Retired Brigadier Ambrose Mutinhiri says he visited the elderly politician at home to update him on his new role as presidential candidate for the National Patriotic Front (NPF).

It was also a chance, a press release said, for Mr Mutinhiri to thank Mr Mugabe for "a cherished opportunity to work with and under him in various national capacities".

Brig Mutinhiri resigned from the ruling Zanu-PF last week, saying he believed the military intervention which unseated Mr Mugabe was unconstitutional.

The BBC's Shingai Nyoka in Harare says many there believe Mr Mugabe and other ousted ministers have been working to form an alternative party which will challenge President Emmerson Mnangagwa in this year's elections.