Face of Courage

Morgan Tsvangirai had an advantage over many other rural Rhodesian children born in the 1950s his parents believed he should receive the best possible education to ensure his future. The first of nine children, Tsvangirai made the most of his schooling and subsequent opportunities, which saw him start his working life as a sweeper in a textile factory and move on to the Trojan Nickel Mine as a plant operator. It was here that Tsvangirai’s involvement with the mining trade union began, and in 1985 he took up the full-time position of vice-president of Zimbabwe’s Associated Mine Workers Union. Three years later he became secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). Over the next ten years Tsvangirai played a key role in uniting Zimbabwe’s trade union and civil movements into an informal opposition to the Zanu-PF government of Robert Mugabe. This culminated, in September 1999, in the launch of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Under Tsvangirai’s leadership, the MDC contested the 2000 parliamentary election and the 2002 presidential election, both hampered by electoral irregularities and intimidation, including two sets of treason charges levelled at Tsvangirai. Against a backdrop of the wider social, political and economic developments in Zimbabwe, “The Face of Courage” focuses on the life and career of Morgan Tsvangirai. It draws on extended interviews with Tsvangirai and those close to him in order to provide an in-depth look at an internationally respected man who has dedicated himself to restoring Zimbabwe to a workable democracy. Sarah Hudleston was born in Zimbabwe and now lives in Johannesburg where she works as a journalist for the Financial Mail.