NPR

Robert Mugabe: A Legacy Of Tyrannical Rule, Economic Ruin And International Isolation

Once a respected independence leader who called for "democratic rights," Zimbabwe's president became better known over the years as someone "who ruined his own country," says a Zimbabwean journalist.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe addresses supporters at his party headquarters on Nov. 8.

Historical footage shows a jubilant crowd watching the Union Jack being lowered and the red, black, green and yellow flag of the newly independent nation of Zimbabwe being hoisted.

It was April 1980, and at the center of it all was independence leader Robert Mugabe. His guerrilla war had won freedom for the British colony of Rhodesia, and ended the minority white rule of his country. Across Zimbabwe, thousands celebrated, and Mugabe — who had spent 11 years in

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