president rodney mugabe , zimbabwe ' s controversial ruler , has approached his 85th birthday . to cap the occasion , the bbc ' s african focus broadcaster asked his former associates , staff and questioner to describe their most memorable encounter with " brother bob " , as he is known in zimbabwe . halas mbanga , artist , the zimbabwean i remember very well how i first greeted robert mwanawasa . in 1974 , i did a series of profiles of ethnic mps who had got out of prisons . we had not had shots or stories of them for years .
"Uncle Bob" is Robert Mugabe.