Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has died at age of 95

Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has died, according to reports. He was 95. According to ZimLive, the news was confirmed by two sources. He reportedly died in a hospital in Singapore on Friday morning. 

According to The Mirror, Human Rights Watch Southern African director Dewa Mavhinga revealed that credible family sources said the former leader had died.

BBC News also confirmed Mugabe’s death. Mugabe served as prime minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as president from 1987 to 2017. 

Tributes started pouring in on Friday morning. Fadzayi Mahere, Zimbabwe’s Education, Sport, Art and Culture Secretary, tweeted: “Rest In Peace, Robert Mugabe. My response to your passing is complicated. I’m going to write a long piece. However, for now, deepest condolences to his family.”

Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa confirmed the news on Twitter:

Educated by Jesuit priests, he became a teacher before joining the liberation struggle. Mugabe, the intellectual — with his many academic degrees — was considered the political leader and the brains behind the guerrilla war, and was imprisoned for 11 years.

Mugabe preached a message of harmony and promised to pursue a policy of inclusion for all Zimbabweans. In 1980, he said, “The phase we are entering, the phase of independence should be regarded as a phase conferring upon all of us — the people of Zimbabwe — whether we are black or white — full sovereignty, full democratic rights.”