Robert Mugabe’s legacy is complicated. In the eyes of many he turned from a liberation icon, likened to Nelson Mandela, into a despot who helped destroy Zimbabwe’s economy. | Analysis by McKenzieCNN
Robert Mugabe, whose death was announced Friday, began his political career as a leader in the quest for the independence of Zimbabwe -- then known as Rhodesia -- and was regularly compared to South Africa's venerated freedom fighter Nelson Mandela.
In the mid-70s, he assumed leadership of the political wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union , a militant liberation movement based in Mozambique. He became the first prime minister of the newly independent Zimbabwe after elections in February 1980. But the descent into tyranny didn't take long.
By 1983, it became clear that Mugabe's administration would be merciless to any one opposing his rule. He presided over forces that carried out a string of massacres in opposition strongholds, and the country's Fifth Brigade is believed to have killed up to 20,000 people, mostly supporters of Mugabe's main political rival., Mugabe and his wife faced fierce criticism for leading lavish lifestyles.
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