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.