September 6, 2019- Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has died.
He was 95.
Mugabe passed on at Glen Eagles Hospital in Singapore.
Mugabe, who dominated Zimbabwe’s politics for nearly 40 years, was a controversial figure whose supporters considered him as a hero who helped free Zimbabwe from British colonialism, but whose detractors accused him of economic mismanagement, corruption and crimes against humanity.
Among other things, he was heavily implicated in a campaign known as Gukurahundi in the 1980s in which an estimated 20,000 dissidents were killed.
He has been in power for 37 years, and he was ousted in a military coup in 2017. Mugabe was succeeded by his longtime right-hand man Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.
His ouster, which had been preceded by large street demonstrations for his removal, was greeted with celebrations across the country.
Many in Zimbabwe were angered by the effects of a rapidly deteriorating economy, widely considered to be related to the seizures of white-owned farms from around 2000.
The seizures, which led to Mugabe being shunned by the larger international community, were meant to redistribute land to poor blacks, but it often ended in the hands of Mugabe’s relatives and cronies.
Apparently, despite his advanced age, most believe stress played a key role in fast-tracking Mugabe’s death.
He died a bitter man after being back-stabbed by his most trusted lieutenant Mnangagwa.
Out of anger reports are that Mugabe told his family not to let Mnangagwa preside over his burial and allegedly ordered them to lay his remains to rest at his rural home in Zvimba.
It remains to be seen if President Mnangagwa will be able to use his muscle and bury him at the National Heroes Acre against his will.
If he manages, it would be a case of tasting own medicine, as Mugabe was known for saying the dead don’t chose where to be buried.
Zwnews
