Robert Gabriel Mugabe was born in 1924 and raised a Roman Catholic, studying under an Irish priest Fr Jerome O’Shea. Mugabe trained as a teacher in the then white-ruled Rhodesia, and later obtained six more degrees in subjects ranging from business to science, all of them through distance learning. The future president had plenty of time on his hands.
In 1964 he was arrested for ‘subversive speech’ and spent the next 11 years in prison. That is where Mugabe got most of his education, and probably most of his bitterness towards the “white imperialists” – a term that he uses to this day to refer to British Prime Ministers when they ask him to step down.
Mugabe has a great interest in African nationalism and Maoism, and he was active in nationalist political parties. But upon release from prison he turned radical. Mugabe split with the leadership of his party (Zanu) and formed a militant wing which engaged in terrorism and open warfare with Rhodesia’s white government.
In 1980, whilst conducting his election campaign, Mugabe also tried many of these tactics on Zimbabwe’s civilian population. As a result he won a landslide victory. Soon afterwards, the newly elected leader sanctioned a campaign of intimidation against a rival group, Zapu, and its supporters.
However, widespread international criticism of Mugabe’s rule only began after 2000. In 1994 he was even awarded an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for “significant contributions” to relations between Britain and Zimbabwe. This award was finally withdrawn last year.
In 2001 Mugabe was universally condemned when he sanctioned a campaign of land grabs from white farmers, with his henchmen killing and torturing those who refused to leave. Later, in 2005, Mugabe announced an operation to clear out Zimbabwe’s slums. Regions supporting the opposition were mostly targeted, and hundreds of thousands people were left homeless.
Mugabe is often compared to Kenneth Kaunda, another long-serving African president. Kaunda oversaw Zambia’s transition to independence and ruled the country for more than 20 years. However, the main difference between the two leaders is that in 1990, Kaunda lost an election and left office peacefully. Zambians always speak fondly of their former leader and will no doubt continue doing so after his death. But how will Zimbabweans remember Mugabe?
