Liberation hero Mugabe now fights for survival

By Cris Chinaka

HARARE (Reuters) - Once hailed as a liberation hero and democratic champion, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe goes into Saturday's elections branded by opponents as a dictator who has ruined a once prosperous country.

But the 84-year-old veteran of the fight against white minority rule is defiant, accusing the very Western countries that criticize his leadership of being responsible for Zimbabwe's woes.

Mugabe, seeking another five-year term as president, is the only leader many of Zimbabwe's 13 million people have known.

After 28 years in power, with the economy suffering the highest inflation rate in the world at over 100,000 percent and with millions of Zimbabweans fleeing abroad to escape poverty, Mugabe faces his biggest challenge since taking office in 1980.

His main opponents are long time rival Morgan Tsvangirai and Simba Makoni, a former ally whose decision to run as an independent has shown up cracks in his ruling ZANU-PF party.

The opposition accuses Mugabe of planning to rig the vote and abusing his position in charge of the state apparatus. To bolster his campaign, he has handed out food and farm supplies and threatened to force businesses to cut prices.

"Mugabe is both a player and a referee in this game and I just see don't see how anyone sees him losing a game in which he makes the rules and holds the whistle," says Lovemore Madhuku of political pressure group National Constitutional Assembly.

THINKING MAN'S GUERRILLA