Zimbabwe’s controversial President Robert Mugabe has been placed under house arrest following a military coup in Harare. The military took over the country after the ouster of Mugabe’s Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa earlier in the month. On Wednesday morning, the country awoke to this military representative informing the nation that they had taken control of the country (but they ask that you don’t call it a coup) and that they had put 93-year-old Mugabe and his wife, Grace, “under their protection” and that they were most concerned that the nation’s citizens knew that the President and his wife were safe. Here are the top five things you need to know about Mugabe and his reign of terror in Zimbabwe.

1. A military coup may improve things: After all, the ruthless Mugabe was known the world over for his horrific track record that included murder, persecution of political opponents and vote rigging. He lived, as so many dictators do, in gilded splendor while 72% of his nation’s citizens lived below the national poverty line, or on less than $1.25 a day.

2. He and his wife are tone deaf to their citizens suffering: In 2015, the dictator and his second wife, Grace, opened up an ice cream and chocolate company in spite of the collapse of multiple local companies and the International Monetary Fund’s pleas to Mugabe to gain control of the nation’s growing debt.

3. He has tried to outlaw demonstrations against his rule: In true dictator fashion, Mugabe tried to ban demonstrations against his government as rumors of the kidnapping and torture of political opponents grew in the country’s press earlier this year.

4. Under Mugabe, inflation hit an all time high (500 BILLION percent) when the country’s central bank printed so much money it caused rapid devaluation of the currency, according to the International Monetary Fund, causing the price of everyday items like bread to rise into the millions in Zimbabwean dollars.

5. For his 91st birthday he caused quite a stir when he cooked several elephants, two buffalo, five impalas and a lion to celebrate, angering not only animal lovers around the world, but also angering the chair of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.

While I am sure that waking up to the news that your nation’s military has taken over is unsettling, I sincerely hope that this signals a hope for a better future for the downtrodden African nation and its people.