When President Robert Mugabe held a crisis meeting on Sunday night to consider his options in the wake of mounting evidence of an opposition victory in the weekend’s elections, it was not with his cabinet, nor with the officials of his ruling Zanu-PF party.

Rather he met the “securocrats” – Zimbabwe’s heads of intelligence, military and security, and according to diplomatic sources their advice was just about as hardline as it has been in every government decision since they assumed a prime role in running the country some years ago.