Zimbabwean then President Robert Mugabe is sworn in for a sixth term in office in the capital Harare on June 29, 2008 after being declared the winner of a one-man election. PHOTO | ALEXANDER JOE | AFP
Mugabe was an icon and forceful liberator, a gigantic and inspiring leader who exemplified what being a strongman means in African politics. He inspired a very proud nation to believe in itself, and Zimbabweans had a good time the first 15 years or so after Independence, with outstanding infrastructure, clean cities, optimistic and well educated population, and booming agricultural sector in 1991.
He also built very effective primary healthcare delivery systems that led Zimbabwe (alongside Kenya and Botswana) to pioneer what came to be termed irreversible declines in child death rates and birth rates in sub-Saharan Africa. Under Mugabe, Zimbabwe also developed a relatively effective educational system that saw it attain Africa’s highest adult literacy rate at 94 per cent.
