By Wycliff G; The saddest news has gripped the entire African continent today morning as former Zimbabwe President Robert Gabriel Mugabe is reported dead at 95 years.
Mugabe has been battling with continuous illness for years, his family confirmed.
“Robert Mugabe, a hero of Africa’s independence struggle whose long rule in Zimbabwe descended into tyranny, corruption, and incompetence, has died at the age of 95,” President Emmerson Mnangagwa reacted in a statement early on Friday morning.
“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,” he added.
The passing of the former president, who ruled Zimbabwe for close to four decades before being ousted in a military takeover in November 2017, marks the definitive end of an era in the history of the former British colony.
Mugabe is believed to have died in Singapore, where he made frequent visits to receive medical care in recent months as his health deteriorated.
As far back as November 2018, Mnangagwa, who took over from him as president, told members of the ruling Zanu-PF party that Mugabe could no longer walk.
Though once widely celebrated for his role in fighting the white supremacist regime in his homeland, Mugabe had long become a deeply divisive figure in his own country and across the continent.
His final years in power were characterized by financial collapse, surges of violent intimidation and a vicious internal power struggle pitting his wife Grace, 41 years younger, against Mnangagwa, his former righthand man.
The rivalry was resolved when Mnangagwa, a Zanu-PF stalwart, took power when Mugabe reluctantly resigned after a military takeover. The news of his decision prompted widespread rejoicing.
Rest in Peace Robert Mugabe!
