Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

Robert Mugabe: A Legacy Of Tyrannical Rule, Economic Ruin And International Isolation

NPR: Historical footage shows a jubilant crowd watching the Union Jack being lowered and the red, black, green and yellow flag of the newly independent nation of Zimbabwe being hoisted.

It was April 1980, and at the center of it all was independence leader Robert Mugabe. His guerrilla war had won freedom for the British colony of Rhodesia, and ended the minority white rule of his country. Across Zimbabwe, thousands celebrated, and Mugabe — who had spent 11 years in prison, from 1964 to 1975, for his fight for independence — delivered a message of unity and inclusion.

"The phase we are entering, the phase of independence, should be conferring upon all of us — the people of Zimbabwe, whether we are black or white — full of sovereignty, full of democratic rights," Mugabe said.

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