Former President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe

Former President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has died.

The independence icon turned authoritarian leader died at the age of 95 earlier today.

Mr. Mugabe had been receiving treatment in a hospital in Singapore since April.

He was ousted in a military coup in 2017 after 37 years in power.
The former President was praised for broadening access to health and education for the black majority.

But later years were marked by violent repression of his political opponents and Zimbabwe’s economic ruin.

His successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has expressed what he calls his “utmost sadness”.

He calls Mr. Mugabe “an icon of liberation”.

Mr. Mugabe was born on 21^st February 1924 in what was then Rhodesia – a British colony, run by its white minority.
He was imprisoned for more than a decade without trial after criticising the government of Rhodesia in 1964.

In 1973, while still in prison, he was chosen as President of the Zimbabwe African National Union of which he was a founding member.

Once released, he headed to Mozambique, from where he directed guerrilla raids into Rhodesia.

But he was also seen as a skilled negotiator.

Political agreements to end the crisis resulted in the new independent Republic of Zimbabwe.

With his high profile in the independence movement, Mr. Mugabe secured an overwhelming victory in the Republic’s first election in 1980.