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-On the list of poorest countries in Africa
-Outbreak of diseases
-Economic collapse
-Political division
-Corruption
-Poor education
-Poor leadership
- Has a ranking of 0.535 on the human development index.

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-8 provinces
-land blocked
-last president served for 37 years
-2008 Zimbabwe experienced 231 million percent inflation
-one of the lowest life expectancies
-Major religions- Christianity, Apostolic, Pentecostal, Protestant, Roman Catholic, other Christian,
-Most Common Languages- English, Shona, Ndebele
-Declared independence in 1965 from UK, but was recognized in 1980s
-Presidential Republic

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- Protest has resulted in Robert Mugabe stepping down from the presidency.
- On countless occasions, Mugabe has failed to resolve political disputes within his nation.
- Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe through a mixture of coercion, bribery and revolutionary rhetoric for nearly four decades.
- Mugabe kept on getting "elected" as president, even though a majority of citizens wanted a new rule.
- Citizens want a fair democracy

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Around 2,000 opposition supporters in Zimbabwe marched in protest against the deteriorating economic situation there.

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Protesters in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Saturday demanding that President Robert Mugabe step down after a military intervention. Credit Credit Jekesai Njikizana/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans gathered in the capital on Saturday, hooting, whistling and hugging soldiers as they called for President Robert Mugabe to give up power, days after the military placed him under house arrest.

In scenes perhaps unthinkable only weeks ago, people marched side by side with members of the military - who rode in armed tanks - and the protesters hailed the army as setting them free from Mr. Mugabe's 37-year autocratic rule.

"Mugabe must go, and his goons must leave. We have been victimized by Mugabe for too long," said Nigel Mukwena, a 24-year-old student of political science at the University of Zimbabwe.

Others took selfies of the military at the rally, which converged on Zimbabwe Grounds, known as the site of addresses by Mr. Mugabe and other icons of the nation's liberation. The scenes, and the celebratory air, were a seminal shift for the country's 93-year-old leader - Africa's oldest.

Brezhnev Malaba, assistant editor of The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper, tweeted in the early hours of the march: "There are decades in which nothing happens; and then, suddenly, there are days in which whole decades happen. Zimbabwe is at that moment. Astonishing scenes here in Harare."

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Some people took selfies with members of the military on Saturday. Military leaders have insisted that their takeover was not a coup, but Mr. Mugabe was placed under house arrest. Credit Jekesai Njikizana/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

For some Africans, Mr. Mugabe remains a nationalist hero, a symbol of the struggle to throw off the legacy of colonial rule. But he was also reviled as a dictator who resorted to violence to retain power and ran a once-robust economy into the ground.

The military placed Mr. Mugabe under house arrest on Wednesday, effectively ending his long rule, but it allowed him to appear in public on Friday for a university graduation. The military sought to cast the action as an attempt to rid the president of the "criminals" in his government who have inflicted economic damage on the country.

The president's wife, Grace Mugabe, has not been seen in public since Wednesday. Her recent aspirations to succeed her husband - and her and their sons' lavish lifestyles - appear to have been a trigger for his downfall.

On Friday evening, a majority of the leaders of Mr. Mugabe's governing ZANU-PF party, which he had controlled with an iron grip since independence in 1980, recommended his expulsion, according to ZBC, the state broadcaster.

"Many of us had watched with pain as the party and government were being reduced to the personal property of a few infiltrators with traitorous histories and questionable commitment to the people of Zimbabwe," the party leaders said in a resolution. "Clearly, the country was going down the wrong path."

Veterans of the independence war, activists and ruling party leaders called publicly for Mr. Mugabe to be removed from office after 37 years. Credit Jekesai Njikizana/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

A nephew of Mr. Mugabe's, Patrick Zhuwao, told Reuters on Saturday that the president and his wife were "ready to die for what is correct" and had no intention of stepping down. Speaking from South Africa, Mr. Zhuwao was quoted as saying that Mr. Mugabe had hardly slept since the military seized power, but that his health was otherwise "good."

On Saturday morning, Zimbabweans - some chanting, "Enough is enough!" and carrying signs emblazoned with "Mugabe must go" - marched alongside soldiers in tanks mounted with machine guns.

For many Zimbabweans, the atmosphere was electric and filled with hope. Marchers swarmed to the grounds, and drivers honked their horns. At one point, military aircraft streaked above the crowds. Later, demonstrators marched toward Mr. Mugabe's residence in the exclusive Borrowdale suburb of Harare, where he was believed to be held in military custody.

"Soldiers are being feted as heroes on the streets of Harare," Mr. Malaba, the editor, said on Twitter. "Euphoric scenes. People are standing next to army tanks and taking selfies. I've seen chaps excitedly polishing soldiers' boots in a gesture of gratitude. This is unprecedented. Historic!"

Benita Mudondo, 57, came to the rally from the Nyanga District, more than 180 miles to the east, near the border with Mozambique. "Surely Zimbabwe, our country, is back - the one country we fought for," she said. "We had given up, but had become worried about the future of our children and grandchildren."

The military takeover in Zimbabwe is just the latest in a long history of government overthrows. Here are several types of coups perpetrated by rogue operators. Published On Credit Credit Image by Malin Palm/Reuters

Her husband, Ernst Mudondo, 67, a war veteran, said, "Our joy only starts today, and we are so happy."

Their daughter, Michelle Mudondo, 17, added: "We want to see our country on a path back to recovery; I look forward to a stable government with a stable economy without shortages of cash."

Economic opportunity was cited by others. "I am here because I want a job, and Mugabe couldn't deliver," said Simbarashe Sakuona, 23, who said he had a degree in marketing from Midlands State University. "We were witnessing a bedroom coup as Grace now called the shots. Grace can't be a leader."

The prospect that the end of Mr. Mugabe's era could unleash a crisis on the African continent spurred the South African president, Jacob Zuma, to send envoys to try to defuse the situation.

Mr. Zuma said on Saturday that his country was committed to supporting "the people of Zimbabwe," according to Reuters. He added that he was cautiously optimistic that the situation could be resolved amicably.

Now, Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, the vice president of Zimbabwe until he was fired recently, is in line to become the country's new leader. Observers say he shares some of Mr. Mugabe's traits, including a hunger for power and a taste for repression. His nickname: the "crocodile."

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A14 of the New York edition with the headline: 'Mugabe Must Go': Thousands in Zimbabwe Protest Leader After Takeover. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

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'Mugabe Must Go': Thousands in Zimbabwe Rally Against Leader

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HARARE, Zimbabwe - Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans gathered in the capital on Saturday, hooting, whistling and hugging soldiers as they called for President Robert Mugabe to give up power, days after the military placed him under house arrest.

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forcible redistribution of farmland caused severe decline in the country's food production leading to a widespread famine

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Zimbabwe's ruling party expected to sack Robert Mugabe

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President close to losing grip on power as tens of thousands join marches calling for his resignation

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Contents

1. Robert Mugabe: From Teacher to Freedom Fighter

2. Robert Mugabe: Prison and Exile

3. Robert Mugabe: The Creation of Zimbabwe

4. Robert Mugabe: The Road to Tyranny

5. Robert Mugabe: Recent Years

The leader of Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980, Robert Mugabe (1924-) is one of the longest-serving and, in the latter years of his reign, most infamous African rulers. Trained as a teacher, he spent 11 years as a political prisoner under Ian Smith's Rhodesian government. He rose to lead the Zimbabwe African National Union movement and was one of the key negotiators in the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement, which led to the creation of a fully democratic Zimbabwe. Elected prime minister and later president, he embraced conciliation with the country's white minority but sidelined his rivals through politics and force. Beginning in 2000, he encouraged the takeovers of white-owned commercial farms, leading to economic collapse and runaway inflation. After a disputed election in 2009 he reluctantly agreed to share some power with the rival Movement for Democratic Change.

Robert Mugabe: From Teacher to Freedom Fighter

Robert Gabriel Mugabe was born February 21, 1924, in Katuma, a Jesuit mission station 50 miles west of the Southern Rhodesian capital. His father, Gabriel Matibili, was a carpenter from Nyasaland (later Malawi). His mother, Bona, belonged to the prominent Shona ethnic group.

Mugabe graduated from Katuma's St. Francis Xavier College in 1945. For the next 15 years he taught in Rhodesia and Ghana and pursued further education at Fort Hare University in South Africa. In Ghana he met and married his first wife, Sally Hayfron.

In 1960 Mugabe joined the pro-independence National Democratic Party, becoming its publicity secretary. In 1961 the NDP was banned and reformed as the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU). Two years later Mugabe left ZAPU for the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU, later ZANU-PF), his present political home.

Robert Mugabe: Prison and Exile

In 1964 ZANU was banned by Rhodesia's colonial government and Mugabe was imprisoned. A year later, premier Ian Smith issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence to create the white-ruled state of Rhodesia, short-circuiting Britain's plans for majority rule and triggering international condemnation.

In prison Mugabe taught English to his fellow prisoners and earned multiple graduate degrees by correspondence from the University of London. Freed in 1974, Mugabe went into exile in Zambia and Mozambique, and in 1977 he gained full control of ZANU's political and military fronts. He adopted Marxist and Maoist views and received arms and training from Asia and Eastern Europe, but he still maintained good relations with Western donors.

Robert Mugabe: The Creation of Zimbabwe

A 1978 accord between Smith's government and moderate black leaders paved the way for the election of Bishop Abel Muzorewa as prime minister of the state known as Zimbabwe Rhodesia, but it lacked international recognition because ZANU and ZAPU had not participated. In 1979 the British-brokered Lancaster House Agreement brought the major parties together to agree to majority rule while protecting the rights and property of the white minority. After winning new elections on March 4, 1980, Mugabe worked to convince the new country's 200,000 whites, including 4,500 commercial farmers, to stay.

In 1982 Mugabe sent his North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade to the ZAPU stronghold of Matabeleland to smash dissent. Over five years, 20,000 Ndebele civilians were killed as part of a campaign of alleged political genocide. In 1987 Mugabe switched tactics, inviting ZAPU to be merged with the ruling ZANU-PF and creating a de facto one-party authoritarian state with himself as the ruling president.

Robert Mugabe: The Road to Tyranny

During the 1990s Mugabe was reelected twice, became a widower and remarried. In 1998 he sent Zimbabwean troops to intervene in the Democratic Republic of Congo's civil war-a move many viewed as a grab for the country's diamonds and valuable minerals.

In 2000 Mugabe organized a referendum on a new Zimbabwean constitution that would expand the powers of the presidency and allow the government to seize white-owned land. Groups opposed to the constitution formed the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which successfully campaigned for a "no" vote in the referendum.

That same year, groups of individuals calling themselves "war veterans"-though many were not old enough to have been part of Zimbabwe's independence struggle-began invading white-owned farms. Violence caused many of Zimbabwe's whites to flee the country. Zimbabwe's commercial farming collapsed, triggering years of hyperinflation and food shortages that created a nation of impoverished billionaires.

Robert Mugabe: Recent Years

After a 2008 election marred by ZANU-PF-sponsored violence, Mugabe was pressured by his regional allies to form an inclusive government with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai as vice president. Even while implementing the accord, Mugabe kept up the pressure, subjecting MDC parliamentarians to arrest, imprisonment and torture.

Mugabe has no obvious anointed successor, making it unclear what direction the country will take after its only post-independence leader dies or finally loses an election.

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Robert Mugabe: From Teacher to Freedom Fighter Robert Mugabe: Prison and Exile Robert Mugabe: The Creation of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe: The Road to Tyranny Robert Mugabe: Recent Years The leader of Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980, Robert Mugabe (1924-) is one of the longest-serving and, in the latter years of his reign, most infamous African rulers.

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economic decline results in he governments inability to pay civil servants and banks running out of money

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Since President Robert Mugabe rose to power in 1987, there has been no love lost between him and anti-government protesters who are demonstrating against President Mugabe as the country's economy deepens in recent weeks

Following the strings of protests which started on July 6, 2016 against President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabweans are at it again with another tension-soaked demonstration.

Since President Robert Mugabe rose to power in 1987, there has been no love lost between him and anti-government protesters who are demonstrating against his rule as the country's economy deepened in recent weeks.

Why Zimbabweans are Protesting

The BBC report said the protests were due to Zimbabwe's economic crunch, resulting into government's inability to pay civil servants and banks in Zimbabwe running out of money.

Describing the situation , former prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai, once considered the nation's strongest opposition figure, said, "the people's desperation is very deep," hence the need for the demonstrations"

Protest Leader, Promise Mkwananzi said the demonstration was just a build-up to a "national shutdown" on August 31.

The shutdown activists' five demands include: pay civil servants on time, reduce roadblocks and stop officers harassing people for cash, President Robert Mugabe should fire and prosecute corrupt officials, plans to introduce bond notes to ease a cash shortage should be abandoned and the last is to remove a recent ban on imported goods.

A peaceful protest turns violent

The protest initially started peacefully with supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) carrying anti-Mugabe placards and singing party songs before party leader Tsvangirai gave a speech against the President Mugabe.

"Mugabe has no solution to the crisis," "We are here to tell Mugabe and his regime that you have failed."

This was in addition to another ongoing activism campaign on twitter with the hashtag #ThisFlag.

This flag campaigner, Pastor Evan Mawarire told the BBC that "Our protest-non-violent, non-inciting, stay-at-home is the best because is within the confines of the law"

The peaceful protest however, did not last long before it snow-balled into a violent one as government's anti-riot baton-carrying police have been spotted dispersing protesters with tear gas and water cannon.

An AFP journalist reported seeing police officers beating protesters with batons before firing on the crowd with tear gas, even as some scamper for safety in the ensuing melee.

The Dewa Mavhinga of Human Rights Watch, a human rights group has raised eyebrows, alleging repression of people's fundamental rights.

It would be recalled that in April, some 3,000 opposition supporters marched in the capital over the failing economy while other protests sprang up in other locations.

#Thisflag protest moves to U.S

This week, exiled pastor Evan Mawarire responsible for starting #Thisflag protest movement has taken the protest to New York City where President Mugabe is expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

"As Mugabe comes here to attend the United Nations, we will be waiting for him. Let's refuse corruption, let's refuse injustice, let's refuse poverty in our Nation of Zimbabwe," Mawarire said in a video he uploaded on Twitter.

We a in NYC to tell our govt and the world that we want an end to injustice, corruption and poverty. #UN #ThisFlag pic.twitter.com/GGYG0HptOT
- #ThisFlag (@ThisFlag1980) September 13, 2016

#ThisFlag Campaign moves to New York City
There would be no "Arab Spring" in Zimbabwe

In the wake of the protests, Mugabe has enjoined protesters to stay clear of acts capable of breaching the law, adding that protests "don't pay".

He recently warned protesters that there would be no Zimbabwe uprising similar to the "Arab spring".

Many believed the protests might not end soon unless the President stems the tide of the economic hardships facing the country. As the battle line between the government and oppositions becomes more glaring, only time will tell whether or not the demonstrations will end soon.

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Why the Protests Against President Mugabe? | The African Exponent

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Since President Robert Mugabe rose to power in 1987, there has been no love lost between him and anti-government protesters who are demonstrating against President Mugabe as the country's economy deepens in recent weeks Following the strings of protests which started on July 6, 2016 against President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabweans are at it again with another tension-soaked demonstration.

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the protestors believe that Mugabe has no solution to their problems

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peaceful protests turn violent after police start attacking protestors

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HARARE, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Zimbabwean police on Friday fired tear gas at opposition leaders and hundreds of demonstrators as a protest against President Robert Mugabe descended into one of the worst outbreaks of violence in two decades.

Opposition head Morgan Tsvangirai and former vice president Joice Mujuru fled the rally in their cars while protesters ran for cover as police firing tear gas and water cannons broke-up the core of the demonstration. However, anti-Mugabe leaders warned that this would be the first of a series of protests.

Mugabe's opponents have become emboldened by rising public anger and protests over an economic meltdown, cash shortages and high unemployment. Mugabe, 92, has led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.

Clashes spread through the streets of the capital Harare as riot police fought running battles with protesters who hurled rocks at officers, set tires ablaze and burned a popular market to the ground, in some of the worst unrest since food riots in 1998.

Didymus Mutasa, a senior official from Mujuru's party and convener of Friday's protest, vowed to repeat the demonstration a week from now and blamed police for the violence and disobeying a court order allowing the march to proceed.

"If that was intended to cow us from demonstrating, I want to say the opposite has been the case. We are going next Friday to do exactly the same as we have done today," Mutasa told reporters.

Most businesses shut down early on Friday fearing looting by protesters. Mujuru said 50 people were injured and hospitalized.

"Mugabe's rule must end now, that old man has failed us," said one protester before throwing a rock at a taxi.

More than a hundred police officers in riot gear, backed up by water cannons and armored trucks, occupied the venue that opposition parties planned to use for their demonstration.

As opposition supporters arrived for the march, they were told by the police to leave. The officers then fired teargas and a water cannon when parts of the crowd refused to comply.

Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba said the force was still assessing the day's events.

"We will let you know once we are done," she said.

Officials from Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party were unavailable for comment.

POLICE DEFY COURT

"Demonstrating is the only solution left to force the dictator out of office," said Tapfuma Make, an unemployed 24-year-old from Chitungwiza town, south of Harare.

Zimbabwe's High Court earlier ruled that police should allow the protest to proceed between 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. (1000-1400 GMT) in what Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) called a "victory for democracy."

"Today has been for me the worst day that I have lived in this country, where I have observed with my own eyes, the state breaking its own laws and the state starting violence by attacking people who were just gathered together," Mutasa said.

Opposition parties leading the protests say the electoral agency is biased in favor of the ruling ZANU-PF and is run by security agents loyal to Mugabe, charges the commission denies.

The protesters want the next vote in 2018 to be supervised by international observers, including the United Nations. They are also calling for Mugabe to fire corrupt ministers, scrap plans to introduce local bank notes and end cash shortages.

The latest demonstrations come nearly two months after the biggest large scale 'stay at home' strike in Zimbabwe since 2007, inspired by social media movements such as #ThisFlag led by pastor Evan Mawarire.

Home Affairs Minister Ignatius Chombo on Thursday called opposition leaders "foreign agents" using protests to cause chaos in order to justify international intervention.
(Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by James Macharia and Toby Chopra)

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Anti-Mugabe Rallies In Zimbabwe Turn Violent

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HARARE, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Zimbabwean police on Friday fired tear gas at opposition leaders and hundreds of demonstrators as a protest against President Robert Mugabe descended into one of the worst outbreaks of violence in two decades.

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-94 yrs (1924)
-Sally Hayfron (his first wife) died in 1931-1992  (loved by many Zimbabweans)
-Grace Mugabe (his second wife) 53 yrs (know for extreme spending-hated by many Zimbabweans)
-Made himself second president (successor to first president)
-8 siblings
-Jailed for 10 yrs
-Was a prime minister
-Turned parliamentary democracy to a one-party socialist state