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Ruthless president of Zimbabwe once hailed as a beacon of African liberation whose rule bankrupted the country he had fought so hard to win
As the armoured vehicles rolled in to Harare in November 2017, after weeks of political fencing and brinksmanship, Robert Mugabe could not believe he had lost. The senior military leadership who placed the Zimbabwean president under house arrest made it clear they were conducting the politest of coups, while stressing to the outside world that it was not a coup at all. It was merely a corrective action and, indeed, at its end, with Mugabe’s resignation, it was still his party, Zanu-PF, in power.
Mugabe, who has died aged 95, came to power as a result of the gun – wielded by others, as he himself never fought in the field – and fell by those who wielded the gun. And, as he fell, the true depths of the economic mire into which he had plunged Zimbabwe – spending so much time on party and succession battles, and seemingly none on issues of deep impoverishment and national non-productivity – became apparent. Emmerson Mnangagwa, the new president, in stressing an economic emphasis and outreach to the world, seemed to admit that the country was bankrupt and that Mugabe had made it so.
Mugabe, who has died aged 95, took power in April 1980, when the country previously known as Rhodesia was renamed Zimbabwe. He was credited with freeing Zimbabwe from colonialism and white minority rule but faced years of criticism for building a dictatorship and mismanaging the economy
Opposition figures are in hiding as arrests and beatings continue. But the anger at Mnangagwa’s regime persists
Activists and lawyers in Zimbabwe fear that the brutal crackdown by security forces will continue “for the foreseeable future” as authorities seek to crush all possible opposition to the ruling Zanu-PF party.
Hundreds of activists and opposition officials remain in hiding this weekend after almost two weeks of arbitrary arrests, beatings, rapes and abductions committed by police and military in the poor southern African country.
Robert Mugabe is gone, but the army remains at the centre of our political life. Until that changes, the violence won’t stop
Like the fleeting blossom of Jacaranda trees in spring, faith in the government of Zimbabwe’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has waned, following another round of state violence towards unarmed citizens.
A Harare woman wounded in the leg by a close-range gunshot from a soldier’s gun is ferried in a wheelbarrow to seek medical help. Elsewhere in the capital, a young footballer is killed for standing outside his home – his sole crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. These days, on the streets of Harare, an unnatural silence and fear have displaced the wild cheers of celebration that accompanied the 2017 resignation of Robert Mugabe as president. Hope has turned into mourning in cities around the country, where a general strike opposing Mnangagwa’s 150% fuel price hike turned bloody. At least 12 unarmed civilians have been killed and hundreds injured in a brutal crackdown led by the military.
The ruthless crushing of protests shows how little has changed since Emmerson Mnangagwa took over
People do not always want to be proved right. Many Zimbabweans watching the brutal crackdown on protests this weekend were the same people who had celebrated Robert Mugabe’s ousting in 2017. But they had tempered their optimism by warning that only very limited and superficial improvements were likely. They predicted that the successful coup would further embolden the military, and that putting in charge the feared security chief Emmerson Mnangagwa was a recipe for further repression. Irregularities at last year’s election, and the violence used to suppress ensuing protests, made their case for them. Now reports of torture, indiscriminate beatings, live fire and arbitrary arrests have rammed it home. At least 12 people have been shot dead and hundreds have been arrested.
Even some sceptics had hoped the new president would at least alleviate economic woes. Instead, conditions have worsened. In December, inflation hit a 10-year high, officially reaching 42% (though one estimate put it at around 235%). The government then more than doubled fuel prices, triggering calls for a strike. Unions organising the protest urged participants to “stay away” from demonstrating for fear of state violence. But thousands took to the streets, looting and rioting broke out, and the state struck back viciously. Mr Mnangagwa was forced to return home just as he was supposed to be telling global leaders at Davos that Zimbabwe was open for business. The bloody repression, and internet shutdown, are unlikely to entice foreign investors.
In 1971, Apollo 15 crew members David Scott and James Irwin became the first astronauts to use a lunar rover on the surface of the moon. In 1777, during the Revolutionary War, the Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, was made a major-general in the American Continental Army.
Lawmakers within the ruling Zanu pf party gathered Monday to meet on the fate of long ... . Terrence Chari poses as he mimics a painting of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in Mbare Harare, Monday, Nov, 20, 2017.
Model Keri Claussen Khalighi has come forward to accuse Def Jam Records mogul Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct in 1991 when she was 17-years-old. Model Keri Claussen Khalighi has come forward to accuse Def Jam Records mogul Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct in 1991 when she was 17-years-old.
Authorities say Manson, cult leader and mastermind behind 1969 deaths of a... . FILE- This Aug. 14, 2017 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Charles Manson.
Authorities are searching Texas' Big Bend for potential suspects and witnesses after a U.S. Customs Border Patrol agent was fatally injured responding to activity there. The latest group of U.S. Rhodes scholars includes 10 African-Americans, the most ever in a single Rhodes class, a transgender man and four students from colleges that had never had received the honor before.
In a euphoric gathering that j... . A happy protester pulls a face as he and others stand under a large national flag, at a demonstration of tens of thousands at Zimbabwe Grounds in Harare, Zimbabwe Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017.
In a euphoric gathering that j... . A happy protester pulls a face as he and others stand under a large national flag, at a demonstration of tens of thousands at Zimbabwe Grounds in Harare, Zimbabwe Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017.
Robert Mugabe better take care in offering his death as a bargaining position because a mob of Zimbabweans might be on their way to accept those terms. The four-decade dictator has mostly remained in his presidential compound since the military seized control of Harare after Mugabe tried sacking his vice president to hand control over to his wife.
It, er, might not be Robert Mugabe's call to make any more. When the military rolls into your capital, seizes broadcast outlets, and takes you into "protective custody," it's a little late to fall back on the institutions you've spent the last couple of years corrupting on behalf of your wife.
In an extraordinary statement after taking over the state broadcaster during a night of unrest, Zimbabwe's army said early Wednesday it was only targeting "criminals" ... Map locates Zimbabwe and its capital, Harare where the countrya TMs president and his wife are being held under house arrest by the military; 1c x 2 1/4 inches; 46.5 mm x 57 mm; . FILE - In this June, 2, 2017 file photo Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, left, and his wife Grace follow proceedings during a youth rally in Marondera Zimbabwe.
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The public health agency announced the decision this week, saying the African leader will focus on noncommunicable diseases such as heart attacks and strokes on the continent. But Saturday morning, as public disapproval of the decision grew, WHO's director-general said in a tweet he was "rethinking the approach in light of WHO values."
And people wonder why multilateral organizations suffer from such poor reputations as mouthpieces for dictators and kleptocrats. The World Health Organization routinely selects celebrities and other well-known people to serve as "ambassadors" for the advancement of health and human rights.
South Africa's police minister says the wife of Zimbabwe's president, background image, has h... . FILE - In this Saturday Feb. 27, 2016 file photo, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, left, and his wife Grace attend his birthday celebrations in Masvingo, Zimbabwe.
One of Africa's longest-serving heads of state turns 93 today -- but is showing no signs of slowing down. In an interview to state media to celebrate the occasion, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe confirmed that he intends to run for president in the 2018 general election, Reuters reported.