At an event on Saturday to lay Andrew Mutema, a Zimbabwe hero and former High Court judge to rest, President Mugabe had to be assisted by his wife, Grace, in order to walk up and down the podium. He even had to take a few breaks just to walk from his car to the high table, a distance of a few hundred metres.
Despite these visible signs, everyone in his inner circle, from Grace to cabinet ministers and party officials, continue to insist that the aged leader is fit.
Mugabe made a passing reference to his age during the ceremony for the late Mutema.
“Mutema was a young man and believe you me I know what I am talking about when I say he was young. I am 91 and soon to be 92,” Mugabe said, as his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa giggled.
The late Mutema who sat on the bench for 29 years died on August 21, 2015, at the age of 56. He became the first judge to be interred at the National Heroes Acre.
As Mugabe made his way to the graveside, aides made a human wall around him, while his protective wife held him. He stopped again as he came down the flight of about five stairs. Reports from the time Mugabe fell at the Harare airport indicate that Grace was upset at aides of the president over the incident and some of them lost their jobs.
Source: New Zimbabwe