Mugabe didn't call Mandela an 'idiot', says Zanu-PF

Zanu-PF has moved quickly to dismiss reports in which President Mugabe is said to have described Nelson Mandela as a coward.

"Please note that the remarks attributed to President Robert Mugabe in this article are entirely false and malicious. The President has not addressed any public gathering since the eve of the election when he held a press conference. We regret the distress these dishonest reports have caused the Mandela family as well as South Africans in general," the party said.

Mugabe is reported to have said "My huge victory in these elections prove I am the greatest leader in the history of Africa," Mugabe told supporters in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.

"I have spent my whole life fighting for the Zimbabwean people and they continue to elect me."

Mugabe tightened his iron grip on power in last week's elections after he received 61 percent of the vote while his Zanu-PF party won a two-thirds majority in parliament, though there are allegations of widespread fraud and violence against the opposition."I am the greatest African who has ever lived," Mugabe said.

"The world should love me more than the idiot Nelson Mandela. As I waged war against colonialism, that coward sat on his ass in prison for 27 years. He's a coward."