ROBERT MUGABE HAS denied reports that he has cancer and said that he is “fit as a fiddle”.
Speaking on state radio, the Zimbabwean leader compared himself to Jesus for the amount of comebacks he has made in recent years.
“I have died many times. I have actually beaten Jesus Christ because he only died once,” he told state radio.”At this age, I can still go some distance, can’t I?”. Mugabe was speaking ahead of his 88th birthday today.
Mugabe put his longevity down to rising at 5am for a daily exercise routine, a balanced diet, and abstaining from alcohol and tobacco.
“There are things one must do for oneself,” he said, the Associated Press reports. “Don’t drink at all, you must exercise and eat vegetables and fruit”.
The BBC reports that one of the Wikileaks cables released last year contained information from Zimbabwe which said that Mugabe had prostate cancer and had several years to live.
SW Radio Africa reports that the president also said he will “definitely” call elections later this year, despite opposition from human rights organisations who say that Zimbabwe is not yet ready for elections. Mugabe has held power for the past 32 years.
The MDC, the other party in the country’s fragile power-sharing government, have also said that elections can’t happen until promised constitutional reforms are completed.
- Additional reporting by the Associated Press
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