Why the military keep this ageing dictator in power

President Mugabe has not acted alone in bringing Zimbabwe to its knees.

He has a band of willing accomplices, many of whom fought alongside him in the guerrilla war against white rule and have benefited enormously from his time in power.

They rule through the secretive Joint Operational Command (JOC), which in effect took over after the first round of voting on March 29. Mr Mugabe was officially defeated in the vote for the first time since he took power in 1980, though the opposition narrowly failed to gain an outright victory.