Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa is reported to have abandoned the closing ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa to return to Harare.
According to reports, he is rushing home to make arrangements for the funeral of former President Robert Mugabe.
Mnangagwa announced Mugabe’s death in Singapore early today.
“It is with the utmost sadness that I announce the passing on of Zimbabwe’s founding father and former President… Robert Mugabe,” Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a tweet.
“Mugabe was an icon of liberation, a pan-Africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of his people. His contribution to the history of our nation and continent will never be forgotten.”
First heralded as a liberator who rid the former British colony of Rhodesia of white minority rule, Mugabe used repression and fear to rule until he was finally ousted by his previously loyal generals in November 2017.
Mugabe had been battling ill health, and after his humiliating fall from office, his stamina seeped away rapidly. He was hospitalised in Singapore for months for an undisclosed ailment, Mnangagwa had confirmed earlier this year.
No further details were immediately available about the circumstances of his death, or where he died.
