Mugabe's Bad Medicine

Chenjerai "Hitler" Hunzvi rejoiced in his nickname. An outspoken M.P. in the ruling African National Union-Patriotic Front (zanu-pf), Hunzvi said the moniker reflected his unrelenting black-nationalist stance against white colonialism. As motivator of the recent invasions of white-owned farms, property and businesses by "war veterans," he had lots of opportunity to live up to the name. Volatile and uncompromising, he openly encouraged lawlessness and violence against whites and political opponents.

So his death in Harare last week at age 51 was widely seen as a setback for President Robert Mugabe. Hunzvi, who was trained as a physician,...