Robert Mugabe, the first prime minister and later president of independent Zimbabwe, who traded the mantle of liberator for the armor of a tyrant and presided over the decline of one of Africa’s most prosperous lands, died on Friday in Singapore, where he had been receiving medical care. He was 95.

The death, at Gleneagles Hospital, was announced by his successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“It is with the utmost sadness that I announce the passing on of Zimbabwe’s founding father and former President, Cde Robert Mugabe,” he wrote on Twitter on Friday, using the abbreviation for comrade. “Mugabe was an icon of liberation, a pan-Africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of his people. His contribution to the history of our nation and continent will never be forgotten.”

In August, Mr. Mnangagwa said that Mr. Mugabe had spent several months in Singapore getting treatment for an undisclosed illness.

[As Zimbabweans learned of the death of their former leader, who held the country in his grip for decades, the reaction was muted.]