On Sunday 29th June, President Mugabe bulldozed his way back into office through brute force, beating his chest for winning the run-off by default and defying national and international protests, declaring that only God, who appointed him, would remove him from office.

Yet, hard though it may be to believe, this tyrant, another creation of the West, has had a similar path as Nelson Mandela, except that he did not have the grace Mr Mandela had to step aside when it was time for him to do so.

There was a time when Mr Robert Mugabe, was one of Africa?s great leaders and the hero of the nation. Before he became the most callous architect and meticulous executor of wholesale slaughter, he was regarded as a liberation hero and the darling of the West ? the man who over-rode the former Rhodesia?s white colonial legacy and created a stable black majority democracy.

<I>What went wrong then to turn a once lauded liberator and statesman, a potential Nelson Mandela, to a ruthless autocrat?</I>

I say this without shame or embarrassment: In my younger days, I had great admiration for the man. The steadfast manner by which he stood up to undesirable outside influence is admirable. He raised his paw, flicked-out his claws and roared into the distance with such vehement rhetoric. I rated him next to Mahatma Ghandi, Yassir Arafat and later Nelson Mandela.

Like Mr Mandela, Mr Mugabe rose from humble beginnings to be at the helm of the country for whose independence he fought very hard. Like Mr Mandela, he refused illegitimate and immoral white rule. Like Mr Mandela and the African National Congress, he helped found the Zimbabwe African National Union to fight the white colonial regime, which cost him a decade behind bars.

Like Mr Mandela, he also lost his son while he was in jail and was even more devastated when the white government refused to free him to attend the funeral.

<I>Throughhis persistent and pathological desire to cling to power at any price, he has overseen the country's virtual destruction.</I>

Like Mr Mandela?s Winnie, Mr Mugabe?s Grace wasnotorious for her excesses and extravagance.

Like Mr Mandela, in spite of all the torture, hardship and humiliation, as soon as he took power, he forgave the country?s white people and called for reconciliation and national unity. Like Mr Mandela, he spoke of democracy and invited the white minority to join him in building a strong nation. The economy became robust and Zimbabwe was known as the ?breadbasket of southern Africa?. Mr Mugabe also invested in good quality education and Zimbabwe, as a result, boasts one of the most educated work-forces in the sub-continent.

Like Mr Mandela, Mr Mugabe was also well regarded abroad. The fact that he was stripped off his honorary Knighthood recently only draws attention to why he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1994 in the first place.

What went wrong then to turn a once lauded liberator and statesman, a potential Nelson Mandela, to a ruthless autocrat?

Rewind: a peaceful and beautiful country blessed with mineral wealth, some of the most fertile lands in Africa and the Zambezi River, the third largest in Africa. The white man walks in with the bible in his hand and ousts the peace-loving pople out of their land. The black man closes his eyes and prays. 1923, Zimbabwe, known as Southern Rhodesia, becomes a self-governing British colony.

The black man is still praying for the crumbs of the cake the baking of which he contributed the main ingredients to. 1965, the white minority government of Ian Smith unilaterally declares independence for Rhodesia. The black man is still praying for fairness and justice. April 18 1980, the newly-rechristened nation of Zimbabwe comes into being. He is still praying for the long-promised agricultural reforms. Britain turns heaven and earth every time the interests of the 1% of the population are threatened, going to the extent of interfering with the sovereignty of Zimbabwe and is totally oblivious to the 90% of a poor population growing poorer in a country so rich. Monster Mugabe was then born: he moved to speed up a controversial land acquisition programme that effectively took land away from the country?s commercial white farmers and handed it out to blacks ? a land reform programme which has been a disaster.

Mr Mugabe and the situation in Zimbabwe today find their roots in Ian Smith?s Rhodesia and the silent complicity of the West. The reticence of the African Union to impose sanctions too. But the guy has to go. He has run out of time. He has overstayed his welcome. Through his persistent and pathological desire to cling to power at any price, the ?father of the nation? has overseen the country's virtual destruction. There is only one Nelson Mandela with the grace of Nelson Mandela.

Whatever good Robert Mugabe may have contributed to his country in his early days, the country?s economy today is in a tailspin, the currency in a free fall and unemployment at an all-time high and there is now only one route to stability: his 28-year rule has to end. It is high-time he allowed the new generation of the men and women of his country to take over the reins? It is time he allowed the next generation to carry on Zimbabwe?s struggle for recovery, development and growth.

He has to be made to go by Africans and the only way for them to do this is for the West to keep out of it. Gordon Brown?s call on the AU to ?make it absolutely clear that there has got to be change and a new government? in the wake of the Zimbabwean poll is rather insensitive. It is likely to alienate the Africans who feel they have to handle African problems the African way. But what are their options?

Realistically, not many. Quite a few African leaders will not be able to ?throw stones? at Mr Mugabe and he knows it. Referring to the dubious democratic record of many other African leaders, he defiantly says ?I want to see who will point that finger at me, and I want to see if it?s clean.? The chances are it is not.

More importantly perhaps is the fact that Africans should dissociate the ?Father of Zimbabwe? from the current tyrant they are dealing with. And therein lies the difficulty. Many still regard him as a hero of the movement against colonialism. They need to wake up to the reality that Mugabe has brought his country to his knees and is damaging the reputation of Africa. They need to act and act now because Zimbabweans deserve a new beginning.

<B>By Touria PRAYAG</B>