The former president’s death comes as the country finds itself at a particularly low sporting ebb
The announcement of Robert Mugabe’s death on Friday served as a reminder of Zimbabwe’s faded hope and failed promise, although it’s a journey that could relate to the country’s football as well as the state of the nation.
The ex-guerrilla chief was Zim’s first independent leader following the end of white minority rule in 1980, but despite ushering in promises of economic improvement and emancipation, his extended tenure was overshadowed by alleged human rights violations and domestic turmoil.
Considered a dictator in some quarters, Mugabe’s initial early support faded soon after he was appointed prime minister, and Zim’s economy—once a beacon of optimism for African agriculture—declined dramatically.