Friday 26 / April / 2024
Harare: Robert Mugabe, the first leader of Zimbabwe post independence, has died at the age of 95.
He had been battling ill health for some time and had been admitted to a hospital in Singapore since April.
Mugabe, who famously said that only God could remove him from power, was ousted in a military coup in 2017 after being in power for three decades. He won the country's first election after independence, becoming prime minister in 1980. Later, in 1987, he abolished the office of prime minister and became the President of Zimbabwe.
On Friday, his successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Twitter, "It is with the utmost sadness that I announce the passing on of Zimbabwe's founding father and former President, Cde Robert Mugabe. Cde Mugabe was an icon of liberation, a pan-Africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of his people. His contribution to the history of our nation and continent will never be forgotten. May his soul rest in eternal peace."
Mnangagwa had been Mugabe's deputy before replacing him.
Mugabe was born on 21 February 1924 in what was then Rhodesia. He was imprisoned for more than a decade without trial for criticising the government of Rhodesia in 1964.
