Fear: The Last Days of Robert Mugabe

 - Peter Godwin





Till I bought this book, my knowledge of Zimbabwe was limited to the fact that it had a national cricket team, one among the twelve cricket playing nations in the world. A legacy left by the British as it did to other colonial nations. The moment I started reading the book, it was so depressing that many a time I wanted to quit reading it midway. This is a horrible account of the reign of terror unleashed by Robert Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe.


This a first hand account of the human rights violations, rapes, tortures, beatings and executions unleashed by Mugabe supporters and partymen on their own people who opposes his rule or the opposition party members thus tightening his grip on the country and its economy. I never thought such horrors were prevalent in the country. The author travels all over Zimbabwe and puts his observations into writing talking to the people most of them Mugabe's rivals or opposition party members. The only grouse was that the entire 350 pages were devoted to the horrors and tortures inflicted on the people most of them descriptive which makes you cringe. Would have liked if the author also delved a little more into the life of Mugabe. Also the book ended abruptly which left a lot more questions to be answered.




Warning: Please do not read this if you are faint hearted owing to the tortures depicted in minute detail.