The Shakespearean excesses and political intrigues that drove Africa's oldest strongman out of power
HARARE, Zimbabwe - In a glitzy Johannesburg nightclub this month, a wealthy young playboy poured an entire $660 bottle of Ace of Spades Armand de Brignac Champagne over his diamond-studded watch: It was Bellarmine Chatunga, the youngest son of President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
He had bragged about the watch and chunky gold bracelet on an earlier social media post: "$60,000 on the wrist when your daddy run the whole country ya know!!!"
As Zimbabweans struggle to afford food, when many find themselves sleeping outside banks in the hope of withdrawing $10 in cash, the video drew outrage, even among the ruling elite that had propped up the 93-year-old Mugabe for 37 years.
It hadn't been an isolated incident. Mugabe's wife, Grace, and her son from a previous marriage, Russell Goreraza, recently imported two Rolls-Royces, and she was caught up in a legal battle over a $1.35-million diamond ring.
Members of the ruling ZANU-PF party were furious that Grace Mugabe had seized majority control of a $1-billion government road contract. Then there was the incident involving a model who had been partying with Grace Mugabe's sons in South
