Robert Mugabe... What Happened?

The title sets the tone: how could this man degenerate into the infamous despot that he currently is? This political portrait of Robert Mugabe is constructed of archive footage and interviews with eyewitnesses and experts. Mugabe was born in 1924, in the former British colony of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He grew up in a poor Catholic family and was taught by Jesuits. A political career seemed the obvious choice for him, but Mugabe first got an education, traveling to Tanzania, South Africa and Ghana to study. Mugabe entered politics in the early 1960s, originally on the side of his future rival Joshua Nkomo. When Ian Smith and his white minority declared independence, a long period of uncertainty and tactical maneuvering began, ending in 1980 with the internationally recognized independence of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. From that moment on, Mugabe was the most powerful man in the country, first as prime minister and later as president. Simon Bright reveals how Mugabe, who was once viewed as a Western-oriented, sophisticated gentleman, gradually metamorphosed into a violent, unscrupulous, power-hungry dictator.