President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe has beaten Microsoft founder Bill Gates to this year’s Confucius Prize, which is China’s equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Mugabe was nominated for and won the award based on what the award committee regarded as his strength in “overcoming hardship” in Zimbabwe, a country he has ruled for 35 years.
The 91-year-old Mugabe was nominated for the award alongside Microsoft founder Bill Gates and President of South Korea Park Geun-hye.
The Confucius award which was instituted in 2010 has also been awarded to notable world leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and late ex-Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
The award committee in a statement eulogised Mugabe’s sterling performance in seeing to the welfare of his nation’s citizens.
“Ever since Robert Mugabe was sworn in as the president of Zimbabwe in the 1980s, he has worked hard to bring political and economic order to the country and to improve the welfare of the Zimbabwean people by overcoming hardship,” the statement said.
Mugabe has been criticised for stifling opposition, perpetuating himself in office and running the economy of his country aground by critics within and outside the country.
Apparently this was of little concern to the award committee as its leader Qiao Damo was quoted as saying: “Every country’s economy has its highs and lows. Though its economy is lagging behind, [Zimbabwe is] a very stable country [and] stability is precious in the African continent.”
“If Zimbabwe did not have Mugabe as its president, the country would be facing great difficulty – even public security might be in danger,” Damo stressed.
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