In March this year, Mugabe accorded Mengistu and his family the status of permanent residents. In the trials, responsibility for the Red Terror crimes is hard to fix because Mengistu held so many of the strings of power. Now in his 60s, Mengistu's name comes up in every case file. And the former student of Holetta military academy who went on to boast that he led Africa's biggest army, a force almost half a million strong that consumed two thirds of the budget, still claims to have no regrets. He survived an assassination attempt in Harare in 1996 and three years later underwent major surgery in South Africa to deal with an ulcer.
Press reports at the time suggested the problem was more serious, such as a tumour or heart failure.