During her country's heated presidential contest of 2008, young Zimbabwean photojournalist Annie Mpalume took photos of fellow citizens as they waited hours in long lines to enter a stadium where opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai held his first campaign rally. "‘Mugabe Must Go,' was the cry of the people," says Mpalume, who focused her lens on this bold banner.

Their enthusiasm quickly vanished as the government of President Robert Mugabe used violence and intimidation to put down the opposition. Under Mugabe's twenty-eight-year rule, Zimbabweans have endured great hardships, marked by a sinking economy and growing poverty. Mugabe expropriated white minority-owned farms, eventually leaving the once-productive country unable to grow enough crops to feed its own citizens, and he used brutal methods repeatedly to stamp out political opponents. "Most talk about how tired they are of Mugabe and the problems he has brought upon their lives," says Mpalume. "They want to see change, and they don't want to live in fear anymore."

Tsvangirai gained more votes in the March 29 election, but official results showed he did not exceed the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff. The ensuing political violence prompted international mediators to intervene and broker a power-sharing deal with Mugabe as president and Tsvangirai as prime minister.

Photographer Annie Mpalume is covering the economic and political crisis in her homeland. After receiving a full scholarship to study photojournalism in South Africa in 2007, Mpalume returned as one of the only female photojournalists in the country.