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Robert Mugabe
File:Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwe President Canaan Banana.jpgRobert Mugabe (left) and Canaan Banana, who in 1980 were Prime Minister and President respectively
2nd President of Zimbabwe
Incumbent
Assumed office 1987
Vice President	Simon Muzenda (1987-2003) Joseph Msika (1999-Present) Joyce Mujuru (2004-Present)
Preceded by	Canaan Banana (non-executive)
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
In office 31 December 1980 – 1987
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	(1924-02-21) February 21, 1924 (age 100) Kutama Mission, Harare
Nationality	Zimbabwean
Political party	Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front
Spouse(s)	Sally Hayfron, Grace Marufu

Robert Gabriel Mugabe KCB (born 21 February 1924) is the President of Zimbabwe. He has been the head of government in Zimbabwe since 1980, first as Prime Minister and later as first executive President.

Mugabe rose to prominence in the 1970s when he led the Zimbabwe African National Union in guerrilla warfare against the white-dominated government of Rhodesia until the government accepted universal suffrage and black-majority rule. See also: Rhodesian Bush War

The Mugabe administration has been criticized around the world for corruption, suppression of political opposition, mishandling of land reforms, economic mismanagement, and the deteriorating human rights situation in Zimbabwe. According to most analysts his administration's policies have led to economic collapse and massive starvation over the course of the last ten years. Currently, Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world, and according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Africa's worst economic performer.

Early life

Mugabe was born in Matibiri village near Kutama Mission in the Zvimba District northwest of Salisbury and Southern Rhodesia. His father, Gabriel Mugabe Matibiri, abandoned the Mugabe family in 1934 in search of work in Bulawayo. Robert Mugabe was raised as a Roman Catholic, studying in Marist Brothers and Jesuit schools, including the exclusive Kutama College. He qualified as a teacher, but left to study at Fort Hare in South Africa, a notable university at the time, graduating in 1951 while meeting contemporaries such as Julius Nyerere, Herbert Chitepo, Robert Sobukwe and Kenneth Kaunda. He then studied at Driefontein in 1952, Salisbury (1953), Gwelo (1954), and Tanzania (1955–1957).

He also holds several honorary degrees and doctorates from various international Universities. Subsequently, Mugabe taught at Achimota College (now Achimota Secondary School) in Accra, Ghana (1958–1960) where he met Sally Hayfron, who later became his first wife.

Anti-colonial conflict

Mugabe joined Joshua Nkomo and the National Democratic Party (NDP) when he returned to Southern Rhodesia in 1960 as a Marxist. The administration of Prime Minister Ian Smith immediately banned the NDP when it later became the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU). He left ZAPU in 1963 to join the rival Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) which had been formed in 1963 by the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, Edson Zvobgo, Enos Nkala and lawyer Herbert Chitepo. It would have been easy for the party to split along tribal lines between the Ndebele and Mugabe's own, the Shona tribe, but cross-tribal representation was maintained by his partners. ZANU leader Sithole nominated Robert Mugabe as his Secretary General.

ZANU was influenced by the Africanist ideas of the Pan Africanist Congress in South Africa and influenced by Maoism while ZAPU was an ally of the African National Congress and was a supporter of a more orthodox pro-Soviet line on national liberation. Similar divisions can also be seen in the liberation movement in Angola between the MPLA and UNITA.

Mugabe returned to Rhodesia in 1960, and in 1963 he helped the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole to form the Zimbabwe African National Union ZANU as a breakaway from Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union ZAPU. In 1964 he was arrested for “subversive speech” and spent the next 10 years in prison. During that period he earned three degrees, including a law degree and a bachelor of administration from London by correspondence courses. While still in prison he led a coup in 1974 deposing Sithole as ZANU's leader.

Mugabe unilaterally assumed control of ZANU from Mozambique. Later that year, after squabbling with Ndabaningi Sithole, Mugabe formed a militant ZANU faction, leaving Sithole to lead the moderate Zanu (Ndonga) party, which renounced violent struggle.He was also put on trial for rape and murder.

Lancaster House Agreement

Persuasion from B.J. Vorster, himself under pressure from Henry Kissinger, forced Smith to accept in principle that white minority rule could not continue indefinitely. On 3 March 1978 Bishop Abel Muzorewa, Ndabaningi Sithole and other moderate leaders signed an agreement at Governor's Lodge in Salisbury, which paved the way for an interim power-sharing government, in preparation for elections. The elections were won by the United African National Council under Bishop Abel Muzorewa, but international recognition did not follow and sanctions were not lifted. The two 'Patriotic Front' groups under Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo refused to participate and continued the war.

The incoming government did accept an invitation to talks at Lancaster House in September 1979. A ceasefire was negotiated for the talks, which were attended by Smith, Mugabe, Nkomo, Edson Zvobgo and others. Eventually the parties to the talks agreed on a new constitution for a new Republic of Zimbabwe with elections in February 1980. Mugabe had to concede to accepting 20 seats reserved for whites in the new Parliament and to the inability of the new government to alter the constitution for ten years. His return to Zimbabwe in December 1979 was greeted with enormous supportive crowds.

Prime Minister

After a campaign marked by intimidation from all sides, mistrust from security forces and reports of full ballot boxes found on the road, the Shona majority was decisive in electing Mugabe to head the first government as prime minister on 4 March 1980. ZANU won 57 out of 80 Common Roll seats in the new parliament, with the 20 white seats all going to the Rhodesian Front.

Mugabe, whose political support came from his Shona-speaking homeland in the north, attempted to build Zimbabwe on a basis of an uneasy coalition with his Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) rivals, whose support came from the Ndebele-speaking south, and with the white minority. Mugabe sought to incorporate ZAPU into his Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) led government and ZAPU's military wing into the army; and ZAPU's leader, Joshua Nkomo, was given a series of cabinet positions in Mugabe's government. However, Mugabe was torn between this objective and pressures to meet the expectations of his own ZANU followers for a faster pace of social change.

In 1983 Mugabe fired Nkomo from his cabinet, triggering bitter fighting between ZAPU supporters in the Ndebele-speaking region of the country and the ruling ZANU. Between 1982 and 1985 the military crushed armed resistance from Ndebele groups in the provinces of Matabeleland and the Midlands, leaving Mugabe's rule secure (see "Gukurahundi"). Mugabe has been accused by many of committing mass murder during this period of his rule. A peace accord was negotiated in 1987, resulting in ZAPU's merger (1988) into the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). Mugabe brought Nkomo into the government once again as a vice-president.

More than 20,000 Ndebele civilians were killed by Mugabe's North-Korean trained 5th Brigade during the Gukurahundi ethnic massacres. Their leader was Perence Shiri who called himself 'Black Jesus'.

Presidency

In 1987 the position of Prime Minister was abolished and Mugabe assumed the new office of executive President of Zimbabwe gaining additional powers in the process. He was re-elected in 1990 and 1996, and in 2002 amid claims of widespread vote-rigging and intimidation. Mugabe's term of office is due to expire in 2008. However, there have been calls from some in the ruling Zanu-PF party to extend it until 2010. If he ran for another term he would lose immunity but empowering a new president might encourage instability.

He is the Chancellor of the flagship University of Zimbabwe and has remained in power until now.

Social programs

In 1991 the government of Zimbabwe, short on hard currency and under international pressure, embarked on a neoliberal austerity program. The International Monetary Fund later suspended aid, saying reforms were "not on track."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), life expectancy at birth for Zimbabwe men is 37 years for men and 34 for women, the lowest such figures for any nation.

The Zimbabwe dollar suffers from the highest Inflation rate of any currency in the world. Zimbabwe official statistics reveal that the annualized inflation rate for September 2006 was 1000%. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its World Economic Outlook database, reports that inflation was 1216% for 2006, and forecasts an inflation rate of 4279% for 2007.

Homosexuality

He has waged a violent campaign against homosexuals, arguing that prior to colonization Zimbabweans did not engage in homosexuality. His first major public condemnation of homosexuality came in 1995 during the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in August 1995. He told the audience that homosexuality,

"degrades human dignity. It's unnatural and there is no question ever of allowing these people to behave worse than dogs and pigs. If dogs and pigs do not do it, why must human beings? We have our own culture, and we must re-dedicate ourselves to our traditional values that make us human beings... What we are being persuaded to accept is sub-animal behavior and we will never allow it here. If you see people parading themselves as lesbians and gays, arrest them and hand them over to the police!"

In September Parliament officially approved persecution of homosexuals. In 1997 a court found Canaan Banana, Mugabe's predecessor and the first President of Zimbabwe, guilty of 11 counts of sodomy and indecent assault.

Second Congo War

Mugabe was blamed for Zimbabwe's participation in the Second Congo War in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at a time when the Zimbabwean economy was struggling. The Democratic Republic of the Congo had been invaded by Rwanda that sought to institute a change of government, and Uganda that claimed that its civilians, and regional stability, were under constant threat of attack by various Congo-based terrorist groups. The war raised accusations of corruption, with officials alleged to be plundering the Congo's mineral reserves. His Defense Minister Moven Mahachi said, "Instead of our army in the DRC burdening the treasury for more resources, which are not available, it embarks on viable projects for the sake of generating the necessary revenue."

Land reforms

When Mugabe became prime minister approximately 70% of the country's arable land was owned by approximately 4,000 descendants of white settlers. However, he reassured white landowners that they had nothing to fear from democracy. Mugabe accepted a "willing buyer, willing seller" plan as part of the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979, among other concessions to the White minority. As part of this agreement land redistribution was locked up for a period of 10 years.

By 1997 the "willing buyer, willing seller" land reform program had broken down after the new British government led by Tony Blair unilaterally decided to stop funding it on the basis that the initial £44 million allocated under the Thatcher administration was used to purchase land for members of the ruling elite and not landless peasants. Furthermore, the Labour party felt themselves under no obligation to continue paying White farmers compensation, or in minister Clare Short's words, "I should make it clear that we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe. We are a new Government from diverse backgrounds without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and as you know we were colonised not colonisers."

As of September 2006 Mugabe's family owns three farms: Highfield Estate in Norton, 45 km west of Harare, Iron Mask Estate in Mazowe, about 40 km from Harare, and Foyle Farm in Mazowe, formerly owned by Ian Webster and adjacent to Iron Mask Farm, renamed to Gushungo Farm after Mugabe's own clan name. These farms were seized forcibly from their previous owners.

2000 referendum

On 12 - 13 February 2000 a referendum was held on a new constitution. The proposed change would have limited future presidents to two terms, but as it was not retroactive, Mugabe could have stood for another two terms. It also would have made his government and military officials immune from prosecution for any illegal acts committed while in office. In addition, it allowed the government to confiscate white-owned land for redistribution to black farmers without compensation. The motion failed with 55% of participants against the referendum. The referendum had a 20% turnout fueled by an effective SMS campaign. Mugabe declared that he would "abide by the will of the people". The vote was a surprise to ZANU-PF, and an embarrassment before parliamentary elections due in mid-April. Almost immediately, self-styled "war veterans", led by Chenjerai 'Hitler' Hunzvi, began invading white-owned farms. On April 6, 2000 parliament pushed through an amendment, taken word for word from the draft constitution that was rejected by voters, allowing the seizure of white-owned farmlands without due reimbursement or payment.

Since then agricultural production has plummeted and the economy is crippled. Zimbabwe now depends on food programs and support from outside to feed its population.

Elections

Mugabe faced Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in presidential elections in March 2002. Amid violence and with large numbers of citizens in anti-Mugabe strongholds prevented from voting, Mugabe defeated Tsvangirai by 56% to 42%. The conduct of the elections was widely viewed internationally as having been manipulated. Mugabe was helped by an unprecedented turnout of 90% in his rural stronghold of Mashonaland (55% of the population voted overall), although there are credible claims that the turnout may have been rigged. When election observers from South Africa claimed at a press conference that they had found no evidence of vote rigging, the assembled press burst into laughter.

On 3 July, 2004 a report adopted by the African Union executive council, which comprises foreign ministers of the 53 member states, criticized the government for the arrest and torture of opposition members of parliament and human rights lawyers, the arrest of journalists, the stifling of freedom of expression and clampdowns on other civil liberties. It was compiled by the AU's African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which sent a mission to Zimbabwe from 24 June to 28 June 2002, shortly after the presidential elections. The report was apparently not submitted to the AU's 2003 summit because it had not been translated into French. It was adopted at the next AU summit in 2005.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF party won the 2005 parliamentary elections with an increased majority. The elections were said by (again) South African observers to "reflect the free will of the people of Zimbabwe", despite accusations of widespread fraud from the MDC.

Criticism of, and opposition to, Mugabe

His critics accuse him of being a 'corrupt dictator', and an 'extremely poor role model' for the continent. The Africa editor for the Economist, Robert Guest, argues that Mugabe is to blame for Zimbabwe's economic freefall. "In 1980, the average annual income in Zimbabwe was US$950, and a Zimbabwean dollar was worth more than an American one. By 2003, the average income was less than US$400, and the Zimbabwean economy was in freefall. . " (Mugabe is) the man who has ruled Zimbabwe for nearly three decades and has led it, in that time, from impressive success to the most dramatic peacetime collapse of any country since Weimar Germany". .

In recent years Western governments have condemned his government. On 9 March 2003 U.S. President George W. Bush approved measures for economic sanctions to be leveled against Mugabe and other high-ranking Zimbabwe politicians, freezing their assets and barring Americans from engaging in any transactions or dealings with them. Justifying the move, Bush's spokesman stated that the President and Congress believe that "the situation in Zimbabwe endangers the southern African region and threatens to undermine efforts to foster good governance and respect for the rule of law throughout the continent". The bill was known as the "Zimbabwe Democracy Act".

On 8 December 2003 in protest against a further 18 months of suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations (thereby cutting foreign aid to Zimbabwe), Mugabe withdrew his country from the Commonwealth. According to reports, Mugabe informed the leaders of Jamaica, Nigeria and South Africa of his decision when they telephoned him to discuss the situation. Zimbabwe's government said the President did not accept the Commonwealth's position, and was leaving the group.

Many African nations who are Commonwealth members, led by South Africa, want Zimbabwe to be brought back into the fold to encourage dialogue between Mugabe and domestic foes, while members of what many Africans charge is the "white Commonwealth" – the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand – led the hard-line stance on the suspension of Zimbabwe.

On 8 April 2005 Mugabe attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II, a move which could be seen as defiance of a European Union travel ban that does not, however, apply to the Vatican City. He was granted a transit visa by the Italian authorities, as they are obliged to under the Concordat.

In reaction to human rights violations in Zimbabwe, students at universities from which Mugabe has honorary doctorates have sought to get the degrees revoked. So far, student bodies at Michigan State University (ASMSU) and the University of Edinburgh (EUSA) have each unanimously passed resolutions calling for this. The issue is now being considered by the respective universities.

On 17 November, 2006 the Independent Newspaper revealed that female life expectancy is now 34 as opposed to 63 ten years ago. (The male life expectancy is 37)

On 6 February, 2007 Mugabe orchestrated a cabinet reshuffle, ousting ministers including five-year veteran finance minister Herbert Murerwa.

On 11 March, 2007 opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was arrested and beaten following a prayer meeting in the Harare suburb of Highfields. Another member of the Movement for Democratic Change was killed while other protesters were injured. In a typical attempt to justify his routine sanction of the continuing violent torture of Zimbabwean opposition members and to blame this on others, Mugabe attempted to claim that "Tsvangirai deserved his beating-up by police because he was not allowed to attend a banned rally" on March 30 2007.

Succession

As one of Africa's longest-lasting leaders, speculation has built over the years as to the future of Zimbabwe after Mugabe leaves office. His age and recurring rumors of failing health have focused more attention on possible successors within his party as well as the opposition. Also, the 11 March, 2007 crackdown against a religious gathering sponsored by the opposition attracted scrutiny.

In June 2005 a report that Mugabe had entered a hospital for tests on his heart fueled rumors that he had died of a heart attack; these reports were dismissed by a Mugabe spokesman. This coincided with Operation Murambatsvina (or "Drive Out Trash"), a police campaign to demolish houses and businesses that had been built without permission on land previously taken from white landholders and intended for redistribution. Opponents called this an attempt to disperse urban centers of dissent into rural areas where the government had more control. Former information minister Jonathan Moyo attributed the events to a power struggle within the party over who would succeed Mugabe.

Joyce Mujuru, recently elevated to vice-president of ZANU-PF during the December 2004 party congress and considerably younger than Joseph Msika, the other vice-president, has been mentioned as a likely successor to Mugabe. Joyce Mujuru's candidacy for the presidency is strengthened by the backing of her husband, Solomon Mujuru, who is the former head of the Zimbabwean army.

In October 2006 a report prepared by Zimbabwe's Ministry of Economic Development acknowledged the lack of co-ordination among critical government departments in Zimbabwe and the overall lack of commitment to end the crisis. The report implied that the infighting in Zanu-PF over Mugabe's successor was also hurting policy formulation and consistency in implementation.

In late 2006 a plan was presented to postpone the next presidential election until 2010, at the same time as the next parliamentary election, thereby extending Mugabe's term by two years. It was said that holding the two elections together would be a cost-saving measure. However, this plan was not approved and there were reportedly objections from some in ZANU-PF to the idea. In March 2007 Mugabe said that he thought the feeling was in favour of holding the two elections together in 2008 instead of 2010. He also said that he would be willing to run for re-election again if the party wanted him to run. Other leaders in Southern Africa were rumored to be less warm on the idea of extending his term to 2010; recently, at the independence celebrations in Ghana, South African President Thabo Mbeki was rumored to have met with Mugabe in private and told him that "he was determined that South Africa's hosting of the Football World Cup in 2010 should not be disrupted by controversial presidential elections in Zimbabwe."

On 30 March, 2007 it was announced that the ZANU-PF central committee had chosen Mugabe as the party's candidate for another term in 2008, that presidential terms would be shortened to five years, and that the parliamentary election would also be held in 2008.

Honors

Robert Mugabe was created an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1994 by Queen Elizabeth II. This entitles him to use the postnominal letters KCB, but not to use the title "Sir."

Personal

His well-respected Ghanaian first wife, the former Sally Hayfron (1933-1992), died from a chronic kidney ailment (their only son Nhamodzenyika, born 27 September 1963 died on December 26 1966 from cerebral malaria, while Mugabe was in prison). Sally Mugabe was a trained teacher who asserted her position as an independent political activist and campaigner. This she clearly demonstrated from as early as 1962 when she was active in mobilizing African women to challenge Ian Smith's Rhodesian constitution which resulted in her own imprisonment. When she became Zimbabwe's first lady in 1980 she served as Deputy Secretary and later as Secretary of the ZANU Women's League. She also founded the Zimbabwe Child Survival Movement. Sally Mugabe launched the Zimbabwe Women's Cooperative in the UK in 1986 and supported Akina Mama wa Africa, a London-based African women's organization focusing on development and women's issues in Africa and the UK. Upon her death she was laid to rest at the National Heroes Acre in Harare, Zimbabwe.

About two years after Sally's death, Mugabe married his former secretary, Grace Marufu, 40 years his junior and with whom he already had two children, in a tribal ceremony. Abandoning his previous claim of a Christian background, Mugabe justified the marriage under a traditional African law which allows him to take a junior wife.

On 17 August 1996 Mugabe and Marufu were married in a Roman Catholic wedding Mass at Kutama College, a Catholic Mission School he previously attended. Nelson Mandela was among the guests. A spokesman for Catholic Archbishop Patrick Chakaipa, who presided over the ceremony, said the diocese saw "no impediment" to the nuptials.

Grace Marufu Mugabe has three children: Bona, Robert Peter Jr. (although Robert Mugabe's middle name is Gabriel) and Bellarmine Chatunga. As first lady, she has been the subject of much criticism for her lifestyle. When she was included in the 2002 EU travel sanctions on her husband, one EU parliamentarian was quoted as saying that the ban "will stop Grace Mugabe going on her shopping trips in the face of catastrophic poverty blighting the people of Zimbabwe." The London Telegraph called her "notorious at home for her profligacy" in 2003 coverage of a trip to Paris. Their children however are not included to the EU travel sanctions.

Movies

Mugabe's office forbade the screening of the 2005 movie The Interpreter claiming that it was propaganda by the CIA and fearing that it could incite hostility towards him.

Contemporaries

• Ian Smith – leader of White minority government of Rhodesia
• Rev Ndabaningi Sithole – ZANU founder with Mugabe and Chitepo
• Herbert Chitepo – torch-bearer for ZANU while Mugabe was interned
• Josiah Tongogara – Zanla military general for Mugabe's ZANU political wing. Robert Mugabe ordered his death having become jealous of the fact he was the most respected politician in the ZANU PF camp.
• Canaan Banana – President in Mugabe's first government
• Joshua Nkomo – Leader of ZAPU, often rivals
• Bishop Abel Muzorewa – Leader of government before Mugabe
• Kenneth Kaunda – Zambian leader who supported African nationalists
• Edgar Tekere – one-time colleague who opposed Mugabe in the 1990 Presidential election
• Morgan Tsvangirai – Leader of the current opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
• Samora Machel – Leader of FRELIMO; political friend and influence

Events

• Unilateral Declaration of Independence – Ian Smith's break away from Britain
• Lancaster House Agreement – paved the way for elections that brought Mugabe into power
• Gukurahundi – War between Mugabe's Fifth Brigade and the Ndebele people of Matabeleland after the failed merger between ZANU and ZAPU political parties.
• Operation Murambatsvina (or Operation "Drive Out Trash"), a controversial 2005 government campaign to forcibly clear many slum areas across the country

References

1. Page 590 Profiles of People in Power: The World ́s Government Leaders
2. Page 380 Notable U.S. Ambassadors Since 1775: A Biographical Dictionary
3. 'Panicked' Zimbabwe government postpones inflation announcement, Cape Times, April 17, 2007
4. Zimbabwe: Country Ranked Africa's Worst Economic Performer, Zimdaily, April 3, 2007
5. Page 100 Against the Grain
6. Mugabe: The price of silence, BBC, 10 March 2002
7. Mugabe expected to share power in extended term Reuters
8. Country Health System Fact Sheet 2006 Zimbabwe World Health Organization
9. Page 213 Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Men and Women in the World's Cultures
10. ^ Page 180 Hungochani: The History of a Dissident Sexuality in Southern Africa
11. Under African Skies, Part I: 'Totally unacceptable to cultural norms' Kaiwright.com
12. Page 93 Body, Sexuality, and Gender v. 1
13. Congo At War: A Briefing of the Internal and External Players in the Central African Conflict, International Crisis Group, 17 November 1998
14. Mugabe's costly Congo venture BBC
15. 189 Africa's Development in the Twenty-first Century: Pertinent Socio-economic and Development Issues
16. Page 302 Big Men, Little People: The Leaders Who Defined Africa
17. 619 The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence
18. Zimbabwe: The Spark...Claire Short's letter of November 1997, by Baffour Ankomah, 31 March 2003
19. Mugabe seizes third farm for himself, IOL, 10 September 2006
20. Page 372 Africa Review 2003/2004
21. The Shackled Continent. Africa's Past, Present and Future. Robert Guest. Pan Books 2005
22. The Economist. March 31st - April 6th 2007
23. President Signs Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act 21 December2001
24. Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai Has Brain Scan, Was Hurt While in Custody, Bloomberg, 14 March 2007
25. MUGABE THUG RANT , Mirror, 31 March 2007
26. Zimbabwe denies reports Robert Mugabe is dead, CTV, 7 June 2005
27. Zim government in chaos, says secret report IOL
28. "Mugabe set to rule until 2010", IRIN, 14 December 2006.
29. "Mugabe ready for 2008 elections", DPA (IOL), 12 March 2007.
30. http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6451349.stm
31. "Zimbabwe's Mugabe to stand in 2008 poll", Reuters (Sydney Morning Herald), March 31, 2007.
32. Mugabe's wife on EU sanctions list, BBC, 22 July 2002
33. Truffle dinners for £190 at the Mugabes' glittering hideaway, Telegraph, 2 February 2003
34. Rainbow Banned From Screening "Anti-Mugabe" Movie, ZimDaily, 23 September 2005

External links

• "GROM-X" (The campaign to Get Rid of Mugabe)
• "Mugging Mugabe" (a commentary in defence of Mugabe)
• "The truth about Mugabe" (an anti-Mugabe commentary)
• "Zimbabwe election – a defeat for imperialism"
• "Zimbabwe's silent selective starvation"
• "Robert Mugabe's War to Crush Press Freedom in Zimbabwe"
• Reporters Without Borders profile on Mugabe
• Freedom House report on Zimbabwe
• IFEX - Media Coverage Favours Mugabe
• "Robert Mugabe at UMass" from the WGBH series, Ten O'clock News
• Indict Zimbabwe's demagogue before the International Criminal Court
• "Zimbabwe and the Politics of Torture"
• Human Rights Watch on Zimbabwe

Further reading

• Chan, Stephen (2003). Robert Mugabe: A life of power and violence. IB Taurus, London. ISBN 1-86064-873-8.

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