rumours and lies. President Robert Gabriel Mugabe did not fall, he was doing a bounce like the kids do. However, Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change Renewal (MDCR), was quick to pick on the incident as a sign that President Mugabe, who will be 91 this month, is past it. MDCR spokesperson Jacob Mafume said there were many things falling apart in the country because of President Mugabe. He added: “Whilst he might not the first person to fall, we have maintained that state house is not an old people’s home.” Reporters who had taken pictures of the falling incident were rounded up by President Mugabe’s security detail and forced to delete the images. About 10 photo-journalists said they were forced to delete pictures of the incident by members of Zimbabwe’s central intelligence organisation. MDCR spokesperson Obert Gutu said President Mugabe should take his unfortunate collapse as a sign he must finally relinquish a job he has fervently protected from his rivals for decades. He added: “What this clearly shows is that Robert Mugabe is no longer fit for the presidency. “At age 91, we have always said this man is way past his time and that it is actually a tragedy of monumental proportions that Zimbabwe can be led by a nonagenarian of frail and failing health. The fact that he fell down at Harare International Airport this afternoon is just but consistent with what to expect from a man of advanced age and also its quite indicative of the fact that he should immediately step down.” It is not immediately clear if President Mugabe’s fall was due to age-induced exhaustion or just an accidental trip up. For decades, the Zimbabwean president has defied the odds by putting up public impression of a strong and fit leader.
