Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, 90, fell down after speaking to supporters upon his return from Ethiopia, witnesses say.
ADVERTISEMENT
Zimbabwe’s President Falls Flat
90-year-old, Robert Mugabe missed a step and fell flat on a red carpet when he was about to leave Harare International Airport after addressing his supporters.
Recommended articles
Mugabe appeared to miss a step and toppled when he left the raised lectern at the airport Wednesday afternoon, according to several witnesses, who insisted on anonymity because of security concerns.
His aides quickly helped him up and escorted him to his limousine which sped away, they said.
"He addressed supporters who welcomed him. He missed a step as he walked down from the podium and immediately fell down," said a witness.
ADVERTISEMENT
Some press photographers who captured the fall said they were forced to delete their pictures by security personnel. Mugabe's spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Mugabe was elected Chairman at the 24th African Union at a summit of African leaders on January 30 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The role of rotating AU chairman is largely ceremonial.
He celebrates his 91st birthday on February 21. Mugabe takes annual vacations every January to Asia, including Singapore where he has visited specialists for checkups on his eyes, according to Zimbabwean officials. The Zimbabwean leader has repeatedly insisted that he is "fit as two fiddles."
Zimbabwe, a once-prosperous nation of 13 million people in southern Africa, has struggled since Mugabe's government began seizing white-owned farms in 2000. Mugabe is accused of using widespread violence to win several disputed elections, according to human rights groups. The country suffered hyperinflation until it abandoned its currency for the U.S. dollar in 2009.
The EU imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 over abuses linked to national elections, banning travel in Europe and freezing the assets of dozens of officials and business representatives. The measures have been gradually lifted in recent years to encourage reform but Mugabe and his wife Grace remain on the EU blacklist.
ADVERTISEMENT
Now that Mugabe is the head of the African Union, the European Union has decided to ease its travel ban on him while he is Chairman for the next year.
Source: Yahoo News
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh
Recommended articles
Truck driver arrested for allegedly causing train accident on Tema-Mpakadan railway line
Kia driver who caused accident involving Ghana’s new train reports himself to Police
No passenger injured in accident involving Ghana’s newly imported train – Railways Minister
NAGRAT gives govt one-week deadline to address unpaid pensions affecting 700,000 workers
Inside story of how Ghana’s new train got involved in accident on a test run
She sent naked photos to Dubai lover while I battled kidney disease - Erico speaks on divorce
How did young politicians get so rich in just 5 to 7 years - Franklin Cudjoe asks
Artificial Intelligence will affect around 40% of the global workforce — IMF
