Robert Mugabe was a revolutionary hero who had spent years in jail for the “liberation” struggle when he came to power in Zimbabwe elections after independence was declared in 1980.
This is why, even today, many African leaders remain reluctant to criticise him – unlike a large number of his compatriots who experience his rule first-hand.

After decades of authoritarian rule, his country is in political and economic turmoil.
The proud 93-year-old is reluctant to relinquish power but as his physical powers have visibly deteriorated, the battle over his succession has come to the fore.
The independence-era old guard represented by sacked Vice-President Mnangagwa is rivalling the younger “Generation-40” faction fronted by Mrs Mugabe.
Grace Mugabe
Grace Mugabe, Robert’s second wife and more than 40 years his junior, has risen from presidential typist to the most powerful woman in Zimbabwe.
They met and had their first two of three children while Mr Mugabe’s first wife, Sally, was terminally ill with cancer, though they only married after her death.
Her alleged appetite for extravagant shopping earned her the moniker Gucci Grace.
Mrs Mugabe last week described her rival, Vice President Mnangagwa, as a “snake” which “must be hit on the head”. The next day President Mugabe sacked him.
Emmerson Mnangagwa
Until Mrs Mugabe’s rise, Emmerson Mnangagwa had been viewed for several years as President Mugabe’s anointed successor.
Following military training in Egypt and China, he helped direct the “liberation” struggles prior to independence in 1980, spending time in jail where he was allegedly tortured. He has been in government ever since.
He is known in Zimbabwe as “ngwena” or “crocodile” because of his political shyness, biding his time in the 1990s to reclaim a position of power after falling foul of Mr Mugabe and being cast into political oblivion. But his fearsome reputation means he is little loved in the rank-and-file of the Zanu-PF party.
Gen Constantino Chiwenga
Gen Constantino Chiwenga, 61, is a close ally of Mr Mnangagwa and has led Zimbabwe’s national army since 1994.
Gen Chiwenga was also a product of the country’s independence struggles, training with the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army in Mozambique and later rising through its ranks.
In 2002, he and 18 other close associates of President Mugabe were sanctioned by the European Union, United States and New Zealand, including a travel ban and freeze on his foreign assets, which has been repeatedly extended. In 2003, he was promoted to commander general of the Zimbabwe combined armed forces.