A
abujagirl
Guest
Several media reports are claiming that there was a strained relationship between former president Nelson Mandela and Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. Both men share a revolutionary background in the fight against racial segregation, though they later differed on how they handled the racial issue.
The late Mandela adopted a reconciliatory approach towards his people’s former oppressors, but Mugabe chose to strike fear in the heart of the white men who once oppressed Zimbabwe.
During a 2008 interview, Mandela said, "Before I was released from prison, he was the most popular African leader, but when I was released the media said this is the end of Mugabe from the point of view of popularity. In fact he himself didn’t want me to come out of jail".
After his release from prison, Mandela visited Zimbabwe thrice.
Meanwhile, in an interview earlier this year Mugabe labelled Mandela as too much of a saint for doing good to whites who previously oppressed the black majority. Following the death of Mandela, Mugabe joined other world leaders to send out condolence messages to South Africa and Mandela Family, Mugabe described Mandela as "the greatest icon of African liberation".