The alleged victims were mainly bodyguards and domestic servants who worked for him during his seven years as head of state from 1980.

The BBC's Joseph Winter: "Long awaited trial"

Some of his political colleagues, including Vice-President Simon Muzenda, are due to give evidence against him.

Rev Banana, a Methodist priest and theology professor, denies the charges, which include two counts of sodomy, three of attempted sodomy and six of indecent assault.

The allegations surfaced when one of Rev Banana's former bodyguards, Jefta Dube, went on trial for murder last year.

His defence was that persistent homosexual rape by Zimbabwe's first president had driven him insane and caused him to become an alcoholic and a drug addict.

The trial judge accepted his plea of diminished responsibility.

Dube, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, is due to be one of the prosecution's 40 witnesses.

Rev Banana has called the allegations "a malicious vendetta of vilification and character assassination."

He is due to call 10 defence witnesses in the trial which is expected to last four weeks.

Homosexuality and sodomy are illegal in Zimbabwe and individual cases attract fines or carry jail sentences of up to two years.