- Title: Reaction to the death of former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe
- Date: 6th September 2019
- Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (SEPTEMBER 6, 2019) (REUTERS) RESIDENT DAVID OLANIPEKUN, HOLDING HIS PHONE SHOWING A PHOTOGRAPH OF FORMER ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT ROBERT MUGABE
- Embargoed: 20th September 2019 14:17
- Keywords: Mugabe death Zimbabwe President world wide reactions
- Location: HARARE, ZIMBABWE / SINGAPORE / JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA / LAGOS, NIGERIA / NAIROBI, KENYA / CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA / BEIJING, CHINA
- City: HARARE, ZIMBABWE / SINGAPORE / JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA / LAGOS, NIGERIA / NAIROBI, KENYA / CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA / BEIJING, CHINA
- Country: Various
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA004AVIT5QF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Robert Mugabe, the bush war guerrilla leader who led Zimbabwe to independence in 1980 and crushed his foes during nearly four decades of rule as his country descended into poverty, hyperinflation and unrest, died on Friday (September 6) aged 95.
He was one of the most polarising figures in his continent's history, a giant of African liberation, whose rule finally ended in ignominy when he was overthrown by his own army. He died in Singapore, where he had long received medical treatment.
"It is with the utmost sadness that I announce the passing on of Zimbabwe's founding father and former President, Cde (Comrade) Robert Mugabe," a post on President Emmerson Mnangagwa's official Twitter account said.
Mnangagwa cut short a trip to a World Economic Forum meeting in South Africa to return home, a government official said.
Tributes poured in from African leaders and at home, even foes paid respects.
But others said his legacy was overshadowed by the harm he did to his people.
Mugabe was feted as a champion of racial reconciliation when he first came to power in a nation throwing off white colonial rule. By the time he was toppled, he was viewed by many at home and abroad as a power-obsessed autocrat who unleashed death squads, rigged elections and ruined the economy to keep control.
His departure from power failed to lift Zimbabwe's economy, however, which remains in its worst economic crisis in a decade. Triple-digit inflation, rolling power cuts and shortages of U.S. dollars and basic goods have revived memories of the Mugabe era. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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