By Victor Anazonwu
It is now close to one year since former Zimbabwean leader, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, passed on in September 2019, raising fresh dust on what kind of leader he really was and what his legacy might be. The jury is still out on whether, ultimately, he was a child of his own circumstances or an architect of his own fate. In this article, I have assembled a list of 12 events which clearly defined the man and impacted his actions in and out of power. It is for our instruction and guidance.
Happy reading.
1. A difficult childhood scared by poverty and family upheavals
Between ages 6 & 10, young Mugabe saw his father lose his job and accommodation with the Catholic mission in Kutama, near Harare. When his parents moved out of the mission compound, Robert was forced to stay with neighbors and friends to attend school and visit “home” only on weekends. Mugabe senior subsequently abandoned his family in search of employment, returning many years later with another family – raised with a new wife in Bulawayo!
2. “Mama’s Boy”
Young Robert Mugabe loved the company of books and spent much of his time as a child studying. He did well in school but was often derided as a coward and “mother’s boy” by his peers. He scrapped through teacher training thanks to the benevolence of his maternal grandfather and an Irish Jesuit priest who mentored him. A combination of bullying and hardship probably turned him into a very resilient character.
3. Tragedy
His two elder brothers died in quick succession while growing up, leaving Robert as the only surviving male child of the family. When he eventually became a teacher on a salary of 2 pounds monthly, he was left to take care of his mother, 3 sisters and 3 other half siblings left by his father.
4. Prison
He got married in 1961, aged 37, to his Ghanaian sweetheart, Sally Hayfron. Barely two years into marital life, Mugabe was arrested for speaking against White minority government. He spent eleven years in prison between 1964 and 1975.
5. More Tragedy
His marriage to Sally produced only one child. That child, Michael, died at age 3 (reportedly from complications of Malaria) while Mugabe was in prison and his wife had taken refuge back in Ghana. So, not only was young Mugabe denied the joys of married life, his first fruit from marriage also perished in the course of struggle. His attitude to White domination and British colonialism was probably cemented at this point.
6. Exile & Struggle
Released from prison in 1975, he immediately escaped into exile in Mozambique to join and later lead the liberation struggle. There was little or no chance to make up for lost family time. Life simply continued in the trenches.
7. Pyrrhic Victory
Mugabe returned from exile to become Prime Minister in 1980, a great accomplishment by any measure. But with no surviving offspring between him and wife Sally, he lived a life of public praise and private pain, especially in a culture where children are considered essential to marital bliss. Mugabe himself later told the story of how his late mother frequently cried, begging him to give her a grandchild before she joined her ancestors.
8. Illness in the family
His wife Sally took ill with kidney disease during those trying days, spending a long time in hospital and eventually dying in 1992.
9. Lust & Infidelity
Mugabe eventually succumbed to private, family & social pressures. He began dating a certain Mrs. (!!) Grace Goreraza, who worked as a Secretary at State House. This was a few years before Sally died. They had 2 children together while Sally was still battling for dear life. A third child was born after they got officially married in 1996.
10. Age & Marital Gulf
Grace was (wait for it) 41 years younger than Mugabe whom she married at 31. She left her first husband, Russell Goreraza, an aircraft pilot whom she married at 19 and divorced 13 years later. Given their age difference and adulterous beginnings, there was no trust between the President and his new First Lady. It would appear that their relationship was driven purely by lust – lust for youthful good looks on Mugabe’s part and lust for power and its trappings on the part of his young bride.
11. Jealousy
Mugabe lived the rest of his life in perpetual fear of losing his wife to younger men. And he did (allegedly). A number of men with whom Grace was rumored to have been involved died suddenly and in mysterious circumstances when the president found out, according to reports. Even Mugabe’s most trusted security detail at a time died of suspected poisoning when it emerged that he knew of one of the affairs but chose not to tell his boss.
12. Cabinet Shenanigans
Unconfirmed reports have it that an unfulfilled Grace occasionally had her pick from some of Mugabe’s closest and most trusted allies, including a former head of Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank whom Mugabe had detailed to watch over her and keep her from straying.
With such deep emotional pains and private distractions, coupled with advancing age, it is little surprise that Mugabe rapidly lost grip of strategic state matters, lost touch with his people and became a monster in office.
He was mortally afraid to lose power because it was about the only thing that gave him relevance and kept the attention and affections (?) of his wife. He was afraid to lose Grace because it would have meant that his enemies had the last laugh. Besides, he might have lost the warmth of their children, the very family he took so long to build, and sacrificed loyalty to first wife (Sally) in order to have.
Conclusion
And so, the Lion of Harare clung on bravely, even at great pain and anguish, to the two most important trophies of his life – Power & Grace Mugabe (nee Marufu) until the inevitable end. He was a ferocious and relentless warrior, seasoned by many battles, who absolutely loathed conceding even an inch to his adversaries – if it was up to him.
Had Mugabe the privilege of commenting on his own situation in the twilight of life, he might have quipped in his familiar brand of African humor: “A man who takes ant-infested firewood home should not complain when all the lizards in his neighborhood decide to pay him a visit.”
Victor Anazonwu is a journalist, communication consultant, and author of the book, “The 8 Habits of Highly Ineffective People.” He lives in Lagos and belongs to the ’75 set.
