Zimbabwe's Mugabe Dies at 95

Hours ago, former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe died aged 95, the country's President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on his official Twitter account.

"It is with the utmost sadness that I announce the passing on of Zimbabwe's founding father and former President, Cde Robert Mugabe," a post on Mnangagwa's official presidential Twitter account said.

Reuters quoted a source with direct knowledge of the matter saying that Mugabe died in Singapore, where he has often received medical treatment in recent years.

In November, Mnangagwa noted that Mugabe was no longer able to walk when he had been admitted to a hospital in Singapore. He refrained from explaining what treatment Mugabe had been undergoing.

Reuters reported that officials often said he was being treated for a cataract, denying frequent private media reports that he had prostate cancer.

Mugabe, who ruled the southern African nation for nearly 40 years since independence from Britain in 1980, was forced to resign in November 2017 after an army coup following a nation-wide anger.

He was looked at as an African liberation hero and champion of racial reconciliation when he first came to power in a nation pided by nearly a century of white colonial rule.

On 6 November 2017, Mugabe sacked his first vice president, Mnangagwa. This fuelled speculation that he intended to name his wife Grace as his successor. Grace was very unpopular. On 15 November 2017, the Zimbabwe National Army placed Mugabe under house arrest as part of what it described as an action against "criminals" in Mugabe's circle. 4 days later, he was sacked as leader of ZANU-PF, and Mnangagwa was appointed in his place.

In a nationally televised speech that night, the former president refused to say that he would resign, while, in response, ZANU-PF deputies introduced an impeachment resolution on 21 November 2017.

Mugabe and his wife negotiated a deal before his resignation, under which he and his kin are exempted from prosecution, his business interests will remain untouched, and he is set to receive a payment of at least $10 million.

In July 2018, the Zimbabwe Supreme Court ruled that Mugabe had resigned voluntarily, despite some of the ex-president's subsequent comments.