When the President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa announced the death of former President Robert Mugabe on Friday, September 6, many African leaders did not quite know what to say in their tributes.

Mnangagwa, the man who ended his 37-year-rule in a coup described him as an icon of liberation.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said Mugabe’s sacrifices, especially in struggling for the political and economic emancipation of his people, will always be remembered by posterity.

South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa said his people joined Zimbabweans in mourning “the passing of a liberation fighter and champion of Africa’s cause against colonialism”.

But not many in Zimbabwe hold a similar opinion of the former schoolteacher who led the Southern African country with iron fists for close to four decades that he was in charge.

In Africa, everyone knew what he stood for. He was anti-colonialist, anti-imperialist and a champion of African nationalism. Each time he spoke, he did not hide his disgust at any perceived white supremacy tendencies in any part of Africa.

He seemed to be the only black African leader who had the guts to challenge the western authorities while paying deaf ears to vitriolic criticisms by western media which had hitherto sought to keep most African leaders in check over the past decades of independent Africa. For those reasons, he was loved by many across the continent.

But in Zimbabwe, the story is totally different. He is best remembered for his intolerance to any form of opposition, human rights abuses and poor economic policies which plunged most Zimbabweans into poverty and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing from their home country in a struggle for survival.

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