HARARE: A day after ex-strongman and founding leader Robert Mugabe died, the only clear sign that Zimbabwe was in mourning were flags flying at half mast.

The streets and shops were packed, weddings and parties went ahead as planned. Most people were going about their usual business, trying to eke out living. For while Mugabe is hailed for having led Zimbabwe to independence, for many Zimbabweans he is also the man who wrecked their economy, leaving them to live with the consequences.

Commuter mini bus driver More Kondo, 30, was busy decanting petrol from a large jerrycan into a smaller container to share with a fellow driver.

“If it were another leader, right now this country should have shut down to mourn,” he said. “But he was an autocrat.

“Had he left power early and the country in a better shape, we would be celebrating his life and would have seriously shut down the country in honour of him.”

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2019