Singapore: Robert Mugabe, former President of Zimbabwe, died today at the age of 95, announced country’s incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“It is with the utmost sadness that I announce the passing on of Zimbabwe’s founding father and former President, Cde Robert Mugabe,” tweeted Mnangagwa.
Mugabe, known as Zimbabwe’s first post-independence leader, passed away in Singapore where he was often receiving medical treatment in recent years.
Mugabe was ousted in a military coup in 2017 after 37 years in power. His early years were praised for broadening access to health and education for the black majority – but his later years were marked by rights abuses and corruption.
He won Zimbabwe’s first election after it secured independence from the UK, becoming prime minister in 1980.
He abolished the office in 1987, becoming president instead.