Zimbabwe - Robert Mugabe
 imbabwe Executive President Robert Mugabe is the architect of a violent land grab campaign, allegedly attempting to redistribute land amongst the peasantry, claiming reparations for white colonial rule, but in reality it is a violent crusade to retain control of the country. Opposition voices to his murderous and power hungry regime are silenced due to restrictions of free speech and protests are disbanded when participants are arrested for illegally assembling, according to FreedomHouse.org. Elections are illegitimate due to intimidation of candidates, stuffing of ballot boxes, and the censorship of opposition campaigns by the government run media.
In his campaign of corruption and violence, Mr. Mugabe authorizes his security forces to beat, rape, torture, and even kill farmers who would not give up their land for re-distribution. There is no rule of law and arbitrary arrest, detention, and sentencing of dissenters occur without a fair trial. If government agents are accused of torture or improper conduct, they are usually pardoned by Mr. Mugabe. Even though the ''s constitution provides for an independent judiciary, judges are pressured to obey the wishes of the president and if they don't, their rulings are ignored in favor of regime interests, according to the US State Department.
Mr. Mugabe's infamous Land Act gives the government authorization to seize land and farms owned by whites and re-distribute it to his supporters. According to Julian Morris of the Sustainable Development Network, these policies have cut the Zimbabwe economy in half, destroyed agricultural output to lower than subsistence levels, and caused famine. Food aid goes to government supporters, while an AFP report estimates that nearly 8 million citizens are starving.
The economy has been decimated by Mr. Mugabe's land act. Inflation hovers around 123% and per capita income is approximately $380 per year. Most citizens are unemployed, and according to the Mises Institute's Timothy Terrell, "in Zimbabwe, reparations are a transparent cover for one of the most monstrous governmental crimes of the last ten years. Mugabe's land reforms have amounted to nothing more than a land grab by his government, which is starving a country that was once of Africa's shining stars."
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