandela and said he left whites with “everything”.

He was speaking at the Gweru Youth Interface rally in Harare recently.

News website NewZimbabwe.com reports Mugabe said he talked to a minister in President Jacob Zuma’s office and asked him why the ruling party left “everything with whites”.

“I was in South Africa recently talking to a minister in President Jacob Zuma’s office, and I did ask him how they have handled the land issue after attaining independence. I did ask him why they left the whites with everything. He answered my question in English and said: ‘Ask your friend, Mandela.’

“What was the most important thing for [Mandela] was his release from prison and nothing else. He cherished that freedom more than anything else and forgot why he was put in jail,” he said.

Mugabe said the former statesman excluded everyone from participating in negotiations about the country’s future after his release from prison.

“Look at what he produced. Is this what they agreed upon with the whites? Mandela believed to be equal with the whites and made the biggest mistake of forgetting the land issue.