Bankrupt Zimbabwe says it will spend about £800 million on a new university which will be named after President Robert Mugabe, 93. The university will be built on land seized from white farmers by his wife, Grace.

The announcement came from Jonathan Moyo, minister of Higher and Tertiary Education who is heavily involved in the succession battle over Mr Mugabe’s replacement when he retires or dies.

He said the university will concentrate on science, technology and engineering and will also have a research institute. Mr Moyo said the cabinet has already approved cash for the construction of the university.

“The Ministry is privileged and excited about Cabinet’s decision to establish The Robert Gabriel University. There can be no better recognition of President Mugabe’s commitment to education and his exemplary leadership.”

Mr Moyo said the university will be built in the Mazowe district, 36 km north west of Harare, which is where Mrs Mugabe seized her first white-owned farm from an elderly couple in 2002. Mrs Mugabe has taken over several more farms in the district.

With cash from a Chinese company, Mrs Mugabe built two expensive private schools on the land she took from the white farmers.