He died Robert Mugabe, the former president of Zimbabwe who went from hero of independence to tyrant

Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, the hero of independence who led the African country from an iron fist between 1980 and 2017 and sank his economy, died at the time. 95 years old.

"With deep sadness, announcement the death of Zimbabwe's founding father and the former president, the commander Robert Mugabe, "said Friday the head of state Emmerson Mnangagwa in a tweet.

The former head of state died in a Singapore hospital where he spent seasons for medical reasons, according to the South African government. For the moment, no other details of the circumstances of death.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulates a "liberation fighter and advocate for the cause of Africa" against colonialism".

Mugabe took the reins of former Rhodesia, after his independence, in 1980. During his 37-year term at the head of Zimbabwe, one of the oldest on the African continent, went from an independence hero and a friend of the West to a tyrant who provoked the economic collapse from your country

"Comrade Bob"

Received as liberator In 1980, his policy of reconciliation in the name of the unity of the country earned him general praise, especially in foreign capitals.

But quickly, the hero showed hard hand with his opponents. His abuses against the opposition, his electoral fraud and especially his violent agrarian reform launched in 2000 have been condemned by the West.

Comrade Bob, long considered insubmersible, was gradually abandoned by the faithful of his regime.

At the end of 2017, after a military coup supported by his party (Zanu-PF), the oldest state chief on the planet He was forced to resign. He left a country in a deep economic crisis that continues to worsen.

He was replaced at the helm of the country by his former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, whom he had dismissed shortly before.

Sovereign provocateur, accustomed to shocking methods, Robert Mugabe often provoked so much the indignation of his detractors like the applause of his followers.

Since his resignation, with poor health, he has made few appearances in public. In recent years he has suffered more than a fall and falls in public.

According to the local press, he has made many trips to Singapore, where he has been traveling regularly for several years.