Mugabe Remembered

From Our Own Correspondent

BBC

News, News Commentary

4.4 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 7 September 2019

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Robert Mugabe has died. How do you sum up such a complex and contradictory figure? Andrew Harding recalls his final encounter with Mr Mugabe and reflects on the perils of living too long.

In Germany the far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland is celebrating after doing well in two regional elections. Damien McGuinness has been meeting some of their supporters and says that their electoral success has led to a wider debate about why east Germans have not felt the benefits of unification.

Malaria is a constant threat to life in Burkina Faso. A newer threat comes from an Islamist-led insurgency that has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. But the cutting-edge research into tackling mosquitoes continues undisturbed, for now, as Jennifer O'Mahony reports.

The Romanian national football team is no great shakes at the moment and is unlikely to qualify for the European Championship finals in 2020. But another game, the origins of which are lost in the mists of time, is gaining popularity. Emma Levine has been to watch it being played in the town of Frasin.

In Papua New Guinea it’s estimated that 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, despite the country’s enormous mineral wealth. Charlie Walker says there’s one particular mineral that people are interested in.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.
0:05.0	Good morning. Today, killer chicken stare at its entrails and know the future.
0:11.0	That was the old way, but in Germany our man wonders if there is a link
0:14.8	between what you eat for lunch and how you might vote. Much needed research into malaria
0:20.8	prevention in Burkina Faso, but it's threatened by an armed uprising.
0:26.2	In Romania, who cares about international football when your world beaters at your own homegrown
0:31.9	sport? And in Papua New Guinea why mining is preferable to farming.
0:37.0	But first the death of Robert Magabe in Singapore.
0:43.1	Announced on Friday, less than two years after he was forced out of office as President
0:48.0	of Zimbabwe, having led the country to independence from Britain in 1980 and also been its first Prime Minister.
0:56.6	But many will remember his time in power as characterised primarily by violence, corruption and economic disaster. Andrew Harding recalls their last
1:06.5	encounter. It was a warm Sunday afternoon early last year and Robert Magabe was
1:12.2	sliding gently off his chair. His wife Grace
1:15.9	rushed over to push another cushion behind him, wedging the former president safely
1:20.6	in place between chair and desk.
1:23.0	The 94-year-old's mind was evidently still sharp.
1:27.0	He spoke for more than an hour railing peevishly against the traitors who'd recently forced him out of office.
1:34.0	But his body was failing him.
1:36.0	He seemed lost inside his dark tailored suit.
1:39.0	Great efforts were made by his aides
1:41.0	to ensure that we did not see him attempt to stand up.
1:45.0	Sometimes it can be a curse to live too long.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.