An unfateful October night It was a hot October night in 2009 and my fellow student leaders and I were taking public transport home after celebrating the birthday of a colleague's son. In our minds, the trip was to cap what had been a joyful day. None of us knew that events would take an unexpected turn and we would end up in a cold jail cell. After we had boarded a commuter bus at Market Square, one of the busiest terminals in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, en-route to our lowe

There have been a number of books written on Robert Mugabe in his many leadership roles. As a leader of a guerrilla movement/army, as a prime minister, as a president and even from a western perspective as a complicated/sophisticated dapper dictator. And make no mistake, many more will be written about him. As an ousted or disgraced long ruling repressive leader and also as a belatedly glorified Pan Africanist. And it is the assumptions of future published perspectives on

Robert Mugabe was a dynamic leader during his time as president, a charming and reportedly ruthless man who watched as Zimbabwe plunged into economic, social turmoil whilst portraying himself as a deity. His insatiable appetite for power escalated hatred of any form of opposition and despite the protests by the Movement for Democratic Change, civil society and various pressure groups against his rule. He managed to stay in power for 37 years before being ousted by his long t