| Zimbabwe’s presidential run-off election later this month must be giving exiled Ethiopian dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam sleepless nights.  | | Mengistu Haile Mariam, the former Ethiopian leader who lives in exile in Zimbabwe. Photo/FILE | Despite being sentenced to death in absentia alongside a number of his former lieutenants by an Ethiopian court last week, Mengistu still lives like a king in impoverished Zimbabwe since he fled to Harare in 1991. But his fate is closely tied to that of his ally President Robert Mugabe who goes to the June 27 election against his arch-rival, Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) with his back against the wall after an embarrassing first-round defeat in March. The MDC, which already controls Zimbabwe’s parliament for the first time since independence, has vowed to hand Mengistu over to the Ethiopian authorities if it takes power. Mugabe‘s Zanu PF says it is indebted to the dictator for his role in the fight against colonialism. Formal request “He remains our guest in Zimbabwe. He will remain in Zimbabwe, and we will protect him as we’ve always done,” Deputy Information Minister, Bright Matonga said in response to the sentencing. He said there had been no formal request regarding Mengistu from the Ethiopian government, but “even if they make the request, he’s not going anywhere.” On the other hand, the MDC reiterated its 2006 stance following the dictator’s conviction on genocide charges that it would withdraw the protection afforded by Mugabe’s government. “We don’t want dictators on our land,” MDC spokesman, Nelson Chamisa said. “Of course we do not condone killing or the death sentence as MDC, but we want justice to be delivered to the victims and to the perpetrators so that there’s restoration.” When the MDC nearly won the 2000 parliamentary elections and the 2002 presidential elections, Mengistu is said to have considered relocating to either China or North Korea. Mengistu, a recluse and enigmatic figure in Zimbabwean politics since his arrival, is abhorred in the southern African country because of the feeling of many that he is one of the people advising Zanu PF on how to silence its critics through murder and torture. Security adviser In 2005, acting as Mugabe’s security adviser, he allegedly warned the Zimbabwean leader that the swelling slum population in the country was creating a fertile ground for a mass uprising. He allegedly advised the Zimbabwean government to clear the slums in an operation that resulted in the death of several people and the displacement of more than 700 000 urban dwellers. Mugabe’s government denied the accusations, but the accusation has stuck with Mengistu, and the opposition is not willing to forgive him. Mengistu lives in luxury in one of the plush suburbs in the capital, Harare, with 24-hour security from the police VIP protection unit and the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) at Zimbabwean taxpayers’ expense. He was also allocated two large farms, during Mugabe’s land seizure and is rumoured to own even more homes in Harare. An activist campaigning for his extradition said that “he (Mengistu) drives at least six luxury cars, including a Mercedes Benz, a Toyota Prado, a Toyota Avensis, a BMW and a twin-cab truck.” He also enjoys a special fuel scheme from the government-owned National Oil Company of Zimbabwe for personal use and for his farms, and his vehicles are serviced free of charge at the central mechanical equipment department, said the activist. Since his arrival Mengistu’s life came under threat once when two Eritreans tried to assassinate him at his Harare residence. The two were arrested and subsequently sentenced to 10 and five years imprisonment respectively. | 
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