ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) on Saturday expressed condolences over the passing of Zimbabwe's former president Robert Mugabe.
In a statement on Saturday, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, expressed deepest condolences on the passing of Mugabe.
"On behalf of the entire African Union family, the Chairperson wishes to express his sincere condolences to the late former president Mugabe's family and the Zimbabwean people," the statement said.
"The African Union is united in grief as we mourn an iconic liberation fighter and emblematic Pan-Africanist in the struggle for liberation and continental integration."
The late Mugabe started active politics in the 1960s when he founded the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in 1963 to fight British colonial rule.
After Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in 1980, Mugabe became the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe until 1987 when he assumed the post of President of Zimbabwe, a position he held until he was ousted from power in 2017.
