Buhari Mourns Robert Mugabe, Condoles Zimbabweans
BY VICTOR BUORO, ABUJA – President Muhammadu Buhari has sent condolences to the government and people of Zimbabwe over the passing of the founding father and former President, Robert Mugabe, aged 95.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina, the President commiserated with family members, friends and political associates of the political activist who fought for the independence of the country from colonial rule.
Mugabe, whose death in Singapore was confirmed on twitter by current President Emmerson Mnangagwa, lived most of his life in public service
According to President Buhari, Mugabe’s sacrifices, especially in struggling for the political and economic emancipation of his people, will always be remembered by posterity.
He prayed that the Almighty God will grant the soul of the former president rest and comfort his loved ones.
Mugabe’s early years in power was praised for broadening access to health and education for the black majority – but his later years were marked by rights abuses and corruption.
Born on February 21, 1924, Mugabe, as a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician, served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017.
He also chaired the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) group from 1975 to 1980 and led its successor political party, the ZANU – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), from 1980 to 2017.
He identified as a Socialist after the 1990s and his policies were described as Mugabeism in over four decades that he totally dominated Zimbabwean political terrain.
On November 21, 2017, members of his own party, with strong military backing, booted him out of office in a palace coup and replaced him with former Vice President Emerson Mnangagwa.
