Sally Hayfron
Encyclopedia
Sarah Francesca Mugabe (6 June 1931 - 27 January 1992), a.k.a Sally Mugabe, was the first wife of Robert Mugabe
, the President of Zimbabwe and the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1987 until her death in 1992. She was popularly known as Amai (Mother) in Zimbabwe
. The death of Sally is seen by some to be around the time that President Robert Mugabe began indurating his policy in Zimbabwe.
(present-day Ghana
), then a British
colony, Sally and her twin sister, Esther, were raised in a political family, which was part of the growing nationalist politics in the colonial Gold Coast. She went to Achimota Secondary School before qualifying as a teacher.
Sally Hayfron was a trained teacher
who asserted her position as an independent political activist and campaigner. She demonstrated this activism as early as 1962 when she was active in mobilizing African women to challenge Ian Smith
's Rhodesia
n constitution which resulted in her being charged with sedition and sentenced to five years imprisonment, part of which was suspended.
She met her future husband, Dr. Robert Mugabe
, at Takoradi Teacher Training College where they were both teaching.
in April 1961 in Salisbury
.
In 1967, Sally went into exile in London
, and resided in Ealing Broadway, West London
; her stay in Britain
was financed, at least in part, by the British Ariel Foundation. She spent the next eight years agitating and campaigning for the release of political detainees in Rhodesia
, including her husband who had been arrested in 1964 and was to remain incarcerated for ten years. Their only son, Nhamodzenyika, who was born in 1963 during this period of detention and imprisonment, would succumb to a severe attack of malaria and die in Ghana
in 1966. Her father also died in 1970. The British Home Office
attempted to deport her, but after her husband petitioned the British Prime Minister
, Harold Wilson
, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
, she was given British residency. Her case for residency was supported by two British Government ministers in particular: Maurice Foley
, M.P., from the Labour Party
, and Lord Lothian, from the Tory Party
. Mugabe was prevented from attending the burial of his son and Sally was left to singly bear the physical and emotional burden of the loss.
With the release of Mugabe from prison in 1975 and his subsequent escape to Mozambique
with Edgar Tekere
his fellow revolutionary and then best friend to kick start the war. Sally Mugabe was able to re-join her husband in Maputo
. Here, she found herself challenged to a new role of a mother figure to thousands of Zimbabwean refugees and revolutionaries who had fled from Rhodesian governmental oppression. Her efforts in this role earned her the popular title Amai (Mother).
In 1980 she had to make a quick adjustment to a new and national role of the wife of Zimbabwe's first black Prime Minister
. She officially became the First Lady of Zimbabwe in 1987 when her husband became the 2nd President of Zimbabwe. She was elected Secretary General of the ZANU-PF Women's League at the Party's Congress of 1989.
She also founded the Zimbabwe Child Survival Movement. Sally Mugabe launched the Zimbabwe Women's Cooperative in the U.K.
in 1986 and supported Akina Mama wa Africa, a London-based African women's organization focusing on development and women's issues in Africa and the United Kingdom.
. Upon her death she was interred at the National Heroes Acre
in Harare
, Zimbabwe. In 2002, to mark the 10th anniversary of her passing, Zimbabwe issued a set of four postage stamps, of a common design, using two different photographs, each photograph appearing on two of the denominations. She is remembered fondly with love and affection, as she is still considered the founding mother of the nation of Zimbabwe.
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
, the President of Zimbabwe and the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1987 until her death in 1992. She was popularly known as Amai (Mother) in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. The death of Sally is seen by some to be around the time that President Robert Mugabe began indurating his policy in Zimbabwe.
Early life
Born in 1931 in the Gold CoastGold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
(present-day Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
), then a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
colony, Sally and her twin sister, Esther, were raised in a political family, which was part of the growing nationalist politics in the colonial Gold Coast. She went to Achimota Secondary School before qualifying as a teacher.
Sally Hayfron was a trained teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
who asserted her position as an independent political activist and campaigner. She demonstrated this activism as early as 1962 when she was active in mobilizing African women to challenge Ian Smith
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
's Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
n constitution which resulted in her being charged with sedition and sentenced to five years imprisonment, part of which was suspended.
She met her future husband, Dr. Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
, at Takoradi Teacher Training College where they were both teaching.
Exile and family
Hayfron married Robert MugabeRobert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
in April 1961 in Salisbury
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
.
In 1967, Sally went into exile in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and resided in Ealing Broadway, West London
West (London sub region)
The West is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. The sub region was established in 2004 and was adjusted in 2008 to include Kensington and Chelsea. The west has a population of 1.6 million and...
; her stay in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
was financed, at least in part, by the British Ariel Foundation. She spent the next eight years agitating and campaigning for the release of political detainees in Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
, including her husband who had been arrested in 1964 and was to remain incarcerated for ten years. Their only son, Nhamodzenyika, who was born in 1963 during this period of detention and imprisonment, would succumb to a severe attack of malaria and die in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
in 1966. Her father also died in 1970. The British Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
attempted to deport her, but after her husband petitioned the British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
, she was given British residency. Her case for residency was supported by two British Government ministers in particular: Maurice Foley
Maurice Foley (politician)
Maurice Anthony Foley was a British Labour Party politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament for West Bromwich at a by-election in 1963, and represented the constituency until his resignation from the House of Commons in 1973...
, M.P., from the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, and Lord Lothian, from the Tory Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. Mugabe was prevented from attending the burial of his son and Sally was left to singly bear the physical and emotional burden of the loss.
With the release of Mugabe from prison in 1975 and his subsequent escape to Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
with Edgar Tekere
Edgar Tekere
Edgar Zivanai Tekere was a Zimbabwean politician. He was a president of the Zimbabwe African National Union who organised the party during the Lancaster House talks and served in government before his popularity as a potential rival to Robert Mugabe caused their...
his fellow revolutionary and then best friend to kick start the war. Sally Mugabe was able to re-join her husband in Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
. Here, she found herself challenged to a new role of a mother figure to thousands of Zimbabwean refugees and revolutionaries who had fled from Rhodesian governmental oppression. Her efforts in this role earned her the popular title Amai (Mother).
Return to politics
In 1978 she was elected ZANU-PF Deputy Secretary for the Women's League.In 1980 she had to make a quick adjustment to a new and national role of the wife of Zimbabwe's first black Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
The Prime Minister of Zimbabwe is the head of government in Zimbabwe. From 1980 to 1987, Robert Mugabe was the first person to hold the position following independence from the United Kingdom. He took office when Rhodesia became the Republic of Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980...
. She officially became the First Lady of Zimbabwe in 1987 when her husband became the 2nd President of Zimbabwe. She was elected Secretary General of the ZANU-PF Women's League at the Party's Congress of 1989.
She also founded the Zimbabwe Child Survival Movement. Sally Mugabe launched the Zimbabwe Women's Cooperative in the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1986 and supported Akina Mama wa Africa, a London-based African women's organization focusing on development and women's issues in Africa and the United Kingdom.
Death and remembrance
Sally died on 27 January 1992 from kidney failureRenal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
. Upon her death she was interred at the National Heroes Acre
National Heroes Acre (Zimbabwe)
National Heroes Acre or simply Heroes Acre is a burial ground and national monument in Harare, Zimbabwe. The site is situated on a ridge seven kilometres from Harare along the main Harare-Bulawayo Road. The shrine is a national monument of Zimbabwe...
in Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
, Zimbabwe. In 2002, to mark the 10th anniversary of her passing, Zimbabwe issued a set of four postage stamps, of a common design, using two different photographs, each photograph appearing on two of the denominations. She is remembered fondly with love and affection, as she is still considered the founding mother of the nation of Zimbabwe.