He was perspiring, even though there was frost on the ground. In the palatial gardens of State House, Robert Mugabe's face glistened with sweat as he was declared President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. He pulled at his cuffs and glanced over his shoulder and appeared anxious as he was sworn in for a record sixth term this week. His opponents had been killed or forced at gunpoint to vote in rigged elections. Sitting behind him at the ceremony, were six men following the dictator's every move. Thickset and bursting out of their heavily decorated military uniforms, the watching men were 'The Generals' - a group of cold-blooded killers who have seized power. Dubbed the Dirty Half-Dozen or The Gang of Six by Zimbabwe's traumatized people, the generals have formed a military junta with terrifying plans to 'eliminate all opponents'. They forced Mugabe to hand over power to them at a meeting in State House days after he lost the first round of elections on March 29.

In a chilling turn of events, they arrived in a fleet of black Mercedes on April 5 and issued the President with an ultimatum: withhold the election results, stand aside and let them do their work to ensure they never again face a challenge to their lucrative, blood-thirsty rule. Faced with exile and disgrace after this unthinkable defeat, not to mention the threat of being tried by the UN for war crimes, diplomats say Mugabe could see no way out. He could agree to the deal in return for staying on as a figurehead president - or face the wrath of men responsible for some of Zimbabwe's bloodiest massacres. According to palace insiders, Grace Mugabe has turned  against her husband. She is furious at the prospect of losing the perks of office, including five mansions.

Mugabe ceded power to men schooled in torture at the infamous Chinese military academy in Nanking. At meetings held under their junta - called the Joint Operational Command (JOC), which controls the secret services, army, air force, police and prisons - The Generals decreed 'they will never give up power'. They have created a highly sophisticated state terror apparatus to quell future dissent. They are led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, a founding member of the notorious Crocodile Gang, who tortured and murdered white farmers during Mugabe's guerilla war in the late 70s. Mnangagwa's cruelty was not confined only to attacks on whites. He was notorious for his role as director of intelligence during Operation Gukurahundi ('the rain that washes away the chaff'), a genocidal campaign against the guerilla faction of Joshua Nkomo.With an elaborate network of informers, Mnangagwa was responsible for directing the paramilitary Fifth Brigade against black enemy targets. Trained by North Korea  the Fifth Brigade murdered up to 20,000 people during the Matabeleland Massacres between 1982 and 1986. Many were killed at public executions. After digging their own graves, with family and friends forced to look on, the victims were shot, others burned alive in their huts. Women and babies were thrown into boreholes and wells used for water.

Mnangagwa – who calls himself  'The Son Of God' made millions by ordering troops into the Democratic Republic of Congo during the late Nineties. In a war that claimed more than 3,000,000 lives, the soldiers battled for control of the Congo's diamond mines. Zimbabwe's state airline was used in the gem-smuggling operation that made an estimated USA$35 billion for those involved.  All this has made Mnangagwa - who has replaced Mugabe as chief of the Joint Operational  Command - the wealthiest man in Zimbabwe. He has a magnificent walled palace in Harare with a helicopter pad and a sprawling ranch. His chief partner in crime is general Constantine Chiwenga, the head of Zimbabwe's defence forces. Brusque and with a volcanic temper, Chiwenga led the Fifth Brigade during the genocide against Nkomo's Ndebele tribe. Known as The Butcher Of Matabeleland, he is reputed to have thrown  Nkomo supporters out of  helicopters. Chiwenga's wife, Jocelyn, a former prostitute, shops with an entourage of soldiers to push people out of her way, once shouted at Morgan Tsvangirai (leader of the opposition) that she would butcher his manhood'. She has also seized two farms from white owners, saying she would 'taste their blood' if they refused to hand them over. Along with Augustine Chihuri (head of the police), Paradzai Zimondi (head of the prisons), Perence Shiri (head of the airforce) and Gideon Gono (in charge of funding), these are the men who intelligence sources in Harare say are in control of the country and 'running a regime within a regime.'

As well as being wanted for war crimes, they suffer none of the hardships faced by millions of Zimbabweans every day who are reduced to killing wild animals and living off berries, roots and leaves, The Generals live in Borrowdale Brook, an exclusive area. At their own exclusive supermarket, stocked with imported goods  the families and relatives of The Generals have a selection of fresh seafood, including lobster and tiger prawns, as well as the finest French wines and cheeses.

At a clandestine meeting with one dissident Zanu-PF source, I was shown documents purporting to outline the junta's 'Final Solution' against enemies of their regime. In a strategy with chilling echoes of the Matabeleland Massacres, the documents reveal that the killing has only just started  and provide  conclusive proof that ballot boxes were stuffed all over the country, 'watched by death squads with orders to kill opposition MPs'. They reveal that if the MDC had not pulled out over fears of a bloodbath, the election 'results' would not have been released and he would have been charged with treason and hanged. They state that the killing must continue even after after the elections, with voting patterns to be assessed to determine where terror should be unleashed. MDC supporters are on the run in the face of a brutal new crackdown. With foreign journalists banned and radio broadcasts from neighbouring countries blocked, the strategy is designed to ensure the scale of the onslaught does not reach the outside world.

Doctors at hospitals I visited reported a harrowing new medical phenomenon: the kidneys of victims 'exploding'. 'The blood cells burst during prolonged beatings, clogging the kidneys, which can't cope. The kidneys collapse and the patients die in agony. It's horrible and it's getting worse. The Generals have killed, killed and killed. It is crude torture with horrific consequences. It's like there is a war – with only one side fighting it.' said the doctors.  Lovemore Zilika, 47, was asleep at home when an organised gang started throwing rocks through his windows.They beat him using crude clubs with nails sticking out. His legs are in plaster up to his groin, having been broken in 20 places, but they will probably have to be amputated. 'These people are killers. They only left me because they thought I was dead. As they beat me, they kept asking why I wanted to support the MDC.' he said. One woman said she was beaten and repeatedly raped. 'There were ten of them,' she said, weeping. Another victim, a 42-year- old man who gave his name only as Gudzai, told how he was dragged from his home at night. As his arms and legs were broken with iron bars and rocks, he kept slipping into unconsciousness. 'They would throw water over me to make me come round,' he said. 'Then they started beating me again.'  Even the most committed MDC activists were last week in hiding fearing the 'final solution.'

After being called late at night this week, I was taken to a safe house - one of dozens used to hide 'enemies of the regime' before they can be smuggled out of the country. After a raft of elaborate security precautions, I was introduced to three MDC officials whose names are on death lists distributed by the junta. Kimberley, 26, was held at torture camps last week. he was forced to simulate sex with a hole in the ground and beaten with logs. He was put in a cell with two rotting bodies for 24 hours and was denounced by fellow opposition supporters, who had been beaten for hours into submission.  'They burned my home and those of my relatives. They blindfolded and tortured me. I was eventually dumped in the bush. They thought I was dead. I couldn't walk but villagers helped me.' The interview was interrupted. A car had been heard. Kimberley told me to go before 'they' came. Asked if he had a message for the West, he said: 'The world needs to mobilise to get rid of these people. I have a baby daughter and I want her to grow up without fear. That's all any of us want.'

But The Gang of Six has too much to lose. As one Western diplomat told me before I slipped out of Zimbabwe: 'These men will not give up power. They are in too deep. They have too much blood on their hands. They have shown they will stop at nothing to keep what they have got.'

Pity the brave people of Zimbabwe.  I suspect that even the removal of Robert Mugabe will not save them.