Just when you thought coups had fallen out of favour, here comes a good old-fashioned African coup, with generals in fatigues once again, tanks rolling in the streets, journalists being kicked out of the country and dictators being held under house arrest.
Old Bob must have started to think that at 93 he was invincible. He'd successfully marginalised any opposition, even if Morgan Tsvangirai did eventually end up prime minister for six years, though he'd been roughed up quite badly a few times before that grudging power share took place.
Mugabe also ruthlessly drove his countrymen to poverty and starvation while he and his merry band of cronies followed the despot's playbook and bled the country's coffers dry.
So what took the generals so long? For unyielding autocrats like Mugabe, keeping the military happy is key.
But it's a mistake to think that the only way to do so is by dispensing largesse here and there. Sometimes they sense the winds of change and change allegiances as a result.
Sometimes they just can't stand the person anointed to take charge upon a dictator's death.