By Dr. Masimba Mavaza | As we remember the African icon, Cde Robert Mugabe, we also acknowledge the team that worked alongside him. It is impossible to discuss Mugabe without mentioning Cde Innocent D. Tizora, a man who worked tirelessly behind the scenes.
Though the country may rush to forget him, he remains one of the finest Principal Directors to have ever graced State House. However, today, we focus on our icon, Cde Robert Mugabe.
Robert Mugabe (1924-2019), the leader of Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980, was one of Africa’s longest-serving and most beloved rulers in the latter part of his reign. He trained as a teacher and taught at several schools, eventually pursuing his profession in Ghana, where he met the beloved First Lady, Sally Mugabe. He spent 11 years as a political prisoner under Ian Smith’s Rhodesian government before escaping Zimbabwe in a bread truck driven by Moven Mahachi, who later became the Minister of Defence in Mugabe’s government. Mahachi tragically died in a car accident in Nyanga.
Mugabe entered Mozambique through Nyanga with the help of Cde Sekuru Rekai Tangwena. He soon became the leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and played a key role in the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement, which led to Zimbabwe’s independence.
Mugabe became the country’s first elected Prime Minister and later President. He promoted reconciliation with the white minority and sought unity with fellow comrades. Mugabe was the third Prime Minister of the country, with Ian Smith being the first (when the country was called Rhodesia) and Bishop Abel Muzorewa the second (when it was called Zimbabwe Rhodesia). Mugabe later became the second President of Zimbabwe, after President Canaan Sodhindo Banana (the first President after independence).
Mugabe oversaw the controversial land redistribution program, which sought to empower black Zimbabweans by redistributing land from commercial farmers. This led to economic sanctions imposed by the West. Despite pressure, Mugabe agreed to a power-sharing deal with the opposition in the 2000s, later describing the period as disastrous. He ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years, stepping down in 2017.
President Robert Gabriel Mugabe was born on February 21, 1924, in Katuma, a Jesuit mission station 50 miles west of the then-Southern Rhodesian capital, now known as Zvimba. His father, Gabriel Matibili, was a carpenter from Nyasaland (now Malawi), and his mother, Bona, was of the prominent Shona ethnic group.
Mugabe graduated from St. Francis Xavier College in 1945 and spent the next 15 years teaching in Rhodesia and Ghana. During this time, he pursued further education at Fort Hare University in South Africa. He met and married his first wife, Sally Hayfron, while in Ghana.
In 1960, Mugabe joined the pro-independence National Democratic Party, becoming its publicity secretary. When the party was banned, it reformed as the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), but Mugabe left in 1963 to join the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), which became his political home until his death.
In 1964, ZANU was banned by the colonial government, and Mugabe was imprisoned. While in prison, he earned multiple degrees by correspondence and taught fellow inmates. After his release in 1974, Mugabe went into exile in Zambia and Mozambique, where he gained full control of ZANU’s political and military wings.
In 1979, the Lancaster House Agreement paved the way for Zimbabwe’s independence. After winning elections in 1980, Mugabe urged the white minority to stay, offering a reconciliatory hand to his former enemies.
In 1982, tensions between ZANU-PF and ZAPU escalated into conflict, particularly in Matabeleland, where Mugabe’s North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade suppressed dissent. Over five years, many civilians were killed. However, in 1987, Mugabe initiated peace talks, resulting in ZAPU’s merger with ZANU-PF and the creation of a unified state.
During the 1990s, Mugabe was reelected twice. After the death of his first wife, Sally, he married Grace Mugabe. In 1998, he sent Zimbabwean troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo, intervening in the civil war to halt the spread of neo-colonialism.
In 2000, Mugabe held a referendum to expand presidential powers and allow land seizures, but he suffered his first political defeat when voters rejected the new constitution. Following this, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was formed, and war veterans began invading white-owned farms, leading to economic collapse and hyperinflation.
After losing the parliamentary majority in 2008, Mugabe was pressured to form a unity government with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who became Prime Minister. In 2017, Mugabe resigned amid impeachment proceedings, and Cde Dr. Emmerson Mnangagwa, his longtime ally, succeeded him as President.
On September 6, 2019, President Robert Mugabe passed away at the age of 95.
Cde Mugabe will always be missed.