There was so much hope when he came to power in 1980, surrounded by perhaps the most educated cabinet on the African continent. Many believed this was the face of a new Africa – far removed from the Idi Amin, Mobutu Sese Seko and Emperor Bokassa stereotypes.

But despite his education and refinement, Mugabe has, in the long run, proved to be no different. Surrounded by a ruthless cabal of power- and diamond-hungry generals, he has made Zimbabweans an object of pity around the world.

The news from Zimbabwe grows more desolate every week. The most insidious and lasting damage from the latest catalogue of oppression and injustice may be the abduction of minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Jameson Timba, a top strategist of Zimbabwe's hitherto fiercely brave worker-based party, the MDC.

Timba was told by intelligence officials who abducted him that his safety could no longer be guaranteed. This happened after Timba had blown holes in claims that SADC had failed to force Zanu (PF) into closer accountability for its behaviour.

There are not many left now to uphold the rule of law in Zimbabwe, whether the issue be illegal seizures of foreign firms, punishment of government-sponsored thugs, or misuse of criminal process against opposition leaders.

What can be done to stop a desperate situation becoming even worse? On the face of it, pressure could be applied at three different levels, but each has limitations. Within Zimbabwe, frustration and hostility could easily boil over. But the people have had to weigh the attractions of mass Egypt-style demonstrations against the huge risk of a bloody response from Mugabe's security forces, who are likely to remain loyal to him for now.

At the regional level, Mugabe ought to be susceptible to pressure from his peers. There is plenty at stake, with their energy and other bills not being paid, and their region's stability at risk as Zimbabwe moves closer to chaos and collapse.

Analysts in Harare suggest that the government's ultra-hardline stance stems in part from Mugabe's own bruised vanity, and partly from political and economic desperation and from shrewd calculation.

Faced with open hostility on the streets of Harare, Mugabe sought to bolster his support, pointing out that half of the economy is still in the hands of whites: take the foreign-owned firms, he told his mainly rural and tribal supporters, and you will all be as rich as the whites.

Internationally, Mugabe's frequent racial outbursts and his clear sponsorship of attacks on whites, political opponents, the media and the judiciary have made him a pariah.

A proud freedom fighter who spent years in white Rhodesian prisons, who was feted as a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement and an apartheid era champion of African rights, Mugabe is now commonly mentioned in the same breath as the world’s most notorious dictators.