Tsvangirai gave an exclusive interview to Heidi Holland, the South African author of "Dinner With Mugabe," about hosting the president when he was a rebel leader. Holland's article was published in The Zimbabwe Independent.

"A passer-by might have mistaken it for a lost father-son reunion," Tsvangirai told her. "Initially, there was tension between us but as we chatted about this and that and became more relaxed, I discovered that he was a human being after all."

The dinner last month occurred as Tsvangirai and Mugabe appeared to have reached agreement on a power-sharing government. The deal fell apart, and talks were set to resume Friday, SW Radio Africa reported.

Tsvangirai told Holland that Mugabe appeared concerned about his legacy and seems to genuinely believe that the British government is out to destroy him. He said that at the dinner Mugabe suppressed the "violent streak" that resulted in members of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change being killed, beaten and arrested.