In this file photo taken on August 5, 2017 Zimbabwean opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) addresses
supporters gathered at a rally to launch the opposition parties'
coalition to fight Zimbabwe's long-time president in 2018 elections in
Harare. He died on February 14, 2018. PHOTO | JEKESAI NJIKIZANA | AFP
Morgan Tsvangirai, the
veteran Zimbabwean opposition leader who fought Robert Mugabe's regime
for many years, died on Wednesday after battling against cancer, a party
official said.
Tsvangirai, who founded the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) in 1999, was among the most prominent
critics of Mugabe, the long-time authoritarian leader who was ousted
from power in November.
"It is sad for me to announce
that we have lost our icon and fighter for democracy," Elias Mudzuri,
one of the vice-presidents of the MDC, said on Twitter.
Tsvangirai's death was confirmed to AFP by another senior party member. He was 65.
ASSASSINATION
Mugabe's government detained him on numerous occasions over his vocal criticism of the regime.
Security
forces swooped on Tsvangirai in 1989 after he bluntly warned about the
rising tide of political repression in the country.
Tsvangirai
also claimed to have been the target of four assassination attempts —
including one in 1997 in which he said attackers attempted to throw him
out of his office window.
On
February 8, Mr Tsvangirai appointed Mr Nelson Chamisa, one of his three
deputies, to take charge of the party while he undergoes treatment for
colon cancer in South Africa.
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