Mugabe's honorary degree 'may be revoked'

The University of Massachusetts may revoke a honorary degree awarded to Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe.

When Mugabe received an honorary doctorate of law from the campus in 1986, he was hailed as a humane revolutionary who ended an oppressive white rule to establish an independent Zimbabwe in 1979 (he was elected to office in 1980).

Since then, he has been condemned for attacks on dissidents and accused of running a corrupt government that has ruined the economy.

Some students at the Boston, USA, campus have circulated a petition asking for the university to revoke Mugabe’s degree and officials say they are considering doing so. The issue has also surfaced at Scotland’s University of Edinburgh and Michigan State University.