Mugabe is ‘relishing new future’
• Former first lady Grace focuses on plans to build university in his honour after payout that secured autocrat’s resignation
Robert Mugabe’s nephew said on Sunday the ousted Zimbabwean president was in good health and “quite jovial” after being forced to resign when a military takeover ended his 37 years in power.
Robert Mugabe’s nephew said on Sunday the ousted Zimbabwean president was in good health and “quite jovial” after being forced to resign when a military takeover ended his 37 years in power.
But Leo Mugabe declined to discuss the $10m retirement bonus that was reportedly granted to the 93-year-old former president as part of a deal that finally persuaded him to resign on Tuesday.
“He is fine. I have been to see him, he is quite jovial,” the son of Mugabe’s late sister Sabina said.
“He is actually looking forward to his new life — farming and staying at the rural home. He has taken it well.”
Mugabe’s wife, Grace, was now concentrating on plans to build a university in his honour, he said. “I like the spirit she has, she is with him all the time. She is an amazing person. She wants to continue planning the Robert Mugabe University so they have something to do,” he said.
Zimbabwe announced plans in August to build the $1bn postgraduate university in Mazowe, 35km from Harare.
The plan drew fierce criticism as Mugabe is accused of brutal repression and bringing the country to economic ruin.
In the exit negotiations, Mugabe was granted a $10m lump sum, full immunity and allowed to keep his assets, according to the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper.
He will still be paid his full salary, in line with the constitution, while Grace Mugabe will reportedly receive half his pay after his death.
Asked about the deal, Mugabe’s long-time spokesman George Charamba said that “the package of a retiring president will be defined [by] law”.
Earlier, he said immunity had not been discussed in the talks between the president and the army chiefs who briefly put Mugabe under house arrest.
Grace Mugabe, 52, was alleged to have positioned herself as Mugabe’s chosen successor, prompting the military to intervene on November 14 and usher in its preferred candidate, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa, a former close ally of Mugabe for decades, has vowed sweeping changes to revive the country’s moribund economy. In his inaugural address on Friday, Mnangagwa also paid tribute to Mugabe, describing him as one of the “founding fathers of our nation”.
Critics fear Mnangagwa — who has been accused of overseeing violence and ethnic massacres — could prove as authoritarian as his predecessor.
Mugabe had ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, exercising almost total authority to crush any sign of dissent during a reign characterised by brutality, rigged elections and international isolation.
Until his rule ended on Tuesday with a resignation letter sent to MPs who had gathered to impeach him, he was the world’s oldest head of state. Activist pastor Evan Mawarire called on Sunday for Mugabe to face justice, saying that further demonstrations could erupt if people believe there was no accountability for decades of state crimes.
“A lot of people in this country have been wronged and oppressed. It is important they see justice playing out,” Mawarire said after preaching at his small church in Harare.
“[If] he is not prosecuted, that takes away a sense of closure. It is important for these criminals to be followed up to show the nation that the law catches up with them.”
Mugabe made a defiant televised address last Sunday, but his and his wife’s current whereabouts are unknown.
On Friday, a high court ruled that the military takeover was legal, raising concern about the army’s future influence and the rule of law under the new administration.