Canaan Banana, 67; Zimbabwe President for Most of 1980s
Canaan Sodindo Banana, 67, Zimbabwe’s first post-independence president, who was convicted and imprisoned for sodomy in 2000, died Tuesday in Harare after a long illness.
Banana served as the country’s ceremonial president from March 1980 to Dec. 31, 1987. Prime Minister Robert Mugabe then took over as president.
While in office, Banana urged Mugabe to pursue unity talks with opponents to end violence that reportedly claimed the lives of 20,000 civilians.
In a radio tribute, Mugabe called Banana “a rare gift to the nation” and said he was likely to be declared a national hero.
In 2000, the Zimbabwe Supreme Court upheld Banana’s 1998 conviction for sodomy and sentenced him to a year in jail.
During the trial a former aide testified that Banana had drugged and raped him in the 1980s.
Banana, who served only six months of his sentence, denied being homosexual and said allegations against him were part of a vendetta.
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