This archive report was first published on 17 September 2019.
The Rise and Fall of Robert Mugabe ¶
Robert Mugabe's rule in Zimbabwe was a tragic tale of great promise gone awry. From his early days as a liberator, he gradually transformed into a despot, and eventually, a buffoonish character.
As a young nation, Zimbabwe was enchanted by Mugabe's eloquence and brilliance. He was hailed as the 'vanguard of the African revolution' and the 'intellectual president' who was building an African state based on socialist ideas and traditional African philosophy.
However, beneath the façade of education, elegance, and brilliant eloquence, a corrupt despotism was brewing. Mugabe's ambition to create a one-party socialist state gained momentum in the late 1980s, and people began to see the dark side of his rule.
When international organisations and foreign governments began to criticise his absolute power, he lashed out viciously at white farmers. He even referred to Desmond Tutu as 'a little man in a dress' when the Archbishop criticised his authoritarian rule.
But it was not until the 2008 election, when opposition supporters were killed and many more injured, that the world began to see Mugabe for what he truly was. The façade of education, elegance, and brilliant eloquence was now gone, and the world finally acknowledged that the messiah had become pharaoh.
As the years went by, Mugabe's rule became increasingly tyrannical. He showed his true colours during the campaign against dissidents soon after Independence, when an estimated 20,000 people, a majority of whom were civilians, were killed by a North Korean-trained unit of his army known as the 5th Brigade.
But even as the world began to see the truth about Mugabe's rule, many intellectuals and idealists continued to hide behind leftist rhetoric. It was not until Zimbabweans themselves and the international community of ideologues and idealists in Harare started fleeing that the world finally acknowledged the truth.
Robert Mugabe wrote a familiar script: liberator, despot, and finally, a buffoonish character. His tragic end was a reminder of the dangers of unchecked power and the importance of holding leaders accountable for their actions.
As a Nairobi-based political commentator, Tee Ngugi reflects on the tragic tale of Robert Mugabe's rule in Zimbabwe.
