Robert Mugabe: The Black Victorian by Percy Zvomuya sells out at its first launch in Johannesburg

Zvomuya was praised by the audience for being brave to tackle the complex life of Mugabe. The book was quickly snapped up at its launch, forcing book shop owner, Sewela Langeni of Book Circle Capital of Melville to run around to replenish the stock.

By Edward Tsumele, Winner of NHC Heritage Journalism Award 2026
Pictures: Molelekeng Mothusi/JIAS

Much has been written about the late former President of Zimbabwe Robert Gabriel Mugabe in newspaper commentaries, books and featured in film documentaries, mainly focusing on his often controversial political leadership style, particularly the decline of Zimbabwe’s economy from its pre-independence position, as according to Julius Nyerere, ‘’the jewel of Africa”  to a struggling one.

However, what has been written about his life previously, has often missed an essential element of his life, Mugabe the person. That pattern of portraiture, has however been now disrupted by a new book, By Zimbabwean born journalist and writer Percy Zvomuya in his new book Robert Mugabe: The Black Victorian.

At the launch of his book, which attracted a lot of interest from Johannesburg’s intellectual and literati community, the audience was told by Zvomuya, who has spent 10 years researching the life and times of the often polarising southern African political figure, that there was more to Mugabe than politics. The book launch was facilitated by University of Johannesburg academic Prof Admire Mare.

It is this gap that his books seeks to fill what is missing in what has been published so far about the man who led independent Zimbabwe since 1980 and till 2017, when the strongman was toppled from th4 city of power in “military assisted transition”, a word that was coined for that purpose, effectively a polite word for saying what it was – a coup detat. He was replaced by the current President of Zimbabwe Emerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.

Essentially, the author in this book is moving beyond the familiar narrative of liberator turned dictator. Zvomuya explores the contradictions that shaped Mugabe’s life, from his early years and revolutionary struggle to his presidency. The biography offers an intimate and critical portrait of Mugabe, examining his leadership and Zimbabwe’s devastating decline while providing a deeper understanding of the country, its people, and its colonial and postcolonial history.

Zvomuya was praised by the audience for being brave to tackle the complex life of Mugabe. The book was quickly snapped up at its launch, forcing bookshop owner, Sewela Langeni of Book Circle Capital of Melville  to run around to replenish the stock. Langeni had simply underestimated the demand for the book at the launch. The book soon sold out before the start of the launch at Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study, where Zvomuya is currently a research associate.

The book is currently being launch around South Africa, with further launches pencilled for Exclusive Books in Rosebank for November 3, 2026 as well as in Cape Town in the next few days.

Gauging by the popularity of the book at its launch on Tuesday, Robert Mugabe: The Black Victorian is almost certainly headed to be a on a best seller list.

The author explained some laughter from the audience when he explained why Mugabe in his book is described as a black Victorian.

“Mugabe come from a generation that was very much influenced by colonial education in which not only the mastery of English was highly regarded by his generation, but also more soil by how one spoke the language, just like the English, often through nasal pronunciation,” Zvomuya explained.

Percy was alluding to the quite curious way in which Mugabe spoke English throughout his life –very polished, articulated and strangely English. His mannerism, dress style and generally how he carried himself generally was clearly influenced by the very system he fought against to free Zimbabwe from its colonial strangle hold. He was in fact regarded even as too English for an African nationalist who fought the struggle to ironically liberate Zimbabwe from British colonialism.

A devout Catholic, Percy told of how Mugabe’s faith and its Catholic figures around him as he grew up shaped who Mugabe became.

The launch had a balanced demography, white and black, old and fairly young, who came in large numbers to fill up the venue, forcing JIAS to arrange extra seats, to hear the author speak about the life and times of a figure who was as much adored as he was loathed on the African continent, depending on one’s politics.

.The next launch for Robert Mugabe: The Black Victorian by Percy Zvomuya, which is published by Jonathan Ball Publishers, and retails for R380, is at Exclusive Books Rosebank on Tuesday, 3 November, 2026 at 6pm. It is a free event but booking is advisable as the event is likely to be oversubscribed judging by what happened at the JIAS launch on Tuesday, 27 October, 2026.