News / National
Mugabe makes shock retirement announcement
21 Feb 2017 at 08:18hrs | Views
ZIMBABWE president Robert Mugabe has lifted the lid on the future of his iron rule.
In a bombshell radio broadcast, the dictator revealed he has no plans to step down ahead of his 93rd birthday on Tuesday.
He said he is yet to find an "acceptable" replacement to fill his shoes.
But admitted he "will step down" if his party call for him to retire.
He said: "The call to step down must come from my party, my party at congress, my party at central committee.
"[In such circumstances] I will step down.
"But then what do you see? It's the opposite. They want me to stand for elections."
Mugabe has ruled over Zimbabwe with an iron fist since the country gain independence in 1980.
He once joked that he would stay in power for 100 years.
One local news source reported that Mugabe had collapsed with a heart attack last year.
But Mugabe has repeatedly dismissed the claims as rubbish.
One time he even joked that he had died after a rumored hospital visit.
In the broadcast, Mugabe also expressed admiration for Donald Trump and his nationalist policies.
He said: "But he is a radical. I don't know whether the construction of the wall between America and Mexico is feasible, a feasible proposal. It appears quite nasty."
In a bombshell radio broadcast, the dictator revealed he has no plans to step down ahead of his 93rd birthday on Tuesday.
He said he is yet to find an "acceptable" replacement to fill his shoes.
But admitted he "will step down" if his party call for him to retire.
He said: "The call to step down must come from my party, my party at congress, my party at central committee.
"[In such circumstances] I will step down.
"But then what do you see? It's the opposite. They want me to stand for elections."
Mugabe has ruled over Zimbabwe with an iron fist since the country gain independence in 1980.
He once joked that he would stay in power for 100 years.
One local news source reported that Mugabe had collapsed with a heart attack last year.
But Mugabe has repeatedly dismissed the claims as rubbish.
One time he even joked that he had died after a rumored hospital visit.
In the broadcast, Mugabe also expressed admiration for Donald Trump and his nationalist policies.
He said: "But he is a radical. I don't know whether the construction of the wall between America and Mexico is feasible, a feasible proposal. It appears quite nasty."
Source - Daily Star
