Zimbabwe’s former president, Robert Mugabe, has just died at the age of 95. He first took office in 1980, following the country’s independence from Britain and was overthrown in 2017 during a military takeover. At the time, he was the world’s oldest head of state.
His political legacy is a mixed bag of heroism and authoritarianism. Although he was hailed as the liberator of Zimbabweans from white colonial rule and a fierce defender of African unity, he was also accused, in the later years of his administration, of dictatorship, corruption, and ineptitude to run his country.
