Chitungwiza – Even in the twilight of his retreat, Robert Mugabe’s legacy still echoes within the global political landscape.
Born in a poor family in Kutama in 1924, he enrolled for university in South Africa, later becoming a teacher at his former school, earning £2 per month, using it to support his family.
Mugabe became an orator, speaking the English language with a defined British accent, earning an array of accolades.
On the political set, he assumed leadership of the ruling party from 1975 until 1980. For seven years, he was Zimbabwean Prime Minister, becoming president until his retirement in 2017.
His ascendancy to the top came at a price. In 9164, he was imprisoned for sedition, serving a 10-year jail sentence from 1964. His only son also died. Upon release, he fled to Mozambique to lead the war against the settler regime.
After the war, Mugabe had a desire to transform the nation to a one-party state. “The one-party state is more in keeping with African tradition. It makes for greater unity for the people.
“It puts all opinions under one umbrella, whether these opinions are radical or reactionary,” he said then.
Ian Smith once described Mugabe as the ‘apostle of Satan’ for his anti-racism stance. His confrontation with the western powers continued when he told Tony Blair to “keep your England and I will keep my Zimbabwe.”
Mugabe justified his actions, saying he was persecuted for his will to emancipate his people and return stolen of land.
Though his fall from the throne shocked the world, he was at the summit of the political mountain for an unbeatable four decades.
The Tiyambuke International Christian Convention (TICC) is an annual gathering of Christian believers from various denominations, organized by Glory Ministries under the leadership of Apostle Pride and Anna Sibiya.
With its inception in 2001, TICC has grown to become one of the largest conferences in Zimbabwe.
The convention's name, "Tiyambuke," meaning "Let Us Cross Over," reflects its mission to lead people out of ignorance, sin, and bondage into a life of knowledge, love for God, health, prosperity, and freedom.
