Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has died at 95 Former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe is being remembered as a one-time liberator who ruled over his country's decline. His death was announced on Twitter overnight by Zimbabwe's current president. Mugabe took power in 1980, after a long war ended white minority rule in his country. For nearly four decades, he was the only leader Zimbabweans ever knew – but his tenure was marked by violent repression, increasing poverty, and unrest. He was forced to resign in 2017. At the time of his death, Robert Mugabe was 95.