Cousins in fist fight over Mugabe's health

Two distant cousins from Sitezi Village are reported to have engaged in a huge fist fight over an argument on President Robert Mugabe's health.

The cousins are said to have been drinking bottles of a popular low cost spirit known as Skippers at a drinking point in the village when they discussions changed to President Robert Mugabe's rumoured critical illness. One of the cousins who is based in South Africa reportedly passed a statement that the President has actually passed on and the news of his passing on is being kept as a secret like South Africa did with Mandela.

The statement did not go down well with the elder of the brothers who accused the younger of being disrespectful of the country and government and must go back to South Africa if he wants to talk bad of the country. The younger cousin responded by accusing the elder of being blinded by Zanu-PF grain feed hand outs at which the elder couldn't tolerate and a fist fight ensued.

Numerous independent newspapers and radio stations in the country have been filtering in news that President Mugabe is either critically ill or has passed on. The reports have sparked a feeling of general unease in the country and huge speculation and distrust among the citizens.

Government and public media have however quashed the rumours and indicated that President Mugabe is alive and well and still on his annual leave until end of January. The media reported that the President arrived in the country last week from Asia where he was visiting on his leave.

Speculation of a problem at state house were however raised by the private media as no live pictures of the president's arrival were flighted in the public media as is usually the norm. Some sectors of public media and Zanu-PF director of Information Psychology Maziwisa made the speculation worse by using an old picture of the president at Harare Airport and sited the picture as Friday's arrival.