* Mugabe shrugs off party grumbling, foreign condemnation
* Blamed for ruining economy, human rights abuses
* ZANU-PF is “stuck with him” – analyst
(Recasts with radio interview)
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s President Robert
Mugabe turned 88 on Tuesday, joking about reports circulating
for years of his imminent demise and vowing to stay in power
despite international condemnation of his economic and human
rights record.
Mugabe said he was in tip-top shape in an interview with
state radio, and made no reference to media reports that he is
receiving treatment for prostate cancer in Singapore.
“I have died many times. That’s where I have beaten Christ.
Christ died once and resurrected once,” the devout Catholic
Mugabe told the radio broadcaster.
“I am as fit as a fiddle.”
Mugabe charmed world leaders with his wit and intellect in
the early years of his rule, when a relatively rich Zimbabwe was
praised for its education and social systems.
Continued…
