Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe says he plans to remain in power until he dies.
He disclosed that as the President, he still remained in charge of the day-to-day running of his government, making reference to the UN Chief, Ban Ki-moon’s statement calling on African leaders not to cling to power, to which he said, “I will continue until God says ‘come.”
Mugabe, who turned 92 on Sunday, said he had no intention of stepping down in spite being Africa’s oldest leader and the only president Zimbabwe has known since independence in 1980.
He made this disclosure on Thursday in Harare, the country’s capital, stating that even though his party chooses a successor, he plans to contest the next election in 2018.
Mugabe, who would be 94 by 2018, insisted that he would still seek his last five-year term under a new constitution that would see him through to 99 years old.
Mugabe’s wife, Grace, a powerful figure in ZANU-PF in her own right, reportedly told party supporters that her husband was the only one who could keep Zimbabwe “intact and peaceful”.
According to her, in spite of his old age, Mugabe remained the glue holding together his fractious ZANU-PF, which dominates the political scene.
She promised to push Mugabe in a wheelbarrow to work if he was unable to walk.
