Blue Roof is the common name given to a mansion and former presidential palace in the suburb of

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland, England. It is in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, and is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' to distinguis ...

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. It was built in 2006 by the ZANU-PF political party as a family home for the then

President of Zimbabwe The president of Zimbabwe is the head of state and head of government of Zimbabwe. The president chairs the national cabinet and is the chief commanding authority of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. The incumbent president is Emmerson Mnangagwa, ...

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...

. Following his death, ownership was transferred to the Mugabe family.

History

Robert Mugabe had been the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and later President of Zimbabwe following its independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and reconstitution from the unrecognised

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

. Previously he had occupied Zimbabwe House as Prime Minister and later

State House State House or statehouse may refer to: Buildings *Aso Villa or State House, the official residence of the President of Nigeria *Government House, Dominica or The State House, the official residence of the President of Dominica * State House, Bar ...

as President with both being in

. Mugabe claimed plans were made in 1986 to build a new presidential palace for his family. In 2003, ZANU-PF signed a contract with a Yugoslavian firm to build it providing the Zimbabweans provided the materials. Mugabe claimed the construction was funded by donations from China and Malaysia as well as other countries. The

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia, federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a membe ...

Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...

donated RM100,000 worth of Malaysian timber for the construction. The total cost was estimated to be around £3 million and it took three years to build. It gained the nickname of "Blue Roof" due to the blue coloured tiles from

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China used on the roof. In 2006, in preparation for the end of construction, Mugabe ordered a number of measures were put in. Owners of properties surrounding the palace were sent letters saying they faced eviction from their homes due to them being within a security area. Critics alleged that was because Mugabe did not want people living near him. Access to foot and vehicular traffic would also be restricted similar to the measures Mugabe had put in around State House. Following the

2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état In November 2017, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe was removed as president and party leader of ZANU–PF and was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa. On the evening of 14 November 2017, elements of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) gathered ...

which removed Mugabe from office, he was placed under house arrest at Blue Roof by the

Zimbabwe Defence Forces The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) are the military forces responsible for the defence of Zimbabwe against external threats from other countries, and also to suppress internal armed factions. It is composed of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and ...

. Following Mugabe's death in 2019, his body lay in state at Blue Roof. Afterwards there was doubt as to who owned the mansion. ZANU-PF claimed they owned it and hired a lawyer to ensure it was not listed as part of Mugabe's estate. Despite reports it would become a museum, ZANU-PF announced they were handing it over to Mugabe's family to help ensure their security.

References

{{Reflist Presidential residences 2006 establishments in Zimbabwe Government buildings in Zimbabwe Buildings and structures in Harare Buildings and structures completed in 2006 Robert Mugabe