Robert Mugabe

{{bronze}}[[Image:Robert Mugabe.jpg|thumb|right|168px|You wouldn't depose a guy with glasses, would ya?]]
{{politics}}
{{cquote|I am still the [[Hitler]] of the time. This Hitler has only one objective: justice for his people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his people and their rights over their resources. If that is Hitler, then let me be Hitler tenfold.|||Mugabe,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110406014220/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/1425727/Hitler-Mugabe-launches-revenge-terror-attacks.html 'Hitler' Mugabe launches revenge terror attacks] by Peta Thornycroft (26 March 2003) ''The Telegraph'' (archived April 6, 2011).</ref> in response to being referred to as "[[Nazi analogies|The Hitler of Africa]]"<ref>[https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/7/the-hitler-of-africa/ The Hitler of Africa] by Nat Hentoff (July 7, 2008) ''Washington Times''.</ref>}}
{{cquote|We are not gays.|||Mugabe’s deranged speech at the UN general assembly.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/robert-mugabe-tells-un-general-assembly-we-are-not-gays-a6671316.html?callback=in&code=ZJQ5MGNKZJYTNJDKMS0ZNJGWLWEXN2ITZTQ4NWJLZMYWZMVM&state=28379fa0f8bd4aa494dcd7b4001ca9a8 Robert Mugabe tells UN General Assembly: 'We are not gays!'] The Independent</ref>}}
'''Robert Gabriel Mugabe''', aka. "Comrade Bob" {{lived|February 21, 1924|September 6, 2019}} was the crazed [[dictator]] of [[Zimbabwe]]. A leader of the movement against [[White supremacy|white minority-rule]], he became head of government when the country gained ''de jure'' independence<ref group=note>In practice, the territory of Zimbabwe had been independent since 1965, when the white minority-led government declared independence from Great Britain as Rhodesia; however, the British Empire [[stopped clock|refused to recognize its independence until black Zimbabweans were allowed to participate in political life]], and Rhodesia remained, on paper, a British colony without international recognition.</ref> in 1980 in an imperfect (but not horrendous) general election.

At first, his economic policies led to reasonable growth rates and his policies massively decreased [[child]] malnutrition and infant mortality rates. However, things didn't work out so well for the [[death|dead]] 20,000 Matabeles. In 1987, he became Head of State after the adoption of a constitutional amendment establishing an executive presidency, an institutional role created for him. Descending over decades from a [[democratic]]ally-elected leader to a mad tyrant, he began to chip away at democracy. The previous system of separate voting rolls for the black majority and ethnic minorities, seemingly a good measure in the near term, would eventually allow him to stop ethnic minorities from voting. He abolished the Senate, and increased the size of the lower house to include his appointees. Always having support in a single legislative chamber would, in the end, make him far more powerful than having two houses to control.

What motivated Mugabe? He consistently justified his tyranny in terms of anti-[[colonialism]] and Pan-[[Africa]]n [[nationalism]].<ref>[http://www.southerntimesafrica.com/article.php?title=Mugabe_-_in_his_own_words&id=5960 Mugabe - In His Own Words]. ''The Southern Times''. June 20, 2011.</ref> The answers that analysts offer range from his early years as a fatherless child doted on by his mother,<ref>Heidi Holland. 2008. ''Dinner with Mugabe: The Untold Story of a Freedom Fighter who Became a Tyrant''. Penguin. ISBN 978-0143025573.</ref> to his indoctrination in conservative [[Roman Catholicism]] and fear of prosecution.<ref>John Hickman. [http://www.fpa.org/topics_info2414/topics_info_show.htm?doc_id=1601344 With Too Many Explanations For Repression in Zimbabwe.] ''Foreign Policy Association''. June 11, 2011</ref>

He was forced to resign in November 2017 by his own government, ending his decades-long rule.

==Human rights abuses==
3 years after his election, Mugabe oversaw the 1983–1987 ''Gukhurandi'', the genocide of people of the Ndebele ethnic group.<ref>{{cite web| website=Genocide Watch| title= Zimbabwe Genocide Watch 2023 |date=August 30, 2023 |author=Francis, Abigail |url=https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/zimbabwe-genocide-watch-2023}}</ref> The Death toll of those murdered ranges from 2,000 documented deaths<ref>{{citation |author=Anon |title=Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace. A Report on the Disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands 1980–1989 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211071232/http://www.sokwanele.com/pdfs/BTS.pdf |publisher=Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe and the Legal Resources Foundation (Zimbabwe) |date=April 1999}}</ref> to an estimated 40,000 killings.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Battle for Zimbabwe: The Final Countdown |last=Hill |first=Geoff |location=Johannesburg |publisher=Struik |year=2005 |orig-year=2003 |isbn=978-1-86872-652-3}}</ref>

[[Amnesty International]] has condemned his brutal regime and his violent tactics. In his desperation to hang onto power, Mugabe jailed or killed opposition [[politician]]s and [[human rights]] workers. There is a whole body of evidence pointing to [[extrajudicial executions‎]] and [[torture]] of [[journalist]]s, opponents and activists. Opposition gatherings were frequently subject to [[Police brutality|brutal police attacks]]. Mugabe cracked down on fair elections, with massive electoral fraud and violence against opponents.

From 2001 to 2006 the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has recorded 363 cases of torture, 516 cases of assault, 58 cases of death threats, 399 cases of unlawful arrest and 451 cases of unlawful detention, all by [[law enforcement]] bodies loyal to Mugabe. Many of these incidents include multiple victims. Since 1987, Mugabe had [[Homophobia|tightened laws against homosexuals]], often making public speeches targeting [[gay]]s as being "un-African" and "colonial." In September 1995, Zimbabwe's parliament passed legislation outlawing homosexual acts. The charge of [[sodomy]] is used to bring down political opponents, including former president Canaan Banana in 1996, who ended up serving 10 years in prison. [[British]] gay activist [[Peter Tatchell]], appalled at the human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, attempted to make a citizen's arrest of Mugabe in [[Belgium|Brussels]] in 2001 and was subsequently brutally beaten by Mugabe's bodyguards, causing Tatchell permanent injury. In 2013 Mugabe used a rally before thousands of people to order the decapitation of gay men.<ref>[http://www.advocate.com/politics/2013/12/13/phobie-awards-13-worst-people-year?page=0,2 Phobie Awards: The 13 Worst People of the Year | Advocate.com]</ref>

==Economic failure==
[[File:Zimbabwe $100 trillion 2009 Obverse.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Due to Mugabe's efforts, everyone could be a trillionaire!]]
Mugabe was incensed by the fact that huge parts of the country's land was owned by white farmers, while the black majority were not significant landowners. In response to this he began a "land reform" policy which involved sending paramilitary groups to seize farms from white farmers, encouraging them to engage in murder and particularly nasty forms of torture. However unfair the land distribution had been beforehand, the fact is that these farms had been quite productive and their owners knew what they were doing. The land did not go to black farmers—indeed, many of them who had worked with or under white farmers received similar treatment during the illegal seizures—and instead went to his cronies. Unfortunately, it turned out that his cronies weren't qualified farmers, and a country which once had a food surplus was soon plagued by violence and [[poverty]]. The country is also facing a huge [[AIDS]] crisis, with an estimated quarter of the population infected.

When the farms began to massively under-perform because of his policies, and with other areas of the economy performing poorly, Zimbabwe's [[tax]] receipts fell substantially. Instead of cutting spending, increasing taxes, cutting corruption or borrowing [[money]], the Mugabe regime insisted on [[Monetary policy|printing enough]] to meet their expenses. This, of course, made [[inflation]] spike. Rather than cut back on printing money, the state continued to do so, and instead put in place price controls enforced by the police. Instead of keeping prices down, police merely bought everything at the artificially low prices and resold it on the black market.

The currency is now essentially worthless, with an inflation rate calculated at 6+ ''sextillion'' (10<sup>21</sup>) percent.<ref>{{wpa|Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe}}</ref>

==Fall from grace==
Zimbabwe's 2008 presidential election was an excellent example of how much control Mugabe had stolen in order to make himself president for life of Zimbabwe. Through power over the authorities and his heavy-handed political chicanery, the election became confusing and violent as people were arrested by the hundreds, and the opposing party was severely suppressed. Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change, was forced to flee to the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] Embassy for a while because of the danger and confusion. In the end, Mugabe was sworn in as Zimbabwe's president for a sixth term, continuing his regime and effectively turning the election into a complete sham as there was no-one for him to run against.

Reaction has been muted. Most [[West]]ern countries have condemned Mugabe's policies, but fear being too hard on him, since he is revered as an anti-[[imperialism|imperialist]] hero by the other rulers in sub-Saharan Africa. At a July 2008 meeting of the African Union, Mugabe was welcomed with the warmth to which he is accustomed.

He insisted he would run for president again at 92, and also stated he would never retire, and would stay in power "until God says come".<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20160219095654/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/until-god-says-come-tu/2526514.html</ref> It's an open secret in Zimbabwe that Mugabe had been undergoing blood transfusions for years. That explains Mugabe's unbelievable longevity—it slowed his aging.<ref>[http://mg.co.za/article/2014-02-20-mugabes-90th-birthday-plans-cause-outcry "Mugabe's 90th birthday plans cause outcry"], ''Mail & Guardian'' (2/20/14 at 09:06).</ref>

Mugabe's attempt to purge the ZANU-PF of members standing in the way of his official successor, the military-backed Vice President Emmerson Mnangawa,<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/13/zimbabwe-army-chief-warns-military-could-step-in-over-party-purge</ref> led to the military seizing control over the capital city of Harare on 14 November 2017,<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/14/tensions-rise-in-zimbabwe-as-military-drives-through-outskirts-of-capital</ref><ref>http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41992351</ref> with Mugabe placed under house arrest<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/16/mugabe-detention-photos-emerge-as-pressure-grows-on-zimbabwes-military</ref> and the fate of his wife left unknown.<ref>https://news.sky.com/story/robert-mugabes-wife-grace-flees-zimbabwe-amid-army-takeover-11127740</ref><ref>https://www.namibian.com.na/61581/read/Namibia-worried-about-Zimbabwe</ref> After a period of opaque uncertainty he resigned, with his successor saying he had done so willingly in exchange for immunity to prosecution and Mugabe claiming he had been forced to step down illegally and was still the rightful president. However, he had no capacity to act on this rhetoric and was already in declining health, so he died about two years later living on a stipend from the government that overthrew him, the money drawn from the country he first liberated and then promptly ruined. Poetic, is it not?

Unfortunately his successor was just as despotic.

==Social science irrationality==
Mugabe is a prime example of how even [[Economics|social science laws]] cannot be flouted. The overall effects of supply and demand, along with inflation and price controls, are very well understood. Every economist could have told Mugabe that printing more money would lead to free-fall inflation; every economist could have told Mugabe that price controls would lead to shortages (and every political scientist could have told him that, with the corruption endemic in the country, the police and government officials would have taken advantage of both).

However, many still believe that economics and other social phenomena are not merely soft sciences, but [[pseudoscience]]s that are entirely manipulable by a sufficiently dedicated hand. That Mugabe continued to blame Western imperialists, rather than his own insane policies, shows that he'd never listen to reason. It must be understood that these laws are just as strong as the [[law of gravity]].<ref group=note>Well maybe not gravity, since that will remain whether or not people are there to attribute value to it. Still, you get the idea!</ref>

==Blood diamonds==
Mugabe and his family were implicated in a [[WikiLeaks]] document of profiting from the sale of "[[Diamond#Blood diamonds|blood diamonds]]" from Zimbabwe. These blood diamonds, also called conflict diamonds, are being mined from the Marange mine fields in Zimbabwe, a site that lost its Kimberley Process (KP) certification in 2010 after reports of forced labor and other human rights violations reached the [[Israel]]i Diamond Exchange, the group that issues KPs. The WikiLeaks cable showed that Mugabe's family were profiting from the smuggling, as well as a string of top officials in Mugabe's ZANU-PF party named as active participants in the venture, paying for gems with freshly printed Zimbabwe dollars and reselling them for more valued [[US dollar]]s.

==Fascistic behavior==
[[File:Mugabe-Hitler comparison.jpg|thumb|180 px|right|Need we say more?]]
Some detractors of Mugabe have classified his style of rule in Zimbabwe to be part of the "Afro-fascist" phenomena (on the same level of similar Afro-fascist dictators such as [[Idi Amin]] and Charles Taylor). Mugabe's ideology has also been cited by historians and scholars of fascism as an example of [[third positionism]].<ref>https://allafrica.com/stories/200112110534.html</ref>

Despite claiming to be fighting for black Zimbabweans, Mugabe and his regime were initially responsible for the deaths of thousands of black citizens before eventually targeting white Zimbabweans. Some historians have rightfully pointed out how this mirrored the rise of the Nazis in Germany during the 1930s, through targeting dissidents despite claiming to be fighting for all their countrymen and later targeting ethnic minorities as well.<ref>https://www.jstor.org/stable/25065089</ref> Comparisons between Mugabe and Hitler have also been made, and for justified reasons. Both were ruthless fascist dictators who desired a militant ethnostate and claimed to be taking land back from "foreign invaders" (Jews for Hitler, and whites for Mugabe), had fascist allies who they initially had a poor diplomatic relationship with (Museveni and Mussolini), and finally, they both had atrocious toothbrush mustaches.<ref>https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-zimbabwe-politics-mugabe/mugabe-zimbabwes-liberator-and-for-many-its-oppressor-idUKKBN1DL24W</ref>

Despite this, Mugabe embraced the Hitler comparisons and repeatedly compared himself to the dictator, being a case of self-inflicted Godwin's Law. The fact that he sees Hitler as a good example of a world leader should tell you everything you need to know about his ideology. <ref>https://punchng.com/let-me-be-a-hitler-tenfold-and-other-mugabes-quotes/</ref>

==International support==
Tyranny and corruption mean fewer friends rather than no friends in international affairs. Beginning in 1981, advisers from the [[North Korea]]n People's Army trained the Zimbabwe National Army's Fifth Brigade, which then conducted a series of massacres in Matabeleland from 1982–1985. Matabeleland is home to the Ndebele-speaking minority who have opposed Mugabe's ZANU in general elections. As a reward, North Korea got a bunch of animals out of that deal,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/13/robert-mugabe-animals-north-korea Ark of animals sent to North Korea, Guardian]</ref> mostly because Zimbabwe couldn't afford anything else. Mugabe was free to commit his crimes, in part, because of his friendship with [[South Africa]]n President [[Thabo Mbeki]].<ref>Andrew Feinstein. 2009. ''After the Party''. London: Verso. Pp. 103-110</ref> Unlike his predecessor, [[Nelson Mandela]], Mbeki proved more of an African nationalist and thus more willing to indulge misrule in Zimbabwe. In time, however, there were signs that Jacob Zuma, then-President of South Africa, was ready to distance Pretoria from Harare because of human rights violations and [[authoritarian]]ism in Zimbabwe.<ref>Celia W. Dugger. [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/11/world/africa/11zimbabwe.html?_r=0 "Mugabe Faces pro-democracy Push From Powerful Neighbor, South Africa."] ''[[The New York Times]]''. June 11, 2011.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Idi Amin]]
*[[Muammar Gaddafi]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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Categories: African politicians, Anti-imperialism, Anti-Western, Authoritarianism, Christians, Catholics, Crimes against humanity, Dictators, Fascists, Genocide, Government incompetence, Homophobes, Leftists who turned right with age, Left-wing nationalism, Racists, Right-wing activists, Sexists, Socialists, Totalitarianism