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CharlieOneSix wrote:Just came across this photo in my files - my T-shirt from the days running up to Mugabe's election when we were on a UK Government contract there....Only worn when we got back home!

Rhodesia-T-Shirt.jpg

Sisemen wrote:The narrow escapes of wives and lovers meeting could merit a whole thread on its own

Robert Mugabe exits with mansion, staff and first‑class travel

Robert Mugabe has been given a lavish retirement package that includes first-class air travel, a multimillion-pound mansion, private health insurance and numerous staff.

Zimbabwe’s ousted president will also have a fully staffed private office, bodyguards and chauffeur-driven cars likely to cost the impoverished country tens of thousands of pounds each year.

His wife, Grace, whose corruption and venality were blamed for bringing about the collapse of her 93-year-old husband’s career, will be allowed to keep most of the perks after he dies.

The terms of Mr Mugabe’s soft landing after 37 years in office were announced in the state-run newspaper The Herald. He was removed from power last month following a coup.

Yesterday the chief of the armed forces who led the military takeover was sworn in as deputy to President Mnangagwa. Constantine Chiwenga, 61, who retired from the military a week ago, swapped his fatigues for a black suit and pledged to discharge his duties “with all my strength and to the best of my knowledge and ability”.

Several senior military figures have been given prominent roles in cabinet, prompting dismay because Mr Mnangagwa had promised a clean sweep after Mr Mugabe’s long rule.

Critics said that Mr Mugabe’s retirement package was a further sign that nothing had changed, and that it would ultimately benefit Mr Mnangagwa too.

Zimbabwean presidents who serve at least one term of office will be entitled to a five-bedroom house with a separate guest wing, a swimming pool and 19 full-time members of staff. Since Mr Mugabe already owns a £7.5 million palatial home in Harare, he is expected to be given a lump sum instead.
Journalists were banned from writing about Robert Mugabe’s palace at Borrowdale Brooke

Mr Mugabe refused to cede power for six tense days after the military takeover, eventually agreeing to step down on November 21. He will get at least six bodyguards, three housekeepers, two gardeners, two waiters, two cooks and two full-time laundry staff. He will also have an office with phones, computers, private secretaries and other staff and all his household bills will be paid.

The state will provide a Mercedes Benz S500 saloon or equivalent, a four-wheel drive and a pick-up truck, complete with fuel and two drivers, to be at the couple’s disposal day and night.

When Mr Mugabe dies his wife, who is known by her detractors as Gucci Grace, will be entitled to “suitable state residential accommodation until she dies or remarries”. They can each claim four first-class flights a year, diplomatic passports and private health insurance.

Up to 70 per cent of Zimbabweans live below the poverty line and 95 per cent are unemployed. The generous package is likely to be frowned upon by donors and banks whose help will be needed to resuscitate the economy.

Tendai Biti, a senior opposition figure who briefly served as finance minister, told The Times that generous retirement packages encouraged African presidents not to overstay in office but that Mr Mugabe’s was unprecedented.

“The man is a billionaire who has stolen from state funds. He should be content with that,” he said. “To give Mugabe all this makes you wonder about Mnangagwa's motives, since he too will benefit. This will just confirm that nothing has changed.”

George Charamba, Mr Mnangagwa’s spokesman, said that the package was in keeping with the law, commensurate with Mr Mugabe’s time in office and determined not by the president but by the civil service commission. He rejected as “absolutely untrue” media reports that Mr Mugabe was also promised a $10 million golden handshake.

The ruthless new leader of Zimbabwe is being welcomed by the global elite in Davos this week – despite his links to decades of repression and genocide alongside predecessor Robert Mugabe.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, nicknamed ‘the crocodile’, became president of the African nation last year when Mugabe was forced out after a 37-year rule.

Zimbabwe's ex-leader Robert Mugabe is in Singapore for medical care and now unable to walk because of ill health and old age, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Saturday.

Zimbabwe's ex-leader Robert Mugabe is in Singapore for medical care and now unable to walk because of ill health and old age, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Saturday.

Mnangagwa told his Zanu-PF party supporters at a rally that the 94-year-old Mugabe had been receiving medical care in Singapore for the past two months.

"He (Mugabe) is now old. Of course, he now is unable to walk but whatever he asks for we will provide," Mnangagwa told hundreds of supporters in Mugabe's home area of Zvimba.

He said Mugabe was expected back in the country at the end of this month.