Robert Mugabe, a veteran president of Zimbabwe with a 37-year rule before he was forced to resign in 2017, has died at 95.
His successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa confirmed Mugabe’s death on Friday, Sept. 6, The Associated Press reported.
“Cde Mugabe was an icon of liberation, a pan-Africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of his people. His contribution to the history of our nation and continent will never be forgotten. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” Mnangagwa said in a tweet.
According to Reuters, Mugabe died in Singapore, where he often received medical treatment in recent years.
Mugabe took power at independence from Britain after a guerrilla war ended white-minority rule in 1980. At that time, he was heralded as a model African leader, a champion of racial reconciliation.
But that image eroded over time as his leadership became more authoritarian. Many people, both at home and abroad, have recently denounced him as a power-obsessed autocrat who was willing to unleash death squads, rig elections and trash the economy in pursuit of control.
During nearly four decades of rule, Mugabe pushed his country into poverty, hyperinflation, and unrest.
In November 2017, Mugabe was ousted by his own armed forces, after he initially ignored calls for his resignation.
