Robert Mugabe: Biography from Answers.com

president ( government)

Personal Information

Born February 21, 1924, in Kutama, Zimbabwe; son of Gabriel and Bona Mugabe; married Sally Heyfron, February 21, 1961; two children.
Education: Attended Kutama Mission School; University of Fort Hare, South Africa, B.A., 1951; received L.L.B. from University of London.

Career

Taught at various mission schools in Zimbabwe, 1951-55; taught at Chalimbana Training College, Zambia, 1955-58, and St. Mary's Training College, Takoradi, Ghana, 1958-60; National Democratic Party, publicity secretary, 1960-61; Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), publicity secretary, 1961-62; Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), founder and leader, 1963-76, president, 1976-80; arrested in 1963 and jailed 1964-74; Republic of Zimbabwe, prime minister, 1980-87, minister of defense, 1985; president, 1987--.

Life's Work

Robert Gabriel Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, is a man who focused on his life's work early. While in his twenties he decided to help less courageous black countrymen achieve independence from British colonial rule. He fulfilled his personal goal in 1980, after 11 years in prison and a bloody seven-year guerrilla war. Today Mugabe presides over a land whose economy is plagued by problems, and he is regarded by some as one of the worst dictators in the world.

Robert Gabriel Mugabe was born in 1924, four months after Southern Rhodesia became a British crown colony. In a land ruled by a theoretically multiracial Legislative Assembly that was actually overwhelmingly white, life was not easy for the Shona people of Mugabe's native Kutama village. Their freedom was curtailed by pass laws, their job opportunities were regulated by industry's need for unskilled labor, and their education, in most cases, was limited to the grammar-school level.

Robert Mugabe was one of the few who escaped this fate. His education was supervised by the director of the nearby Jesuit mission, an unshakably moral and defiantly liberal man. An unabashed iconoclast, Father O'Hea held the philosophy that all people are equal and should be treated that way and that students should be educated as far as their capabilities can take them. He imbued the intelligent young Robert with both of these maxims and encouraged him to pass them on to others by becoming a teacher.

In 1945 Mugabe left O'Hea's guidance behind for a wider Southern Rhodesia, where new settlers were pouring into country at the rate of 10,000 each year. Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins, intent upon providing security for them, was firmly in favor of racial separation, a method of administration that had been buttressed by the Land Apportionment Act. Implemented in 1930, the act decreed that much of the nation's unincorporated land should be divided evenly between blacks and whites despite a huge demographic imbalance of only 50,000 whites and 650,000 blacks. At first the division was merely inconvenient, but the growing population and the increasing industrialization of the country forced more and more blacks to move. By the time Robert Mugabe came home to start his teaching career in 1946, about 300,000 black families had been displaced from their homes and packed into already overcrowded areas. It was a situation destined to fester into open warfare.

Southern Rhodesia was still seething in 1949, when Mugabe won a scholarship to Fort Hare University in South Africa. Because South Africa was also part of the British Commonwealth he found little change in the external society, though life was different inside the all-black university. For the first time since he had left the mission, he saw active protest against segregation and an eagerness to explore different political philosophies. One which he found attractive was Marxism.

Mugabe's interest in communism grew into admiration after 1957, when he was invited by Kwame Nkrumah to come and teach in Ghana. Recently independent, proudly Marxist, the government was intent on bringing universal education and opportunity to those formerly at the lowest levels of society. Mugabe noted that most Ghanaians gladly seized the chance to better themselves. Enjoying the cheerful public spirit, he plunged eagerly into teaching and working with the country's youth groups, and took a deep interest in all aspects of Ghanaian politics.

In 1960 he visited his homeland in order to introduce his mother to his Ghanaian fiancée, Sally Heyfron. The country was no longer the Southern Rhodesia he remembered. The white population had grown to 223,000, a formidable number of whom supported the federation that had been established between Northern and Southern Rhodesia and Malawi. But no such enthusiasm existed among the country's 450,000-strong black voting force. The federation's government did plan to institute majority rule, so politically aware blacks were adamantly opposed to it. Mugabe was astounded by their bold new vehemence and the protest groups they had formed to express it.

In July of 1960 black fury exploded into a March of 7,000 people who gathered at the town hall of Salisbury's Harare Township to protest the arrest of their leaders. Mugabe was persuaded to address the gathering. He told his seething audience about the egalitarian new Ghanaian society and its rise from colonialism, and found that he had generated public interest that outlasted the day of the protest. He ignored the threatening, almost unlimited police power of the Law and Order Act that was enacted after the march and began to give many speeches about the Ghanaian pride in its Marxist independence. He also decided to stay and help to achieve the same status for Southern Rhodesia.

Within weeks of the March of 7,000 he was elected publicity secretary of the National Democratic Party. Seeing his first task as introducing the uninitiated to the possibility of black independence, he organized a semi-militant youth league like those he had worked with in Ghana. Just as he had done in Accra, he attracted Rhodesian teenagers with political discussions and the cultural dancing and music that would give them pride in their heritage. His efforts soon paid off. Although the party itself was banned by the government on December 9, 1961, it left behind enough supporters to regroup immediately into the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). Southern Rhodesia's first effective black political movement, it functioned for nine months before it was banned the following September.

The tumu ltuous events in Southern Rhodesia had not escaped the notice of the British Foreign Office, which in 1959 ordered a comprehensive enquiry under Lord Monckton. The following year the Monckton Commission disclosed its conclusion that there was too much black opposition to the federation for it to continue to exist in its present form. If the federation were to survive, Monckton concluded, a new constitution providing majority rule would have to be enacted. Britain agreed, relinquishing control of Southern Rhodesia's domestic affairs and drawing up a new constitution allowing majority rule.

But the new constitution did not appease black Rhodesians. It lacked a definite target date for adopting majority rule and it proposed a two-tier electoral system whose upper level was accessible only to voters with a secondary education. Since this effectively excluded most of the black population, blacks received only half the voting power of the better-educated whites, who were also eligible to vote on the lower roll. As a result, the country's far-smaller white population could elect 50 of the Legislative Assembly's 65 members. The vociferous opposition of 450,000 blacks spurred ZAPU leader Joshua Nkomo to visit the United Nations, which in turn called upon Britain to suspend the new constitution and initiate discussions about true majority rule.

Nkomo's negotiations with the British stalled. Nkomo was perceived by many, including Mugabe, as accepting Britain's vague promises of eventual majority rule rather than insisting on a definite timetable. Along with other ZAPU supporters, Mugabe was so furious about these equivocations that he openly began to advocate a guerrilla war. In April of 1961, noted Mugabe's biographers David Smith and Colin Simpson, Mugabe even snapped at a policeman at Salisbury Airport who stopped a Party supporter suspected of carrying a weapon: "We are taking over this country, and we will not put up with this nonsense."

Mugabe's defiant attitude made him the target of constant police surveillance, especially after he split from Nkomo's party in 1963. In August of that year he and several other ex-Nkomo supporters formed the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The Rhodesian police, aware of these activities, waited for their opportunity to arrest him. Their chance came in December, when Mugabe returned to his homeland. He was jailed for 11 years. In prison Mugabe was not as isolated as the police hoped. Secret communications networks between him and his supporters brought him the news that the former Nyasaland was now Malawi, that the former Northern Rhodesia was now Zambia, and that the independence of both countries had caused the collapse of the Federation. He also knew that an attack on a white Rhodesian farmstead in 1964 had signaled the start of guerrilla operations to liberate Southern Rhodesia.

Mugabe had been in prison for about two years when ex-Royal Air Force Pilot Ian Smith became Rhodesia's prime minister. An experienced politician, Smith assured white Southern Rhodesians that majority rule would not come to pass during his tenure. He went to London for the constitutional talks, but his stance did not impress the new Labor government. Nevertheless he stuck obstinately to his agenda, going so far as to issue a unilateral declaration of independence on November 11, 1965, though still professing allegiance to the British crown. In response, the United Nations imposed sanctions that quickly damaged the Rhodesian economy. Chrome, copper, asbestos, tobacco and sugar previously bound for export never left the country, while shipments of badly needed oil were kept out.

However, sanctions were just one of Smith's problems. Far worse was the 1975 independence of Mozambique, a staunch former ally in its days as a Portuguese colony. Mozambique was now a Marxist state, with long, sparsely patrolled borders that were ideal bases of operations for Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), and the Chinese allies eager to help them with training and arms. Neighboring South Africa, Smith's last remaining ally, was now also teetering insecurely. Encouraged by South African leaders, Smith allowed Mugabe out of prison to attend a 1974 conference in Lusaka. Mugabe seized this opportunity and escaped across the border into Mozambique, stopping on the way to recruit young Rhodesians for guerrilla training.

By the end of the 1970s a savage and stealthy war and a devastated economy had convinced Smith that majority rule was inevitable. Unsuccessfully he tried to reach a mutually suitable transition schedule with Mugabe, but there was no progress until 1979, when Britain convened a conference at Lancaster House in London. Topics discussed at the conference were the British-monitored transition to black majority rule, assurance of white minority representation for a specific period after independence, and a new constitution. With all these matters settled, on December 16 the United Nations lifted the sanctions.

On April 18, 1980, British rule ended in Southern Rhodesia and the nation was renamed the Republic of Zimbabwe. Elected over candidates from ten competing parties, including Nkomo, the Zimbabwe African National Union took power, with Robert Gabriel Mugabe as prime minister. Despite his Marxist leanings, he tried his best not to frighten the technologically advanced whites by immediately scrapping the capitalist economy. Instead, he tried to persuade them to stay and share their skills by announcing that the change to socialism would proceed in gradual phases. But white Rhodesians were not convinced that they could find security in a country run by a recently murderous enemy. In 1980 alone, 17,240 of them emigrated.

Mugabe ignored their departure and turned his attention to badly needed reforms. By New Year's Day 1981, the country boasted free primary school education for all students as well as guaranteed admission to secondary school for all who qualified. Free medical care was provided for those with low income levels, and a new housing law granted freehold ownership to home-renters of 30 years' standing. In other innovations, Mugabe had city boundaries reshaped to ensure multiracial political representation and replaced whites with educated blacks in key positions relating to educational institutions.

But problems remained. Fighting broke out in February 1981 between Mugabe's forces and Joshua Nkomo's Zambia-based faction. Most troublesome was Nkomo himself, who was fired from the government in 1982 after his intention to launch an anti-government coup was revealed. This action touched off a flurry of robberies and caused the murder of several tourists. It also brought retaliation from Mugabe's forces in the form of rapes and murders in Nkomo's stronghold area of Matabeleland.

An atmosphere of resentment smoldered on through the national elections of 1985, when Mugabe triumphed a second time over Nkomo. Friction between ZANU and Nkomo's ZAPU supporters continued until November of 1987, when 15 Matabeleland missionaries were murdered with axes by Mugabe supporters. This tragedy caused Nkomo and Mugabe to settle their differences. On December 22, 1987, ZANU and ZAPU merged in a unity agreement designed to begin healing the country, which was now split along tribal lines. One week later Mugabe was installed as the country's new president, while Nkomo was named one of three supervising senior ministers.

The friction eased, allowing President Mugabe to concentrate on bettering an economy starved for foreign currency as a result of prolonged drought, a worldwide recession, and the lingering effects of sanctions against the Smith government. Despite his efforts, imported spare parts for the mining and manufacturing industries became very scarce, and levies on tobacco and alcohol had to be instituted to offset the soaring unemployment rate.

By 1989 the economy required major restructuring. The International Monetary Fund and the World B ank helped to create a five-year adjustment program that restructured the government, relaxed price controls, and gave farmers the right to set their own prices. Still, shortages of staples like brake fluid and cooking oil, the drought-induced rises in the cost of maize, wheat, and dairy products, and a new policy of charging for education and medical care overshadowed most of the adjustment programs' benefits and darkened the national mood. By 1994, however, the structural adjustment had produced some improvements, with slight growth beginning in agriculture, manufacturing, and mining. Mugabe's vision of security under majority rule in Zimbabwe had begun to move forward.

In 1996 Mugabe took the controversial stance of supporting the seizure of white-owned land without compensation in order to reverse the economic imbalances that disadvantaged the majority blacks. He also refused to revise the constitution that is tailored to a one party state, or release his hold on the media.

In September 1998, Mugabe's government held an international conference to raise money for land distribution. But potential donor countries refused to give Mugabe any money until he came up with a plan for reducing rural poverty. Since no plan was proposed, no money came in.

Then in April 2000, Zimbabwe passed a constitutional amendment that held Britain, as an ex-colonial power, responsible for paying for land stolen from Africans during colonial rule. Mugabe threatened to seize land without compensation if Britain did not pay. Some critics, however, pointed out to no effect that when the British arrived in Africa at the end of the nineteenth century, they were only helping themselves to land that was not being used by anyone else.

In the March 2002 presidential election, Mugabe officially won re-election by 430,00 votes. But there were widespread allegations that Mugabe had stuffed the ballot box with enough votes to give him his margin of victory. The allegations had sufficient credibility to cause the U.S., the European Union and many other developed countries to imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe, including an arms embargo. In 2003, a hearing was held by the High Court of Zimbabwe into the matter, though no decision was immediately made and Mugabe and his party retained power.

By October 2002, Zimbabwe's commercial agriculture, which had formerly sustained the economy, had ground to a halt. With widespread hunger (half the population was said to be experiencing famine), food donations were pouring into the country. There were reports that Mugabe's government had been distributing donated food on the basis of the recipient's political affiliation. Other reports stated that the government also would only buy farmers' products if they supported Mugabe, also contributing to the food problem.

But food shortages were only the tip of the iceberg for Mugabe. Since early 2000, the economy had gone in steep decline. The GDP had fallen 24 percent, inflation had reached 135 percent, the value of the country's currency had fallen 96 percent, and the arrears on the foreign debt of $3.4 billion had reached 30 percent. Earnings from tourism had fallen 80 percent, gold production was down by half, and 300,000 of the county's 1.3 million workers were unemployed. And 35 percent of all adults had AIDS. Many people left the country, whose population declined by nearly 2.5 million between 1992 and 2002.

Though Zimbabwe's economic, social, and cultural situations were growing more desperate, Mugabe tightened his grip on the country. In September 2003, a government commission essentially banned Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper from future publication. The paper regularly criticized Mugabe. Though Mugabe was in control, he did face some uncertainty before the 2005 parliamentary elections. In addition to factional infighting in his political party and controversy over who would be Mugabe's successor when he decides to leave office, several important people in Mugabe's government, including Zimbabwe's ambassador to Mozambique, were charged with selling state secrets to foreign agents.

During his campaign, Mugabe said he believed the mining industry would take Zimbabwe out its economic doldrums. In 2005, the first big diamond mine in Zimbabwe was expected to open. The government also invested funds to encourage more platinum mining. Mugabe also spoke out against the violence expected to accompany the elections. Despite being named one of the world's ten worst dictators by Amnesty International in 2004, Mugabe was expected to win the election and stay in power until at least 2008, when he said he would retire.

His retirement did not come soon enough, however, as Mugabes party did indeed retain power in the April 2005 parliamentary elections. By that time, unfortunately, the country had further descended into a shocking state of chaos and economic ruin. The collapse had begun in 2000, with the enactment of the threatened forcible appropriation of thousands of white-owned farms. The ensuing destruction of the agricultural base (output fell by %80) resulted in an approximate decline of 50% in the GNP, an annual inflation rate of %400, and a dizzying drop in tourist revenues. The problems were further worsened by Operation Murambatsvina (variously translated as Clean Up Filth, Drive Out Trash, and Restore Order), which was started in May of 2005. Described by the government as a civic beautification program, the initiative displaced an estimated 700,000 people and affected nearly 2 million more, thousands of whom were rendered homeless, within months. Mugabe denied any such situation and refused UN assistance for its alleged victims. Nonetheless, by November of 2005, the average life expectancy had halved in a decade, 4 million people faced famine, and the unemployment rate hovered around %70. The once-prosperous Zimbabwe had declined into a beleaguered country fit, perhaps, only for its president.

Awards

African Leadership Prize, 1988.

Robert Gabriel Mugabe

President of Zimbabwe
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 December 1987
Prime Minister	Morgan Tsvangirai
Vice President	Simon Muzenda Joseph Msika Joice Mujuru
Preceded by	Canaan Banana
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
In office 18 April 1980 – 31 December 1987
President	Canaan Banana
Preceded by	Abel Muzorewa (Zimbabwe Rhodesia)
Succeeded by	Morgan Tsvangirai
Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement
In office 6 September 1986 – 7 September 1989
Preceded by	Zail Singh
Succeeded by	Janez Drnovsek

Born	21 February 1924 (1924-02-21) (age 85) Kutama, Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia
Political party	ZANU-PF (1987 – present) ZANU (1963 – 1987) ZAPU (1961 – 1963)
Spouse(s)	Sally Hayfron (deceased) Grace Marufu
Alma mater	University of Fort Hare University of Oxford University of South Africa University of London
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

Early life

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Robert Gabriel Karigamombe Mugabe was born near Kutama Mission in the Zvimba District north east of Salisbury in Southern Rhodesia to a Malawian father Gabriel Matibili and a Shona mother Bona. He had two older brothers, and one of them, Michael, was very popular in the village. Both his older brothers died, leaving Robert and his younger brother, Donato.^[23] His father, Gabriel Matibili, a carpenter,^[10] abandoned the Mugabe family in 1934 after Michael died, in search of work in Bulawayo.^[24] Mugabe was raised as a Roman Catholic, studying in Marist Brothers and Jesuit schools, including the exclusive Kutama College, headed by an Irish priest, Father Jerome O'Hea, who took him under his wing. Through his youth, Mugabe was never socially popular nor physically active and spent most of his time with the priests or his mother when he was not reading in the school's libraries. He was described as never playing with other children but enjoying his own company.^[10] He qualified as a teacher, but left to study at Fort Hare in South Africa graduating in 1951 while meeting contemporaries such as Julius Nyerere, Herbert Chitepo, Robert Sobukwe and Kenneth Kaunda. He then studied at the University of Oxford in 1952, Salisbury (1953), Gwelo (1954), and Tanzania (1955–1957). Originally graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Fort Hare in 1951, Mugabe subsequently earned six further degrees through distance learning including a Bachelor of Administration and Bachelor of Education from the University of South Africa and a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Science, and Master of Laws, all from the University of London External Programme ^[25] The two Law degrees were earned while he was in prison, the Master of Science degree earned during his premiership of Zimbabwe.^[26] After graduating, Mugabe lectured at Chalimbana Teacher Training College, in Zambia from 1955–1958, thereafter he taught at Apowa Secondary School at Takoradi, in the Western Region of Ghana after completing his local certification at Achimota School (1958 – 1960), where he met Sally Hayfron, whom he married in April 1961.^[27] During his stay in Ghana, he was influenced and inspired by Ghana's then Prime Minister, Kwame Nkrumah. In addition, Mugabe and some of his Zimbabwe African National Union party cadres received instruction at the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute, then at Winneba in southern Ghana.^[28]^[29]

Early political career

Main article: History of Zimbabwe

Mugabe returned to Southern Rhodesia and joined the National Democratic Party (NDP) in 1960.^[30] The administration of Prime Minister Ian Smith banned the NDP when it later became Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU). Mugabe left ZAPU in 1963 to join the rival Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) which had been formed in 1963 by the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, Edgar Tekere, Edson Zvobgo, Enos Nkala and lawyer Herbert Chitepo. ZANU was influenced by the Africanist ideas of the Pan Africanist Congress in South Africa^[31] and influenced by Maoism while ZAPU was an ally of the African National Congress and was a supporter of a more orthodox pro-Soviet line on national liberation. Similar divisions can also be seen in the liberation movement in Angola between the MPLA and UNITA. It would have been easy for the party to split along tribal lines between the Ndebele and Mugabe's own Shona tribe, but cross-tribal representation was maintained by his partners. ZANU leader Sithole nominated Robert Mugabe as his Secretary General.

In 1964 Mugabe was arrested for “subversive speech” and spent the next 11 years in Salisbury prison. During that period he earned three degrees, including a law degree from London and a bachelor of administration from the University of South Africa by correspondence courses. Smith did not allow Mugabe out of prison to attend the funeral of Mugabe's four-year-old son.^[10] In 1974, while still in prison, Mugabe was elected—with the powerful influence of Edgar Tekere—to take over the reins of ZANU after a no-confidence vote was passed on Ndabaningi Sithole^[32] - Mugabe himself abstained from voting. His time in prison burnished his reputation and helped his cause.^[10]

Mugabe unilaterally assumed control of ZANU from Mozambique after the death of Herbert Chitepo on March 18, 1975. Later that year, after squabbling with Ndabaningi Sithole, Mugabe formed a militant ZANU faction, leaving Sithole to lead the moderate Zanu (Ndonga) party. Many opposition leaders mysteriously died during this time (Including one who allegedly died in a car crash, although the car was rumored to have been riddled with bullet holes at the scene of the accident).^[10] Additionally, an opposing newspaper's printing press was bombed and its journalists tortured.^[10]

Lancaster House Agreement

Prime Minister Mugabe departs Andrews Air Force Base after a state visit to the United States in 1983

Main article: Lancaster House Agreement

Persuasion from B.J. Vorster, himself under pressure from Henry Kissinger, forced Ian Smith, the sitting prime minister at the time, to accept in principle that white minority rule could not continue indefinitely. On 3 March 1978 Bishop Abel Muzorewa, Ndabaningi Sithole and other moderate leaders signed an agreement at the Governor's Lodge in Salisbury, which paved the way for an interim power-sharing government, in preparation for elections. The elections were won by the United African National Council under Bishop Abel Muzorewa, but international recognition did not follow and sanctions were not lifted. The two 'Patriotic Front' groups under Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo refused to participate and continued the war.

The incoming government did accept an invitation to talks at Lancaster House in September 1979. A ceasefire was negotiated for the talks, which were attended by Smith, Mugabe, Nkomo, Zvobgo and others. Eventually the parties to the talks agreed on a new constitution for a new Republic of Zimbabwe with elections in February 1980. The Lancaster Agreement saw Mugabe make two important and contentious concessions. First, he allowed 20 seats to be reserved for whites in the new Parliament, and second, he agreed to a ten year moratorium on constitutional amendments. His return to Zimbabwe in December 1979, following the completion of the Lancaster House Agreement, was greeted with enormous supportive crowds.

Prime Minister and President

President Robert Mugabe

After a campaign marked by intimidation from all sides, mistrust from security forces and reports of full ballot boxes found on the road, the Shona majority was decisive in electing Mugabe to head the first government as prime minister on 4 March 1980. ZANU won 57 out of 80 Common Roll seats in the new parliament, with the 20 white seats all going to the Rhodesian Front.

Mugabe, whose political support came from his Shona-speaking homeland in the north, attempted to build Zimbabwe on a basis of an uneasy coalition with his Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) rivals, whose support came from the Ndebele-speaking south, and with the white minority. Mugabe sought to incorporate ZAPU into his Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) led government and ZAPU's military wing into the army. ZAPU's leader, Joshua Nkomo, was given a series of cabinet positions in Mugabe's government. However, Mugabe was torn between this objective and pressures to meet the expectations of his own ZANU followers for a faster pace of social change.

In 1983, Mugabe fired Nkomo from his cabinet, triggering bitter fighting between ZAPU supporters in the Ndebele-speaking region of the country and the ruling ZANU. Mugabe accused the Ndebele tribe of plotting to overthrow him after sacking Nkomo. Between 1982 and 1985, the military crushed armed resistance from Ndebele groups in the provinces of Matabeleland and the Midlands, leaving Mugabe's rule secure. Mugabe has been accused by the BBC's Panorama programme of committing mass murder during this period of his rule, after the show investigated claims made by political activist Gary Jones that Mugabe had been instrumental in removing him and his family from his farmland.^[33] A peace accord was negotiated in 1987.^[34] ZAPU merged into the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) on 22 December 1988.^[35] Mugabe brought Nkomo into the government once again as a vice-president.

In 1987, the position of Prime Minister was abolished and Mugabe assumed the new office of executive President of Zimbabwe gaining additional powers in the process. He was re-elected in 1990 and 1996, and in 2002 amid claims of widespread vote-rigging and intimidation. Mugabe's term of office expired at the end of March 2008.

Mugabe has been the Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe since Parliament passed the University of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill in November 1990.^[36]

Gukurahundi

Main article: Gukurahundi

There were major outbreaks of violence between ZIPRA and ZANLA awaiting integration into the National Army. ZAPU was believed to have been planning an armed revolt to make up for ZAPU's poor showing in the 1980 elections.^[6]

Major arms caches were discovered in early 1982, and this caused a final rift between ZANU and ZAPU. Some believe that this was engineered by South African agents. South Africa's policy of destabilizing Zimbabwe by military means, while blaming ZAPU for the actions of South African agents, helped to escalate the breakdown between ZAPU and ZANU in the early 1980s. This in turn led Zimbabwe to retain a state of emergency throughout the 1980s.^[6]

According to a report by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe's Fifth Brigade killed about 20,000 people.^[6]

Social programs

According to a 1995 World Bank report, after independence, "Zimbabwe gave priority to human resource investments and support for smallholder agriculture," and as a result, "smallholder agriculture expanded rapidly during the first half of the 1980s and social indicators improved quickly." From 1980 to 1990 infant mortality decreased from 86 to 49 per 1000 live births, under five mortality was reduced from 128 to 58 per 1000 live births, and immunisation increased from 25% to 80% of the population. Also, "child malnutrition fell from 22% to 12% and life expectancy increased from 56 to 64. By 1990, Zimbabwe had a lower infant mortality rate, higher adult literacy and higher school enrollment rate than average for developing countries".^[37]

In 1991, the government of Zimbabwe, short on hard currency and under international pressure, embarked on an austerity program. The World Bank's 1995 report explained that such reforms were required because Zimbabwe was unable to absorb into its labour market the many graduates from its impressive education system and that it needed to attract additional foreign investments. The reforms, however, undermined the livelihoods of Zimbabwe's poor majority; the report noted "large segments of the population, including most smallholder farmers and small scale enterprises, find themselves in a vulnerable position with limited capacity to respond to evolving market opportunities. This is due to their limited access to natural, technical and financial resources, to the contraction of many public services for smallholder agriculture, and to their still nascent links with larger scale enterprises."

Moreover, these people were forced to live on marginal lands as Zimbabwe's best lands were reserved for mainly white landlords growing cash crops for export, a sector of the economy favoured by the IMF's plan. For the poor on the communal lands, "existing levels of production in these areas are now threatened by the environmental fragility of the natural resource base and the unsustainability of existing farming practices".^[37] The International Monetary Fund later suspended aid, saying reforms were "not on track."

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), life expectancy at birth for Zimbabwean men has since become 37 years and is 34 years for women, the lowest such figures for any nation.^[38] The World Bank's 1995 report predicted this decline in life expectancy from its 1990 height of 64 years when, commenting on health care system cuts mandated by the IMF structural adjustment programme, it stated that "The decline in resources is creating strains and threatening the sustainability of health sector achievements".^[37]

The Zimbabwe dollar suffers from the highest Inflation rate of any currency in the world. Zimbabwe official statistics reveal that the annualised inflation rate for September 2006 was 1000%. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its World Economic Outlook database, reported inflation in 2006 at 1216%.^[39] Inflation reached 9,000% on 21 June 2007,^[40] and 11,000% on 22 June 2007.^[41] It continues to climb rapidly, and was reported to exceed 100,000% as of April 2008.^[42] Official statistics indicate that this had risen to 11,250,000% by June 2008.^[43]

While Zimbabwe has suffered in many other measures under Mugabe, as a former schoolteacher he has been well-known for his commitment to education.^[10] As of 2008, Zimbabwe had a literacy rate of 90%, the highest in Africa.^[44] However, Catholic Archbishop of Zimbabwe Pius Ncube decried the educational situation in the country, saying, among other scathing indictments of Mugabe, "We had the best education in Africa and now our schools are closing".^[45]

Racism

A number of people have accused Mugabe of having a racist attitude towards white people. John Sentamu, a Uganda-born Archbishop of York in the United Kingdom, calls Mugabe "the worst kind of racist dictator," for having "targeted the whites for their apparent riches".^[46] Almost thirty years after ending white-minority rule in Zimbabwe, Mugabe accuses the United Kingdom and the United States of promoting white imperialism and regularly accuses opposition figures to his government of being allies of white imperialism.^[47]^[48]

When the United Kingdom once condemned Mugabe's authoritarian policies and alleged racist attitudes as being comparable to those of German Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, Mugabe responded with an extremely controversial remark, mocking the UK's claims by saying about himself and his policies that "I am still the Hitler of the time. This Hitler has only one objective, justice for his own people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his people, and their right to their resources. If that is Hitler, then let me be a Hitler tenfold."^[49]

Views on homosexuality

Mugabe has waged a violent campaign against homosexuals, arguing that before colonisation Zimbabweans did not engage in homosexual acts.^[50] His first major public condemnation of homosexuality came in 1995 during the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in August 1995.^[51] He told the audience that homosexuality:

"...Degrades human dignity. It's unnatural and there is no question ever of allowing these people to behave worse than dogs and pigs. If dogs and pigs do not do it, why must human beings? We have our own culture, and we must re-dedicate ourselves to our traditional values that make us human beings... What we are being persuaded to accept is sub-animal behaviour and we will never allow it here. If you see people parading themselves as lesbians and gays, arrest them and hand them over to the police!"^[52]

In September 1995, Zimbabwe's parliament introduced legislation banning homosexual acts.^[51] In 1997, a court found Canaan Banana, Mugabe's predecessor and the first President of Zimbabwe, guilty of 11 counts of sodomy and indecent assault.^[53] Banana's trial proved embarrassing for Mugabe, when Banana's accusers alleged that Mugabe knew about Banana's conduct and had done nothing to stop it.^[54]

Second Congo War

Mugabe was blamed for Zimbabwe's participation in the Second Congo War in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At a time when the Zimbabwean economy was struggling, Zimbabwe responded to a call by the Southern African Development Community to help the struggling regime in Kinshasa. The Democratic Republic of the Congo had been invaded by Rwanda and Uganda, both of which claimed that their civilians, and regional stability, were under constant threat of attack by Rwandan Hutu militiamen based in the Congo.^[55] However, the Congolese government, as well as international commentators, charged that the motive for the invasion was to grab the rich mineral resources of eastern Congo.^[56]^[57] The war raised accusations of corruption, with officials alleged to be plundering the Congo's mineral reserves. Mugabe's defence minister Moven Mahachi said, "Instead of our army in the DRC burdening the treasury for more resources, which are not available, it embarks on viable projects for the sake of generating the necessary revenue".^[58]

Land reform

Main article: Land reform in Zimbabwe

When Zimbabwe gained independence, 46.5% of the country's arable land was owned by around 6,000 commercial farmers.^[59] Mugabe accepted a "willing buyer, willing seller" plan as part of the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979, among other concessions to the white minority.^[60] As part of this agreement, land redistribution was blocked for a period of 10 years.^[61]

In 1997, the new British government led by Tony Blair unilaterally stopped funding the "willing buyer, willing seller" land reform programme on the basis that the initial £44 million allocated under the Thatcher government was used to purchase land for members of the ruling elite rather than landless peasants. Furthermore, Britain's ruling Labour Party felt no obligation to continue paying white farmers compensation, or in minister Clare Short's words, "I should make it clear that we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe. We are a new Government from diverse backgrounds without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and as you know we were colonised not colonisers".^[62]

Some commentators, such as Matthew Sweet in The Independent, hold Cecil Rhodes ultimately responsible:

... It was Cecil Rhodes who originated the racist 'land grabs' to which Zimbabwe's current miseries can ultimately be traced. It was Rhodes who in 1887 told the House Of Assembly in Cape Town, South Africa that 'the native is to be treated as a child and denied the franchise. We must adopt a system of despotism in our relations with the barbarians of Southern Africa'.^[63]

According to Sweet, "In less oratorical moments, he put it even more bluntly: 'I prefer land to niggers.'"

From 12 to 13 February 2000, a referendum was held on constitutional amendments. The proposed amendments would have limited future presidents to two terms, but as it was not retroactive, Mugabe could have stood for another two terms. It also would have made his government and military officials immune from prosecution for any illegal acts committed while in office. In addition, it allowed the government to confiscate white-owned land for redistribution to black farmers without compensation. The motion failed with 55% of participants against the referendum.^[64] The referendum had a 20% turnout fuelled by an effective SMS campaign. Mugabe declared that he would "abide by the will of the people". The vote was a surprise to ZANU-PF, and an embarrassment before parliamentary elections due in mid-April. Almost immediately, self-styled "war veterans", led by Chenjerai 'Hitler' Hunzvi, began invading white-owned farms. Those who did not leave voluntarily were often tortured and sometimes killed. One was forced to drink diesel fuel as a form of torture.^[65] On 6 April 2000, Parliament pushed through an amendment, taken word for word from the draft constitution that was rejected by voters, allowing the seizure of white-owned farmlands without due reimbursement or payment.^[66]

Since these actions, agricultural production has plummeted and the economy is crippled. Once the "bread basket" of southern Africa and a major agricultural exporter, Zimbabwe now depends on food programs and support from outside to feed its population.^[67] A third of the population depends on food supplies from the World Food Programme to avoid starvation.^[67]

On 8 December 2003, in protest against a further 18 months of suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations (thereby cutting foreign aid to Zimbabwe), Mugabe withdrew his country from the Commonwealth. Mugabe informed the leaders of Jamaica, Nigeria and South Africa of his decision when they telephoned him to discuss the situation. Zimbabwe's government said the President did not accept the Commonwealth's position, and was leaving the group.^[68]

The United Nations provoked anger when its Food and Agriculture Organisation invited Mugabe to speak at a celebration of its 60th anniversary in Rome. Critics of the move argued that since Mugabe could not feed his own people without the UN's support, he was an inappropriate speaker for the group, which has a mission statement of "helping to build a world without hunger".^[67]

In 2005, Mugabe ordered a raid conducted on what the government termed "illegal shelters" in Harare, resulting in 10,000 urban poor being left homeless from "Operation Murambatsvina (English: Operation Drive Out the Rubbish)." The authorities themselves had moved the poor inhabitants to the area in 1992, telling them not to build permanent homes and that their new homes were temporary, leading the inhabitants to build their own temporary shelters out of cardboard and wood.^[69] Since the inhabitants of the shantytowns overwhelmingly supported the Movement for Democratic Change opposition party in the previous election, many alleged that the mass bulldozing was politically motivated.^[69] The UK's Daily Telegraph noted that Mugabe's "latest palace," in the style of a pagoda, was located a mile from the destroyed shelters.^[69] The UN released a report stating that the actions of Mugabe resulted in the loss of home or livelihood for more than 700,000 Zimbabweans and negatively affected 2.4 million more.^[67]

As of September 2006, Mugabe's family owns three farms: Highfield Estate in Norton, 45 km west of Harare, Iron Mask Estate in Mazowe, about 40 km from Harare, and Foyle Farm in Mazowe, formerly owned by Ian Webster and adjacent to Iron Mask Farm, renamed to Gushungo Farm after Mugabe's own clan name.^[70] These farms were seized forcibly from their previous owners.^[71]

Mugabe blames the food shortages on drought.^[67] Zimbabwe's state-owned press accused former British Prime Minister Tony Blair of using chemical weapons to incite droughts and famines in Africa.^[67]

Elections

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In April 1979, 64% of the black citizens of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) lined up at the polls to vote in the first democratic election in the history of that southern African nation. Two-thirds of them supported Abel Muzorewa, a bishop in the United Methodist Church. He was the first black prime minister of a country only 4% white. Muzorewa's victory put an end to the 14-year political odyssey of outgoing prime minister Ian Smith, who had infamously announced in 1976, "I do not believe in black majority rule—not in a thousand years."

Less than a year after Muzorewa's victory, however, in February 1980, another election was held in Zimbabwe. This time, Robert Mugabe, the Marxist who had fought a seven-year guerilla war against Rhodesia's white-led government, won 64% of the vote, after a campaign marked by widespread intimidation, outright violence, and Mugabe's threat to continue the civil war if he lost. Mugabe became prime minister and was toasted by the international community and media as a new sort of African leader.

Mugabe has continued to win elections, although frequently these have been criticised by outsiders for violating various electoral procedures.

Mugabe faced Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in presidential elections in March 2002.^[72] Mugabe defeated Tsvangirai by 56.2% to 41.9% amid violence and the prevention of large numbers of citizens in urban areas from voting. The conduct of the elections was widely viewed internationally as having been manipulated.^[73]^[74] Many groups, such as the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United States, and Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), assert that the result was rigged.^[72]

On 3 July 2004, a report adopted by the African Union executive council, which comprises foreign ministers of the 53 member states, criticized the government for the arrest and torture of opposition members of parliament and human rights lawyers, the arrest of journalists, the stifling of freedom of expression and clampdowns on other civil liberties. It was compiled by the AU's African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which sent a mission to Zimbabwe from 24 June to 28 2002, shortly after the presidential elections. The report was apparently not submitted to the AU's 2003 summit because it had not been translated into French. It was adopted at the next AU summit in 2005.^[75]

Mugabe's ZANU-PF party won the 2005 parliamentary elections with an increased majority. The elections were said by (again) South African observers to "reflect the free will of the people of Zimbabwe", despite accusations of widespread fraud from the MDC.^[76]

On 6 February 2007, Mugabe orchestrated a cabinet reshuffle, ousting ministers including five-year veteran finance minister Herbert Murerwa.^[77]

On 11 March 2007, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was arrested and beaten following a prayer meeting in the Harare suburb of Highfields. Another member of the Movement for Democratic Change was killed while other protesters were injured.^[78] Mugabe claimed that "Tsvangirai deserved his beating-up by police because he was not allowed to attend a banned rally" on 30 March 2007.^[79]

General elections 2008

Main article: Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008

Mugabe launched his election campaign on his birthday in Beitbridge, a small town on the border with South Africa on 23 February 2008 by denouncing both the opposition MDC and Simba Makoni's candidacy. He was quoted in the state media as saying: "Dr Makoni lacked majority support while Mr Tsvangirai was in the presidential race simply to please his Western backers in exchange for money".^[80] These are the charges he has used in the past to describe the leader of the opposition.^{[citation needed]}

In the week Dr. Makoni launched his campaign for the presidency, he accused Mugabe of buying votes from the electorate. This was a few hours after Dumiso Dabengwa had come out and endorsed Dr. Makoni's candidature.^[81]

First-round defeat and the campaign of violence

The presidential elections were conducted on 29 March 2008, together with the parliamentary elections. On 2 April 2008, the Zimbabwe Election Commission confirmed that Mugabe and his party, known as ZANU-PF, had lost control of Parliament to the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change. This was confirmed when the results were released.^[82] Both the opposition and his party challenged the results in some constituencies.^[83] According to unofficial polling, Zanu-PF took 94 seats, and the main opposition party MDC took 96 seats.^[84] On 3 April 2008 Zimbabwean government forces began cracking down on the main opposition party and arrested at least two foreign journalists, who were covering the disputed presidential election, including a correspondent for the New York Times.^[85]^[86]

On 30 March 2008, Mugabe convened a meeting with his top security officials to discuss his defeat in the elections. According to the Washington Post, he was prepared to concede, but was advised by Zimbabwe's military chief Gen. Constantine Chiwenga to remain in the race, with the senior military officers "supervising a military-style campaign against the opposition".^[87] The first phase of the plan started a week later, involving the building of 2,000 party compounds across Zimbabwe, to serve as bases for the party militias.^[87] On an 8 April 2008 meeting, the military plan was given the code name of "CIBD", which stood for: "Coercion. Intimidation. Beating. Displacement."^[87]

The official results for the presidential elections would be delayed for five weeks. When British Prime Minister Gordon Brown attempted to intervene into the election controversy, Mugabe dismissed him as "a little tiny dot on this planet".^[88]

When the official results for the presidential elections were finally published by the Zimbabwe election commission on 2 May 2008, they showed that Mr. Mugabe had lost in the first round, getting 1,079,730 votes (43.2%) against 1,195,562 (47.9%) collected by Mr. Tsvangirai. Therefore no candidate secured the final win in the first round, and a presidential run-off will be needed. The opposition called the results "scandalous daylight robbery", claiming an outright victory in the first round with 50.3% of the votes.^[89]

Mugabe's run-off campaign was managed by Emerson Mnangagwa, a former security chief of the conflict of Gukurahundi.^[87] The Washington Post asserts that the campaign of violence was bringing results to the ruling party, by crushing the opposition party MDC and coercion of its supporters. By 20 June 2008, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights had "recorded 85 deaths in political violence since the first round of voting".^[90] News organizations report that, by the date of the second-round election, more than 80 opposition supporters had been killed, hundreds more were missing, in addition to thousands injured, and hundreds of thousands driven from their homes.^[87]

Zimbabwean officials alleged that activists of the MDC, disguised as ZANU-PF members, had perpetrated violence against the population, mimicking the tactics of the Selous Scouts during the liberation struggle. They alleged that there was a "predominance" of Selous Scouts in the MDC.^[91] The Sunday Mail published an article which claimed that former Selous Scouts were training MDC youth activists in violent tactics, at locations near Tswane (Pretoria) and Pietermaritzburg in South Africa.^[92]

In addition, at least 100 officials and polling officers of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission were arrested after the first round election.^[93]^[94]

Morgan Tsvangirai initially agreed to a presidential run-off with Robert Mugabe,^[95] but later withdrew (on 22 June 2008), citing violence targeted at his campaign. He complained that the elections were pointless, as the outcome would be determined by Mugabe himself.^[96]

The outcome of the run-off election

The run-off election was held on 27 June 2008, and Zimbabwe’s Electoral Commission released the results two days later. The official results showed that Mugabe had managed to double his votes since the first round, to 2,150,269 votes (85.5%), while his opponent Tsvangirai obtained only 233,000 (9.3%).^[97] However Tsvangirai had pulled out previously because of widespread violence from the ZANU-PF's forces. The violence includes beating, rape and others. Many voted because if they didn't they could face violence against them. Although witnesses and election monitors had reported a low turnout in many areas of the country,^[98] the official tally showed that the total vote had increased, from 2,497,265 votes in the first round^[99] to 2,514,750 votes in the second round.^[97]

Two legal opinions commissioned by the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC)^[100] declared the run-off election illegal because it occurred outside the 21 day period within which it had to take place under Zimbabwean law. Under item 3(1)(b) of the Second Schedule of the Electoral Act, if no second election is held within 21 days of the first election, the candidate with the highest number of votes in the first election has been duly elected as President and must be declared as such. According to the figures released by Zimbabwe’s Electoral Commission, that would mean that Morgan Tsvangirai is the de jure President.

Mugabe's inauguration to his sixth presidential term of office was a hastily arranged ceremony, convened barely an hour after the electoral commission declared his victory on 29 June 2008.^[101] None of his fellow African heads of state were present at his inauguration; there were only family members, ministers, and security chiefs in the guests' tent.^[102]

The Zimbabwean military, and not President Robert Mugabe, is now running the troubled country, in the opinion of a South Africa-based NGO called the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum (ZSF) - 10 Jul 2008.^[103]

The United Kingdom announced a policy of seizing foreign assets belonging to Mugabe. Mugabe replied that he has no foreign assets to seize. HSBC proceeded to seize the bank account of Sam Mugabe, a 23-year old British subject of Zimbabwean origin, no relation to Robert Mugabe. The HSBC bank which carried out the seizure of her account subsequently apologized.^[104]^[105]^[106]

On December 20, despite increased criticism and pressure to resign, Mugabe averred during ZANU-PF's tenth annual conference in Bindura, some eighty kilometres north of Harare, that he would brook no such thing.^[107]

Criticism and opposition

Example of foreign criticism: a demonstration against Mugabe's regime next to the Zimbabwe embassy in London (Summer 2006).

Since 1998 Mugabe's policies have increasingly elicited domestic and international denunciation. They have been denounced as racist against Zimbabwe's white minority^[15]^[16]^[17] Mugabe has described his critics as "born again colonialists",^[21]^[108] and both he and his supporters claim that Zimbabwe's problems are the legacy of imperialism,^[22] aggravated by Western economic meddling. According to The Herald, a Zimbabwean newspaper owned by the government, the U.K. is pursuing a policy of regime change.^[104]

Mugabe's critics accuse him of conducting a "reign of terror"^[69]^[109] and being an "extremely poor role model" for the continent, whose "transgressions are unpardonable".^[110] In solidarity with the April 2007 general strike called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), British Trades Union Congress General Secretary Brendan Barber said of Mugabe's regime: 'Zimbabwe's people are suffering from Mugabe's appalling economic mismanagement, corruption, and brutal repression. They are standing up for their rights, and we must stand with them." Lela Kogbara, Chair of ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa) similarly has said: "As with every oppressive regime women and workers are left bearing the brunt. Please join us as we stand in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe in their struggle for peace, justice and freedom".^[111]

Robert Guest, the Africa editor for The Economist for seven years, argues that Mugabe is to blame for Zimbabwe's economic freefall. "In 1980, the average annual income in Zimbabwe was US$950, and a Zimbabwean dollar was worth more than an American one. By 2003, the average income was less than US$400, and the Zimbabwean economy was in freefall.^[112] "Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe for nearly three decades and has led it, in that time, from impressive success to the most dramatic peacetime collapse of any country since Weimar Germany".^[10]

In the The Daily Telegraph of London, Mugabe was criticised for comparing himself to Hitler. Mugabe was quoted as saying "This Hitler has only one objective: justice for his people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his people and their rights over their resources. If that is Hitler, then let me be a Hitler tenfold".^[113]

In recent years, Western governments have condemned Mugabe's government. On 9 March 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush approved measures for economic sanctions to be leveled against Mugabe and other high-ranking Zimbabwe politicians, freezing their assets and barring Americans from engaging in any transactions or dealings with them. Justifying the move, Bush's spokesman stated that the President and Congress believe that "the situation in Zimbabwe endangers the southern African region and threatens to undermine efforts to foster good governance and respect for the rule of law throughout the continent." The bill was known as the Zimbabwe Democracy Act.^[114]

In reaction to human rights violations in Zimbabwe, students at universities from which Mugabe has honorary doctorates have sought to get the degrees revoked. So far, the University of Edinburgh and University of Massachusetts have stripped Mugabe of his honorary degree^[115] after two years of campaigning from Edinburgh University Students' Association. In addition, the student body at Michigan State University (ASMSU) unanimously passed a resolution calling for this. The issue is now being considered by the university.^[116]

Mugabe's office forbade the screening of the 2005 movie The Interpreter, claiming that it was propaganda by the CIA and fearing that it could incite hostility towards him.^[117] In 2007, Parade magazine ranked Mugabe the 7th worst dictator in the world.^[118]

An official from Chatham House suggested that Mugabe was unlikely to leave Zimbabwe, but that if he were to leave, he might go to Malaysia, where some believe that he has "stashed much of his wealth".^[119]

In response to Mugabe's critics, former Zambian leader Kenneth Kaunda was quoted blaming not Mugabe for Zimbabwe's troubles, but successive British governments.^[120] He wrote in June 2007 that "leaders in the West say Robert Mugabe is a demon, that he has destroyed Zimbabwe and he must be got rid of – but this demonising is made by people who may not understand what Robert Gabriel Mugabe and his fellow freedom fighters went through".^[4] Similarly, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, responded to his critics by saying that Zimbabwe's problems are the legacy of colonialism.^[121]

Mugabe's supporters characterize him as a true Pan-Africanist and a dedicated anti-imperialist who stands strong against forces of imperialism in Africa. According to Mugabe's supporters, the Western media are not objectively reporting on Zimbabwe, but are peddling falsehoods. Mugabe's supporters accuse certain western governments of trying to eradicate pan-Africanism in order to deny real independence to African countries by imposing client regimes.^[122]

The Times of London charged that on 12 June 2008, Mugabe's Militia murdered Dadirai Chipiro, the wife of Mugabe's political opponent, Patson Chipiro, by burning her alive with a petrol bomb after severing her hands and feet.^[123]

Sanctions

Robert Mugabe visiting The Vatican City in 2008, while in Rome for a UN Food Conference-a permitted exception from his travel ban.

After observers from the European Union were barred from examining Zimbabwe's 2002 elections, the EU imposed sanctions on Mugabe and 94 members of his government, banning them from travelling to participating countries and freezing any assets held there. The United States instituted similar restrictions. The EU's ban has a few loopholes, resulting in Mugabe taking a few trips into Europe despite the ban. Mugabe is allowed to travel to UN events within European and American borders.^[124]^[125]

On 8 April 2005, Mugabe attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II, a move which could be seen as defiance of a European Union travel ban that does not, however, apply to Vatican City. He was granted a transit visa by the Italian authorities, as they are obliged to under the Concordat. However, the Catholic hierarchy in Zimbabwe have been very vocal against his rule and the senior Catholic cleric, Archbishop Pius Ncube is a major critic, even calling for Western governments to help in his overthrow.^[125]^[126] Mugabe surprised Prince Charles by shaking his hand during the service. Afterwards, the Prince's office released a statement saying, "The Prince of Wales was caught by surprise and not in a position to avoid shaking Mr. Mugabe’s hand. The Prince finds the current Zimbabwean regime abhorrent. He has supported the Zimbabwe Defence and Aid Fund which works with those being oppressed by the regime. The Prince also recently met Pius Ncube, the Archbishop of Bulawayo, an outspoken critic of the government".^[127]

Before the ban, one of Mugabe's favorite pastimes was to travel to London.^[10] He would take the train from London, Paddington Station, to Wrexham central and walk over the mountains of the Vale Of Clwyd, towards the coastal town of Rhyl. Mugabe has always loved the Welsh countryside, and he walked along this route a number of times between 1984-1992. On his final trip, he was presented with a Countryside Awareness Award, for the money he donated to preserving the paths across the Clwydian Range.

Robert Mugabe and senior members of the Harare government are not allowed to travel to the United States because it is the position of the US government that he has worked to undermine democracy in Zimbabwe and has restricted freedom of the press.^[128] Despite strained political relations, the United States remains a leading provider of humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe, providing roughly $400 million in humanitarian assistance from 2002–2007, mostly food aid.^[129]

Because United Nations events are exempt from the travel bans, Mugabe attended the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) summit in Rome. African leaders threatened to boycott the event if Mugabe were blacklisted; when he was not, the United Kingdom refused to send a representative. British and Australian officials denounced the presence of Mugabe.^[130]^[131]

Succession

Because Mugabe is one of Africa's longest-lasting leaders, speculation has built over the years as to the future of his country when finally he leaves office. His age and recurring rumours of failing health have focused more attention on possible successors within his party as well as the opposition. The 11 March 2007 crackdown against a religious gathering sponsored by the opposition attracted scrutiny.^[132]

In June 2005, a report that Mugabe had entered a hospital for tests on his heart fuelled rumours that he had died of a heart attack.^[133] These reports were later dismissed by a Mugabe spokesman.

The rumours coincided with Operation Murambatsvina (or "Operation Drive Out Trash"), a police campaign to demolish houses and businesses that had been built without permission on land previously taken from white landholders and intended for redistribution. Opponents called this an attempt to disperse urban centres of dissent into rural areas where the government had more control. Former information minister Jonathan Moyo attributed the events to a power struggle within the party over who would succeed Mugabe.

Joyce Mujuru, recently elevated to vice-president of ZANU-PF during the December 2004 party congress and considerably younger than Joseph Msika, the other vice-president, has been touted as a likely successor to Mugabe. Mujuru's candidacy for the presidency is strengthened by the backing of her husband, Solomon Mujuru, who is the former head of the Zimbabwean army.

In October 2006, a report prepared by Zimbabwe's Ministry of Economic Development acknowledged the lack of coordination among critical government departments in Zimbabwe and the overall lack of commitment to end the crisis. The report implied that the infighting in Zanu-PF over Mugabe's successor was also hurting policy formulation and consistency in implementation.^[134]

In late 2006, a plan was presented to postpone the next presidential election until 2010, at the same time as the next parliamentary election, thereby extending Mugabe's term by two years. It was said that holding the two elections together would be a cost-saving measure,^[135] but plan was not approved: there were reportedly objections from some in ZANU-PF to the idea.

In March 2007, Mugabe said that he thought that the feeling was in favour of holding the two elections together in 2008 instead of 2010. He also said that he would be willing to run for re-election again if the party wanted him to do so.^[136] Other leaders in southern Africa were rumoured to be less warm on the idea of extending his term to 2010: recently, at independence celebrations in Ghana, South African President Thabo Mbeki was rumoured to have met with Mugabe in private and told him that "he was determined that South Africa's hosting of the Football World Cup in 2010 should not be disrupted by controversial presidential elections in Zimbabwe".^[137]

On 30 March 2007, it was announced that the ZANU-PF central committee had chosen Mugabe as the party's candidate for another term in 2008, that presidential terms would be shortened to five years, and that the parliamentary election would also be held in 2008.^[138] Mugabe was chosen by acclamation as the party's presidential candidate for 2008 by ZANU-PF delegates at a party conference on 13 December 2007.^[139] At Zanu-PF's tenth annual conference in Bindura in December 2008, Mugabe spoke of his determination not to follow US president George W. Bush to his "political death"^[140] and urged the party to ready itself for new polls. He also took the opportunity once more to cite Britain as the source of Zimbabwe's woes.

SADC-facilitated government power-sharing agreement

On 11 September 2008, at the end of the fourth day of negotiations, South African President and mediator to Zimbabwe, Thabo Mbeki, announced in Harare that Robert Mugabe of Zanu-PF, Professor Arthur Mutambara and Morgan Tsvangirai (both of MDC) finally signed the power-sharing agreement - "memorandum of understanding."^[141] Mbeki stated: "An agreement has been reached on all items on the agenda ... all of them [ Mugabe, Tsvangirai, Mutambara] endorsed the document tonight, and signed it. The formal signing will be done on Monday 10am. The document will be released then. The ceremony will be attended by SADC and other African regional and continental leaders. The leaders will spend the next few days constituting the inclusive government to be announced on Monday. The leaders will work very hard to mobilise support for the people to recover. We hope the world will assist so that this political agreement succeeds." In the signed historic power deal, Mugabe, on 11 September 2008 agreed to surrender day-to-day control of the government and the deal is also expected to result in a de facto amnesty for the military and Zanu-PF party leaders. Opposition sources said "Tsvangirai will become prime minister at the head of a council of ministers, the principal organ of government, drawn from his Movement for Democratic Change and the president's Zanu-PF party; and Mugabe will remain president and continue to chair a cabinet that will be a largely consultative body, and the real power will lie with Tsvangirai.^[142]^[143]^[144] South Africa’s Business Day reported, however, that Mugabe was refusing to sign a deal which would curtail his presidential powers.^[145] New York Times said Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, announced: “This is an inclusive government. The executive power would be shared by the president, the prime minister and the cabinet. Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara have still not decided how to divide the ministries. But Jendayi E. Frazer, the American assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said: “We don’t know what’s on the table, and it’s hard to rally for an agreement when no one knows the details or even the broad outlines”^[146]

On September 15, 2008, the leaders of the 14-member SADC witnessed the signing of the power-sharing agreement, brokered by South African leader Thabo Mbeki. With symbolic handshake and warm smiles at the Rainbow Towers hotel in Harare, Mugabe, Mutambara and Tsvangirai signed the deal to end violent political crisis provides. As provided, Robert Mugabe will be recognised as president, Morgan Tsvangirai will become prime minister,^[19] the MDC will control the police, Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) will command the Army, and Arthur Mutambara becomes deputy prime minister.^[147]^[148]

Violence, however, did not entirely subside with the power-sharing agreement. As the New Your Times reports, Mugabe's top lieutenants started "trying to force the political opposition into granting them amnesty for their past crimes by abducting, detaining and torturing opposition officials and activists." Dozens of members of the opposition and human rights activists have been abducted and tortured in the months since October 2008, including Roy Bennett, the opposition’s third-highest ranking official and Tsvangirai’s nominee for deputy agriculture minister (arrested just two days after Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister in February 11, 2009) and Chris Dhlamini, the opposition’s director of security.^[149]

Honours and revocations

In 1994 Mugabe was appointed an honorary Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath by Queen Elizabeth II.^[150] This entitled him to use the postnominal letters GCB, but not to use the title "Sir." In the United Kingdom, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee called for the removal of this honour in 2003, and on 25 June 2008, Queen Elizabeth II cancelled and annulled the honorary knighthood after advice from the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom. "This action has been taken as a mark of revulsion at the abuse of human rights and abject disregard for the democratic process in Zimbabwe over which President Mugabe has presided".^[151]

Mugabe holds several honorary degrees and doctorates from international universities, awarded to him in the 1980s; at least three of these have since been revoked. In June 2007, he became the first international figure ever to be stripped of an honorary degree by a British university, when the University of Edinburgh withdrew the degree awarded to him in 1984.^[152] On 12 June 2008, the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees voted to revoke the law degree awarded to Mugabe in 1986; this is the first time one of its honorary degrees has been revoked.^[153] Similarly, on 12 September 2008, Michigan State University revoked an honorary law degree that it awarded Mugabe in 1990.^[154]

Titles and honours of Robert Gabriel Mugabe
	Title/Honour	Awarding body/person	Date of award	Reason for award	Date of revocation/loss of award	Reason for revocation/loss (Comment)
1	His Excellency	ex officio	(date of election)	-	-	-
2	The Honourable	ex officio	(date of election)	-	-	-
3	Comrade	member of ZANU-PF	-	-	-	-
4	General Secretary	ZANU-PF	(date of appointment)	-	-	-
5	1st Executive President	Constitution	(date of constitutional amendment)	-	-	-
6	Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath	Queen Elizabeth II	1994	"significant contributions" to relations between Britain and Zimbabwe^[155]	25 June 2008	"The abuse of human rights and abject disregard for the democratic process in Zimbabwe over which President Mugabe has presided"^[151]
7	Honorary LLD degree	University of Edinburgh	1984	"... honoured not only for his extraordinary intellectual discipline and energy but for those qualities of statesmanship which made him one of the great figures of modern Africa.”^[156]	June 2007	"The decision was taken after the university set up an academic panel to look at events between 1982 and 1984 in Matabeleland, where 20,000 people are thought to have died. The university has said that it knew nothing of the killings at the time of the award."^[152]
8	Honorary LLD degree	University of Massachusetts	1986	"Your gentle firmness in the face of anger, and your intellectual approach to matters which inflame the emotions of others, are hallmarks of your quiet integrity." ... "We salute you for your enduring and effective translation of a moral ethic into a strong, popular voice for freedom."^[157]	June 2008	"Mugabe's corrupt, repressive regime" was deemed "antithetical to the values and beliefs of the University of Massachusetts." It is the first time the board has revoked an honorary degree.^[153]
9	Honorary LLD degree	Michigan State University	1990	"... for his achievements as the president of Zimbabwe and for establishing a strong cooperative effort between MSU and the University of Zimbabwe."^[158]	12 September 2008	"...a pattern of human rights abuses."^[154]
10	Honorary LLD degree	Ahmadou Bello University^[159]	-	-	-	-
11	Honorary LLD degree	Morehouse College^[159]	-	-	-	-
12	Honorary LLD degree	University of Zimbabwe^[159]	-	-	-	-
13	Honorary LLD degree	St. Augustine's College^[159]	-	-	-	-
14	Honorary LLD degree	Lomonosov Moscow State University^[159]	-	-	-	-
15	Honorary LLD degree	Solusi University^[159]	-	-	-	-
16	Honorary D.Litt. degree	Africa University^[159]	-	-	-	-
17	Honorary D Civil Laws degree	University of Mauritius^[159]	-	-	-	-
18	Honorary D.Com. degree	University of Fort Hare^[159]	-	-	-	-
19	Honorary D.Tech. degree	National University of Science and Technology^[159]	-	-	-	-
20	Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger	The Hunger Project^[159]	1988	Mr. Mugabe's agricultural programs "pointed the way not only for Zimbabwe but for the entire African continent."^[160]	8 August 2001	"The Hunger Project wishes to be on the record as deploring policies that have resulted in increased unemployment, poverty and hunger in Zimbabwe. This situation is inconsistent with the spirit of the Africa Prize for Leadership and Zimbabwe’s need to work for the sustainable end of hunger."^[161]
21	Honorary Order of Jamaica	Government of Jamaica^[159]	1996	"in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the fight for liberation and the overthrow of apartheid in Southern Africa, and his distinct leadership in the pursuit of freedom and human development throughout the African continent"	-	Prime Minister Bruce Golding says Jamaica has no plan to strip President Robert Mugabe of the honorary award conferred on him in 1996, despite the ongoing political situation in Zimbabwe.

Personal life

His first wife, Sally Hayfron, died in 1992 from a chronic kidney ailment.^[162] Their only son, Michael Nhamodzenyika Mugabe, born 27 September 1963, died on 26 December 1966 from cerebral malaria in Ghana where Sally was working while Mugabe was in prison. Sally Mugabe was a trained teacher who asserted her position as an independent political activist and campaigner^[163] who was seen as Mugabe's closest friend and advisor, and some critics suggest that Mugabe began to misrule Zimbabwe after her death.^[10]

On 17 August 1996, Mugabe married his former secretary, Grace Marufu, 41 years his junior, with whom he already had two children; she first became pregnant by Mugabe while he was still married to his first wife, Sally, and while Grace was married to another man, Stanley Goreraza, now a diplomat in China.^[164]^[165] Mugabe and Marufu were married in a Roman Catholic wedding Mass at Kutama College, a Catholic mission school he previously attended. Nelson Mandela and Mugabe's two children by Grace were among the guests. The Mugabes have three children: Bona, Robert Peter Jr. (although Robert Mugabe's middle name is Gabriel) and Bellarmine Chatunga.

As First Lady, Grace has been the subject of criticism for her lifestyle. When she was included in the 2002 EU travel sanctions on her husband, one EU parliamentarian was quoted as saying that the ban "will stop Grace Mugabe going on her shopping trips in the face of catastrophic poverty blighting the people of Zimbabwe."^[166]

Retirement plans

In June 2008, Mugabe and Grace purchased a high-end residential property in Hong Kong (House No 3, JC Castle, 18 Shan Tong Road, Tai Po), in a development owned by Hong Kong tycoon Albert Yeung. The property was purchased for HK$45.24 million (US$5.8m) through an intermediary, South African-born Hsieh Ping-sung, in the name of a local shelf company controlled by the Mugabes.^[167]^[168]

On 13 February 2009, two journalists attempting to take photographs of the house were violently assaulted by the Zimbabwean occupants, two men and a woman. Hong Kong police are investigating.^[169]

It is the first known property acquisition by Mugabe in Asia, where he and Grace have extensive financial interests, purchased through associates.

In fiction

The movie The Interpreter features a negative portrayal of a fictional African ruler with many parallels to Mugabe. The Mugabe government described the film as "anti-Zimbabwean" and a "CIA-campaign against Robert Mugabe".^[170]

References

SAPA-DPA. "Bob vows to hold power." IOL. 21 December 2008. (accessed February 21, 2009).

Notes

^ Chan, Stephen (2003). Robert Mugabe: A Life of Power and Violence. p. 123.
^ "Africa | Tsvangirai 'leads' Zimbabwe vote". BBC News. 2008-05-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7378829.stm. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ Martin Meredith. Mugabe: Power, Plunder, and the Struggle for Zimbabwe's Future. 2007. PublicAffairs. p.243
^ ^a ^b Viewpoint: Kaunda on Mugabe BBC 12 June 2007
^ Biles, Peter (2007-08-25). "Mugabe's hold on Africans". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6960506.stm.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe
^ http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-zimbabwe-election-tsvangirai.html?hp
^ http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/jan4b_2008.html#Z11 and dozens more references at Zimbabwean_dollar#Money_supply_.282006-2008.29
^ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/world/africa/06zimbabwe.html
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Staff (2007-03-29). "Robert Mugabe: The man behind the fist". The Economist. http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8922493.
^ "Reuters AlertNet - Zimbabwe's hunger deepens as election crisis bites". Alertnet.org. 2008-04-15. http://www.alertnet.org/db/blogs/50717/2008/03/15-091541-1.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ IDMC_Internal_Displacement_Global_Overview_2007 pdf
^ Berger, Sebastien (2007-09-26). "One million fleeing Zimbabwe for South Africa". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1564285/One-million-fleeing-Zimbabwe-for-South-Africa.html. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ Guest, Robert. The Shackled Continent: Africa's Past, Present and Future. Pan Books, 2005.
^ ^a ^b "UK anger over Zimbabwe violence". BBC News. 2000-04-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/698175.stm.
^ ^a ^b McGreal, Peter (2007-04-02). "Corrupt, greedy and violent: Mugabe attacked by Catholic bishops after years of silence". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/zimbabwe/article/0,,2048032,00.html.
^ ^a ^b Bentley, Daniel (2007-09-17). "Sentamu urges Mugabe Action". The Independent. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2970781.ece.
^ "G8 to move against Mugabe allies". BBC News. 2008-07-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7495807.stm.
^ ^a ^b edition.cnn.com, Rivals sign Zimbabwe power-share deal
^ "Mugabe: US must disarm". BBC News. 2007-02-25. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2796883.stm.
^ ^a ^b Egbuna, Obi (2003-07-31). "Zimbabwe: Who else but Mugabe?". The Black Commentator (51). http://www.blackcommentator.com/51/51_zim_egbuna.html.
^ ^a ^b "Colonial history tugs at EU-Africa ties". People's Daily. 2007-12-05. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/6315084.html.
^ Staff reporter (2007-05-21). "Mugabe mourns reclusive brother". newzimbabwe.com. http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/mugabe.16447.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
^ Nyarota, Geoffrey (2006). Against the Grain. p. 100.
^ "President bio contents". Zimbabwean government website. Government of Zimbabwe. http://www.gta.gov.zw/president%20bio/president_bio_contents.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
^ Christine Kenyon Jones, The People's University: 150 years of the University of London and its External students (University of London External System, 2008) pages 148–149 ISBN 0955768918
^ Nyarota, Geoffrey; Against the Grain; pp101-102
^ "I am still a disciple of Nkrumah – Mugabe". General News of Monday, 2 July 2007 (Ghana Home Page). http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=126516. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
^ Lectured at Chalimbana Teacher Training College, Zambia (1955–1958)
^ Olson, James Stuart; Robert Shadle. Historical Dictionary of the British Empire. p. 764.
^ Glaude Jr., Eddie (2002). Is It Nation Time?: Contemporary Essays on Black Power and Black Nationalism. p. 105.
^ "How Mugabe came to power". London Review of Books. http://www.lrb.co.uk/v23/n04/john01_.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ Mugabe: The price of silence, BBC, 10 March 2002
^ "Calls for justice 20 years after massacre". Zimbabwejournalists.com. 2007-01-16. http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=1601&cat=5. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ Golenpaul, Ann; Dan Golenpaul. Information Please Almanac, Atlas and Yearbook. p. 290.
^ Human Rights Watch (2000). Abdication of Responsibility: The Commonwealth and Human Rights. p. 343.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Zimbabwe Achieving Shared Growth" (PDF). World Bank. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/1995/04/21/000009265_3961019095856/Rendered/PDF/multi0page.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ "Country Health System Fact Sheet 2006 Zimbabwe" (PDF). World Health Organisation. http://www.afro.who.int/home/countries/fact_sheets/zimbabwe.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ "World Economic Outlook: World Economic and Financial Surveys" (PDF). International Monetary Fund. September 2006. pp. 65. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2006/02/pdf/weo0906.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ CCN News Zimbabwe currency crashes; inflation as high as 9,000%. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
^ "US says Zimbabwe change is afoot". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6229284.stm. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
^ "Zimbabwe faces hard road to prosperity post-Mugabe". Reuters Africa. http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL03586886.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ "Zimbabwea inflation rockets higher". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7569894.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
^ "Robert Mugabe: The survivor". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3017678.stm. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
^ "Zimbabwe’s top cleric urges Britain to invade". The Sunday Times. 1 July 2007. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article2010591.ece. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ Sentamu, John, Saving Zimbabwe is not colonialism, it's Britain's duty, Observer 16 September 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2008.
^ "Fiery Mugabe vows to end white 'imperialism' - Africa, World". The Independent. 2000-05-04. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/fiery-mugabe-vows-to-end-white-imperialism-715947.html. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ Logged in as click here to log out (2007-09-28). "Leader: Mugabe's last stand | Comment is free". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/mar/30/comment.zimbabwe. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ "Zimbabwe military attacks opposition as Mugabe cites Hitler". vigilant tv. 2003-03-26. http://vigilant.tv/article/3020/zimbabwe-military-attacks-opposition-as-mugabe-cites-hitler. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
^ Page 213 Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Men and Women in the World's Cultures
^ ^a ^b Page 180 Hungochani: The History of a Dissident Sexuality in Southern Africa
^ Under African Skies, Part I: 'Totally unacceptable to cultural norms' Kaiwright.com
^ Page 93 Body, Sexuality, and Gender v. 1
^ Canaan Banana, president jailed in sex scandal, dies The Guardian
^ Congo At War: A Briefing of the Internal and External Players in the Central African Conflict, International Crisis Group, 17 November 1998
^ Lasker, John, Resource Wars in Africa: AFRICOM and the Reach of US Corporations, Toward Freedom, 18 April 2008
^ DR Congo troops 'to repel Rwanda', BBC, Dec. 3, 2004
^ Mugabe's costly Congo venture BBC
^ Chigara, Ben (2002). Land Reform Policy. Ashgate Publishing. p. 52. ISBN 0754622932.
^ Page 302 Big Men, Little People: The Leaders Who Defined Africa
^ 619 The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence
^ Zimbabwe: The Spark...Claire Short's letter of November 1997, by Baffour Ankomah, 31 March 2003
^ Sweet, Matthew, "A Bad Man in Africa," The Independent, 16 March 2002
^ Page 372 Africa Review 2003/2004
^ [http://www.powells.com/review/2008_01_07.html "In the Pit of Africa" A Review by Joshua Hammer. New York Review of Books, 7 January 2008
^ "Constitution of Zimbabwe, Chapter III, Section 16, p. 10." (PDF). http://www.kubatana.net/docs/legisl/constitution_zim_000420.pdf.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Mugabe to speak at hunger debate as he defies EU travel ban again". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/17/wzim17.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/10/17/ixnewstop.html. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
^ "PM – Zimbabwe leaves the Commonwealth". http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2003/s1005877.htm.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Mugabe's raids leave townships in tatters". Telegraph. 2005-03-06. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/06/03/wzim03.xml.
^ Mugabe seizes third farm for himself, IOL, 10 September 2006
^ "Harare Losing Key Allies". Iwpr.net. http://iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=338520&apc_state=henh. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ ^a ^b West boycotts Mugabe ceremony CNN
^ Mugabe wins as tension hangs over Zimbabwe Christian Science Monitor
^ Zimbabwe: A Dream Betrayed Association of Concerned Africa Scholars On the Edge Commentary
^ "The African Union: what's in a name? | openDemocracy". openDemocracy<!. 2006-01-24. http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-africa_democracy/african_union_3221.jsp. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ Let's turn the screw on Robert Mugabe Peter Kagwanja and Alba Lamberti. European Voice via International Crisis Group
^ "Bot generated title ->". The Zimbabwe Situation<!. http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/feb8_2007.html. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai Has Brain Scan, Was Hurt While in Custody, Bloomberg, 14 March 2007
^ Mugabe Thug Rant, Mirror, 31 March 2007
^ "President writes off opposition". http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=1099&cat=12. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Makoni accuses Mugabe of vote buying". The Zimbabwe Guardian. http://www.talkzimbabwe.com/news/117/ARTICLE/1766/2008-03-02.html. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
^ "Final House of Assembly Results". Zimbabwe Metro. http://zimbabwemetro.com/2008/04/02/final-house-of-assembly-results/. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ "Robert Mugabe's reign set to end in Zimbabwe, but World fears a bloodbath", The Mirror
^ Mugabe's Zanu-PF loses majority BBC News 3 April 2008
^ Raids target Zimbabwe opposition party CNN 3 April 2008
^ New Signs of Mugabe Crackdown in Zimbabwe New York Times 3 April 2008
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Inside Mugabe's Violent Crackdown Washington Post 5 July 2008
^ Robert Mugabe: Gordon Brown just ‘a tiny dot’ Times Online 13 April 2008
^ "BBC: Zimbabwe announces poll results". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7380445.stm.
^ A timeline of recent events in Zimbabwe's political crisis
^ "UN Blocks British, U.S. Attempts to Halt Run-Off, The Herald (allAfrica), 25 June 2008.
^ Mutema, Ralph, Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai Asked Khama for Armoured Car, The Zimbabwe Guardian, 2 June 2008
^ Zimbabwe's MDC Vows to Boycott Runoff With Mugabe Bloomberg 2 May 2008
^ Zimbabwe to bar local vote observers with 'pre-conceived ideas' AFP Jun 18 2008
^ "Afp.google.com, Opposition leader returns to Zimbabwe". http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i4kT7pJlnuzY_vpKdTACcQYIPcvQD90RV1IO0.
^ Mugabe rival quits election race BBC 22 June 2008
^ ^a ^b Mugabe wins by 9-to-1 margin - accessed 2008-07-01.
^ Mugabe likely to be inaugurated on Sunday-sources - accessed 2008-07-01.
^ [1] - accessed 2008-07-01.
^ Pull-out irrelevant: Delay nullified run-off - accessed 2008-06-23
^ afp.google.com, Mugabe begins new term as criticism of one-man election mounts
^ In pictures: Mugabe's inauguration - accessed 2008-07-01.
^ [2]Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum (ZSF)
^ ^a ^b UK steps up regime change agenda, hunts for suspected assets, The Herald, 16 July 2008
^ Woman Named Mugabe Unpaid in Bank Mistake Fox News, 15 July 2008
^ Sam Mugabe Mistaken for Tyrant Namesake, The Sun, 18 July 2008
^ SAPA-DPA 2008.
^ "Mugabe: US must disarm". BBC News. 2007-02-25. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2796883.stm.
^ The Spectator Dictators' legacies retrieved from FindArticles.com on 7 July 2007
^ Tribune India Commonwealth at crossroads 52 heads failed to look beyond Zimbabwe!. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
^ National Union of Mineworkers TUC Backs Zimbabwe's Trade Unions. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
^ Guest, Robert. The Shackled Continent: Africa's Past, Present and Future. Pan Books, 2005
^ "'Hitler' Mugabe launches revenge terror attacks – Telegraph". http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/03/26/wzim26.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/03/26/ixworld.html.
^ President Signs Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act 21 December 2001
^ "Mugabe stripped of degree honour". BBC. 6 June 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6724271.stm. See also: "Mugabe loses Honorary Degree from UMass". The New York Times. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/mugabe-loses-honorary-degree-from-umass/?hp. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ "UMass students aim to revoke honorary degree for Mugabe – The Boston Globe". http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/04/06/umass_students_aim_to_revoke_honorary_degree_for_mugabe/.
^ Rainbow Banned From Screening "Anti-Mugabe" Movie, ZimDaily, 23 September 2005
^ "The World's Worst Dictators – 2007". http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_02-11-2007/Dictators.
^ Robert Mugabe 'unlikely to flee Zimbabwe', Daily Telegraph, 4.4.2008
^ Peter Biles: "Mugabe's hold on Africans." BBC News website, 25 August 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
^ "Colonial history tugs at EU-Africa ties," People's Daily
^ Kwanisai Mafa, "Zimbabwe: Imperialism Will Meet Its Death On Election Day", The Herald (Harare), 19 March 2008
^ "Robert Mugabe's militia burn opponent’s wife alive". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article4116638.ece. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ "Mugabe's wife on EU sanctions list", BBC News, 22 July, 2002, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2143442.stm, retrieved 28 Sept 09
^ ^a ^b "•MUGABE DEFIES EU, FLIES TO ROME". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7357164/page/5/. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
^ Mugabe warns Catholic bishops over politics Reuters. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
^ "Charles shakes hands with Mugabe at Pope's funeral". Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article378880.ece. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
^ Recent OFAC Actions, US Dept. of Treasury, 23 November 2005 (accessed 02/07/2008)
^ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5479.htm U.S. Department of State, Bureau of African Affairs, February 2008 (accessed 04/02/2008)
^ Jun 1, 2008 (2008-06-01). "AFP: Mugabe arrives in Rome for UN food summit". Afp.google.com. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iN7-bIe4r7GRfYcxabOT7WbWLaSw. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ Jun 2, 2008 (2008-06-02). "AFP: World at 'alarming juncture' as leaders gather for FAO summit". Afp.google.com. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gUQxFQpnXvjBlmAW76S247JHjUiQ. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ ""Activist held in Zimbabwe crackdown"". http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/activist-held-in-zimbabwe-crackdown/2007/03/13/1173722435481.html.
^ Zimbabwe denies reports Robert Mugabe is dead, CTV, 7 June 2005.
^ Zim government in chaos, says secret report IOL.
^ "Mugabe set to rule until 2010", IRIN, 14 December 2006.
^ "Mugabe ready for 2008 elections", DPA (IOL), 12 March 2007.
^ BBC News S Africa changes tune on Zimbabwe. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
^ "Zimbabwe's Mugabe to stand in 2008 poll", Reuters (Sydney Morning Herald), 31 March 2007.
^ "Mugabe to run again for Zanu-PF", BBC News, 13 December 2007.
^ Quoted in Sapa-dpa. "Bob vows to hold power." IOL. 21 December 2008. [3] . Retrieved December 26, 2008.
^ newsnet.co, Deal finally sealed
^ guardian.co.uk, Zimbabwe deal gives power to Tsvangirai
^ capetimes.co.za, Zimbabwe rivals reach historic power deal
^ hararetribune.com, GNU deal between Mugabe and Tsvangirai agreed on
^ www.dispatch.co.za, Zimbabwe leaders ‘closing in on deal’
^ nytimes.com, Zimbabwe Rivals Strike a Bargain to Share Power
^ timesonline.co.uk, Power-sharing deal signed in Zimbabwe
^ www.msnbc.msn, Zimbabwe power-sharing deal signed
^ "Mugabe Aides Are Said to Use Violence to Gain Amnesty" The New York Times, April 9, 2009 . Retrieved 2009-04-10.
^ "Mugabe honorary knighthood annulled". http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/latest-news/?view=PressR&id=3878224.
^ ^a ^b "Foreign and Commonwealth Office Statement". http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/latest-news/?view=PressR&id=3862607. See also "Queen strips Robert Mugabe of knighthood to mark 'revulsion' at violence". Times Online. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4213800.ece. Retrieved 2008-06-25. and "Robert Mugabe to be stripped of knighthood". Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/2193924/Robert-Mugabe-to-be-stripped-of-knighthood.html. Retrieved 2008-06-25. and Cowell, Alan. "Queen Strips Mugabe of Knighthood". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/world/africa/26zimbabwe.html?hp. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
^ ^a ^b "Mugabe stripped of degree by Edinburgh". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article1896047.ece. Retrieved 2007-07-04. See also: Paul Kelbie (15 July 2007). "Edinburgh University revokes Mugabe degree". Observer. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jul/15/highereducation.internationaleducationnews. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ ^a ^b "UMass revokes Mugabe's honorary degree". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/06/umass_revokes_m.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ ^a ^b "Michigan State revokes Mugabe's honorary degree". Detroit Free Press. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080912/NEWS06/80912055. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
^ Honorary Knighthood awarded for "significant contributions" to Anglo-Zimbabwean relations
^ Reason for Edinburgh award
^ Quotation from UMass award programme
^ Mugabe honoured for his achievements as the president of Zimbabwe and for establishing a strong cooperative effort between MSU and the University of Zimbabwe
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Official Zimbabwean Government biography of Mugabe webpage
^ New York Times report of award
^ The Hunger Project deplores Mugabe's policies in 2001
^ The New York Times, "Obituaries: Sally Mugabe, Zimbabwe President's Wife, 60", 28 January 1992
^ "FO's fight over Mugabe's wife | Politics | The Guardian". The Guardian<!. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/nov/01/past.politics. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ "Where We Have Hope: A Memoir of Zimbabwe By Andrew Meldrum"
^ The Zimbabwe Times July 28, 2008: "Tekere book exposes Mugabe"
^ Mugabe's wife on EU sanctions list, BBC, 22 July 2002
^ "Found: Robert Mugabe’s secret bolthole in the Far East". The Sunday Times. 2009-02-15. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article5734148.ece. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
^ "Journalists in fray at Mugabe's HK property". The Standard. 2009-02-16. http://thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=13&art_id=78265&sid=22728250&con_type=3. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
^ Journalists attacked at Hong Kong 'home' of Mugabe, AFP, February 15, 2009.
^ "Zimbabwe accuses CIA of film plot". BBC news. 5 September 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4216168.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-28.

Bibliography

Chan, Stephen (2003). Robert Mugabe: A life of power and violence. London: IB Taurus. ISBN 9781860648731.
East, R. and Thomas, Richard J. Profiles of People in Power: The World ́s Government Leaders, 2003 ISBN 185743126X.
Holland, Heidi. Dinner with Mugabe, 2008. Penguin, South Africa. ISBN 9780143025573.
Meredith, Martin : Mugabe: Power and Plunder in Zimbabwe, 2003. Oxford [rev. updated ed.] ISBN 1586482130 (American ed.: Our votes, our guns
Mwakikagile, Godfrey. Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era, 2006, Chapter Eight: "The Rhodesian Crisis: Tanzania's Role." New Africa Press, South Africa. ISBN 9780980253412.
Nolan, Cathal J. Notable U.S. Ambassadors Since 1775: A Biographical Dictionary, 1997 ISBN 0313291950
The Times (SA) Online. 'The angry little boy who showed them all'. Published: 01 Mar 2008.
Who's Who : African Nationalist Leaders in Rhodesia by Robert Cary and Diana Mitchell, 1977,1980,1994 Reprinted by Mardon Printers (PTY) Ltd, Harare.

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President Mugabe's address to the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 25, 2008
"Mugging Mugabe" (a commentary in defence of Mugabe)
"The truth about Mugabe" (an anti-Mugabe commentary)
"Zimbabwe election – a defeat for imperialism"
"Zimbabwe's silent selective starvation"
"Robert Mugabe's War to Crush Press Freedom in Zimbabwe"
Reporters Without Borders profile on Mugabe
Opening Remarks - 4th African-African American Summit, Harare 1997 (video excerpt)
Freedom House report on Zimbabwe
IFEX – Media Coverage Favours Mugabe
"Robert Mugabe at UMass" from the WGBH series, Ten O'clock News
Indict Zimbabwe's demagogue before the International Criminal Court
"Zimbabwe and the Politics of Torture"
Human Rights Watch on Zimbabwe
“Comrade Mugabe is our leader”, War Vets million man march for Mugabe Zimbabwe Metro
"The Destroyer: Robert Mugabe and the destruction of Zimbabwe".

Political offices
Preceded by Abel Muzorewa as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia	Prime Minister of Zimbabwe 1980 – 1987	Vacant Post abolished 1987 – 2009 Title next held by Morgan Tsvangirai
Preceded by Zail Singh	Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement 1986 – 1989	Succeeded by Janez Drnovšek
Preceded by Canaan Banana	President of Zimbabwe 1987 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by Paul Biya Cameroon	Chairperson of the African Union 1997 – 1998	Succeeded by Blaise Compaoré Burkina Faso
Party political offices
Preceded by Herbert Chitepo	Leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union 1975 – 1987	Merged with ZAPU
New political party ZANU/ZAPU merger	Leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front 1987 – present	Incumbent

v • d • e Robert Mugabe

Family	Sally Hayfron · Grace Mugabe

Positions	Leader of the ZANU and ZANU-PF · Prime Minister · President

Politics and elections	Lancaster House Agreement As Prime Minister in 1980 and 1985 As President in 1990 · 1996 · 2002 · 2008

Controversies	Rhodesian Bush War · Gukurahundi · Second Congo War · Land reform · Hyperinflation · Operation Murambatsvina · Operation Mavhoterapapi · Operation Dzikisai Madhishi · Joint Operations Command · LGBT persecution

Ministers of the Zimbabwean Government of Robert Mugabe

June 2000 - February 2009

Robert Mugabe (President)
Joice Mujuru (Vice President)
Aeneas Chigwedere (Education, Sports and Culture)
Patrick Chinamasa (Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs)
Amos Midzi (2002-04) / Mike Nyambuya (2005-present) (Energy and Power Development)
S Mombeshora / C Mushohwe (Transport and Communications)
J Moyo (2000-05) / T Jokonya (2005-07) / S Ndlovu (2007-09) / P Mangwana (acting since 2009) (Information)
Gideon Gono (RBZ Governor)
S Makoni (2000-02) / H Murerwa (2002-07) / S C Mumbengegwi (since 2007) (Finance)
Rugare Gumbo (Agriculture)
Joseph Made (Agriculture Mechanization)
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi (Foreign Affairs)
Sydney Sekeramayi (Defence)
Ambrose Mutinhiri (Youth Development and Medium Enterprises Development)

Kembo Mohadi (Home Affairs)
Obert Mpofu (Industry and International Trade)
Olivia Muchena (Science and Technology Development)
David Parirenyatwa (Health and Child Welfare)
Nicholas Goche (Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare)
Ignatious Chombo (Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development)
John Nkomo (Special Affairs)
J Tungamirai (2004-05) / S C Mumbengegwi (2005-07) / P Mangwana (since 2007) (Indigenisation and Empowerment)
Emmerson Mnangagwa (Rural Housing and Social Amenities)
Opa Muchinguri (Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development)
Sithembiso Nyoni (Small and Medium Enterprises Development)
Webster Shamu (Policy Implementation)
Didymus Mutasa (State Security)

v • d • e Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008 and subsequent events

Candidates	Robert Mugabe (ZANU-PF) · Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T) · Simba Makoni (Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn)(campaign) · Langton Towungana (independent)

Events	First round · Parliamentary election (constituency results) · Campaigning · Vote counting · SADC meeting · An Yue Jiang · Operation Mavhoterapapi · Second round · International reaction · Seventh Zimbabwean Parliament · Political negotiations · Cholera outbreak

See also	Arthur Mutambara (MDC-M) · Emmerson Mnangagwa · Joint Operations Command · Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) · Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) · Government of National Unity · Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee · Sanctions against Zimbabwe

v • d • e Presidents of Zimbabwe

Rhodesia (1970 – 1979)	Clifford Dupont · Henry Everard* · John Wrathall · Henry Everard* · Jack William Pithey* · Henry Everard*

Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979)	Josiah Zion Gumede

Zimbabwe (since 1980)	Canaan Banana · Robert Mugabe

* denotes acting.

v • d • e Prime Ministers of Zimbabwe

Southern Rhodesia (1923 – 1965)	Premier: Charles Patrick John Coghlan · Howard Unwin Moffat Prime Minister: Howard Unwin Moffat · George Mitchell · Godfrey Huggins · Garfield Todd · Edgar Whitehead · Winston Field · Ian Smith

Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953 – 1963)	Godfrey Huggins · Roy Welensky

Rhodesia (1965 – 1979)	Ian Smith

Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979)	Abel Muzorewa

Southern Rhodesia (1979 – 1980)	Vacant

Zimbabwe (1980 – present)	Robert Mugabe · post abolished, 1987 - 2009 · Morgan Tsvangirai

Chairpersons of the Organization of African Unity and the African Union (AU)

Selassie · Nasser · Nkrumah · Ankrah · Selassie · Mobutu · Boumédienne · Ahidjo · Kaunda · Daddah · Hassan II · Gowon · Barre · Amin · Ramgoolam · Bongo · Nimeiry · Tolbert · Senghor · Stevens · Moi · Mengistu · Nyerere · Diouf · Nguesso · Kaunda · Traoré · Mubarak · Museveni · Babangida · Diouf · Mubarak · Ben Ali · Meles · Biya · Mugabe · Compaoré · Bouteflika · Eyadéma · Chiluba · Mwanawasa · Mbeki · Chissano · Obasanjo · Nguesso · Kufuor · Kikwete · al-Gaddafi

v • d • e Secretaries-General of the Non-Aligned Movement

Tito • Nasser • Kaunda • Boumédienne • Gopallawa • Jayewardene • F. Castro • Reddy • Singh • Mugabe • Drnovšek • Jović • Mesić • Kostić • Ćosić • Suharto • Samper • Pastrana • Mandela • Mbeki • Mahathir • Abdullah • F. Castro • R. Castro • Mubarak

Persondata
NAME	Mugabe, Robert Gabriel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	2nd President and former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
DATE OF BIRTH	21 February 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kutama Mission, Harare
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

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