Zimbabweans on social media have been mocking their 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe, after he appeared in a video struggling to walk when he attended the COP22 Climate Change Summit in Morocco last week.
In the video, which has gone viral on various social media platforms, Mugabe appears to be struggling to maintain his balance as he walks on the red carpet, much to the shock and amusement of onlookers, including King Mohammed VI of Morocco and Ban Ki Moon of the United Nations.
Mugabe, who has ruled the cash-strained Zimbabwe for more than three decades, appears to be cautious with his steps and his eyesight seems to be blurred as he even misses the protocol handshake.
Watch the controversial video of President Mugabe here:
Many social media users from Zimbabwe and abroad have been ridiculing the seemingly frail president, questioning his resolve to hold on to power even after 35 years of controversial reign:
Video of a seemingly sickly Mugabe arriving at COP22 is saddening. If the close friends really love him they should ask him to step down.
— Hlazo Mkandawire (@hlazotj) November 22, 2016
Mugabe in Morocco for a climate change conference because we all know he will still be ruling Zimbabwe at the time the next ice age begins
— Ryan Cummings (@Pol_Sec_Analyst) November 15, 2016
Age is really catching up with ROBERT MUGABE, see what he did in Morocco (VIDEO) https://t.co/5YY5gknG2F pic.twitter.com/U9XwTOTYUL
— DAILY POST (@TheKenyanPost) November 21, 2016
VIDEO: Mugabe walking Zombie in Morocco https://t.co/6XZYRnDzHn via @nehandatv Boys don't abuse our Madhala akomana
— Rambo001 (@therambo001) November 17, 2016
President Mugabe is looking a little frail at the UN climate change convention in Marrakech, Morocco. #ThisFlag?? https://t.co/XSdWg29BCJ
— Peter Ndoro (@peterndoro) November 17, 2016
Embarrassment
Last year, President Mugabe made headlines, when he fell down a staircase as he walked off a podium after addressing his supporters at Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe was returning from Ethiopia, where he was appointed the chairman of the African Union.
After making his homecoming speech, the veteran politician stumbled and fell on his knees in front of journalists and hundreds of supporters. He was quickly helped up by his bodyguards and whisked away to an awaiting vehicle.
These embarrassing moments have left many Zimbabweans and the world-at-large questioning Mugabe’s state of health and his capability to rule.
Last month, there were speculations that the Zimbabwean leader was sick, after he made an impromptu trip to Dubai just hours after he returned from a regional summit in Swaziland.
Mugabe To Retire?
Addressing top government officials in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, last week, President Mugabe is reported to have admitted that the country was entering a period he described as a “regime change.”
“We are in a critical time of regime change. To think that we will be toppled by Whites who say, ‘We want to change the government of Zimbabwe’ – which we fought for all these years, will we simply yield? I say no. The British and Americans are working hand in hand, but I think we have defeated them. So change will come in good time,” Mugabe was quoted by the Independent.
Lately, Mugabe has been facing serious opposition from protesters who are demanding that he resign. The elderly leader has been dismissing these protests, though, promising to fight whoever is campaigning against him.
