The untimely death of Deputy President Gibson Sibanda yesterday is not only a blow to the Movement for Democratic Change as a party but to the general Zimbabwean populace.  We, the young people of Zimbabwe, have been robbed of a father and a pillar of strength that instilled hope in us.

Sibanda was a man of honour who gave us inspiration and was always there to provide guidance and instil in us the zeal to clamour for change in governance. Young people of our generation may recall during the 1990s, in the peak of the Zimbabwe Congress Union, how Sibanda as the ZCTU President fearlessly and selflessly fought for the rights of our fathers and mothers to get a meaningful wage.Although he was arrested several times, Sibanda relentlessly soldiered on.  His passion and enthusiasm compelled   some of us to take up courage and engage in student activism, risking our lives and security to get a better education.