Former president of Zimbabwe and long time dictator, Robert Mugabe, has died at the age of 95, the country’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced.

Mnangagwa made the announcement of Mugabe’s demise on Friday morning in a tweet he shared on his official handle.

He died in Singapore after battling ill health.

“It is with the utmost sadness that I announce the passing on of Zimbabwe’s founding father and former President, Cde Robert Mugabe,” he tweeted.

“Cde 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. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”

Mugabe had been president of the southern country since 1980 and resigned in 2017 after military pressure.

His resignation was greeted with jubilation in street of Harare, the country’s capital.

Born into a Catholic family on February 21, 1924, he was trained as a teacher at Fort Hare University in South Africa.
After teaching in Ghana, he returned to his country, which was then known as Rhodesia, where he spent 10 years in jail for his nationalist activities.

Mugabe, during his reign, was known for his polemical but witty stand on international issues especially those bordering on socio-cultural dynamics.