By any of the normal indices by which one judges the success of a leader of a modern nation state, he is a failure, and an abject failure at that. Yet still, after 28 years of disastrous rule, he remains at the helm and, incredibly, at the age of 84 he is putting himself forward again as a candidate - ZANU PF's only official candidate - for a further term as President of Zimbabwe. Such is the overwhelming arrogance of the man, Robert Mugabe. And that, with such a record of shame, he should have even the remotest prospect of prolonging his tenure in office, is testament only to the experience and expertise his regime has acquired in defying the democratic process.

At independence in 1980, Zimbabwe seemed poised on the threshold of an era of great promise. That independence was won at the cost of a bitter and protracted civil war, but now the proud nation was bursting with new confidence. Robert Mugabe was widely acclaimed as a hero - a revolutionary leader who had committed to the cause of reconciliation and the path of pragmatism. Western governments were falling over themselves in the rush to provide offers of aid. In the general euphoria then prevailing Julius Nyerere of Tanzania counselled Mugabe: "You have inherited a jewel. Keep it that way."