Zimbabwe declares Mugabe’s birthday a public holiday

Zimbabwe has declared every 21st of February, which is the birthday of former president Robert Mugabe, 93, a public holiday, a state daily reported Monday. "It is hereby declared that February 21 of every year henceforth shall be a public holiday to be known as the Robert Mugabe National Youth Day," The Herald newspaper reported, citing a government gazette. The statement also added that the decision was officially made last Friday. The announcement comes nearly a week after the Mugabe stepped down as President, after ruling for 37 years. According to the report, the move follows intense lobbying by the ruling ZANU-PF party's youth league and came weeks after the country's biggest airport was renamed after the veteran politician. The 93-year-old suffered repeated claims of hanging on to power through brutal repression of dissent, election rigging and corruption, until concerted pressure from the military finally forced to quit. He was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was vice president until Mugabe fired him weeks ago. The declaration of his birthday as a holiday is the latest of many accolades, after it was reported that Robert and his wife Grace Mugabe will get a 'Golden goodbye’ payoff of at least $10 million, including legal immunity for himself, his family and a salary paid for life. Zimbabwe’s school of intelligence has been named after him while a $1-billion Robert Mugabe university is being built, including several buildings and roads across the country also named after him.