Breaking: Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai dies aged 65
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai, has died.
Details surrounding his death were still sketchy. In December he spent almost
two weeks at a hospital in Johannesburg South Africa receiving treatment for
colon cancer.
He had been airlifted on a private jet to undergo emergency surgery after his
health deteriorated, and spent some time on life support.
Tsvangirai had a tumultuous and era-defining career in Zimbabwean
politics.
He went from being a supporter
of President Robert Mugabe, o becoming his most
high-profile opponent.
Tsvangirai was born in 1952 in the village of Buhera, about 200-kilometres
south of the capital Harare.
As a young man, he worked in the mines, rising from plant operator to plant
supervisor. He joined Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party at the time of Zimbabwe's
independence in 1980.
He rose quickly through party ranks, making a name for himself as a trade
union organiser. In 1989 he became secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions.
Tsvangirai was a key figure in organising one of Zimbabwe's historic strikes,
opposing tax increase in the 1990s, when the economy declined, resulting in a
plunge in workers' living standards.
This marked the beginning of his career as a major opposition player. With
union backing, he established the Movement for Democratic Change in September
1999.
He was arrested in 2000 on charges of plotting to kill Mugabe. The case was
later thrown out of court.
As a presidential candidate, Tsvangirai lost the 2002 election to Mugabe,
amid widespread claims of vote manipulation.
In 2007, he made global headlines when he was again detained and badly beaten
in police custody. In the 2008 elections, he again stood against
Mugabe. His MDC beat Mugabe in the first round of voting. But Tsvangirai
refused to take part in further rounds, citing widespread intimidation.
In early 2009, Tsvangirai announced he would join a coalition government as
prime minister with Mugabe.
He left the position in 2013 after elections that Mugabe won.
He was active in opposition politics until his death.
Source: eNCA
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