Elephants killed for Mugabe’s birthday
Print Edition
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has celebrated his 91st birthday with a lavish million dollar bash that was slammed by the opposition as “obscene” in a country wracked by poverty.
Thousands of supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF, many wearing party regalia emblazoned with the president’s image, sang and danced as he arrived for the jamboree at a luxury hotel in the famed Victoria Falls resort on Saturday.
Assisted by his wife Grace, the elderly liberation leader, who wore a black suit, white shirt and red tie, threw 91 balloons into the air.
The party, which comes a week after Mugabe’s birthday, was held on the hotel golf course, with white marquees housing the guests.
Elephants were slaughtered for the feast and seven huge cakes were on display in one of the tents.
One giant 91-kilo creation depicted the Victoria Falls, which empty into the Zambezi river that forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Addressing the gathering in a 90-minute speech, Mugabe castigated the US which has imposed sanctions on both Zimbabwe and him personally.
“They (the US) can’t have it both ways, if they want to be friends then they must be friends with us in total and we allow them to have some safaris,” he said.
“But they can’t say ‘allow our people to visit, allow our people to have safaris, to kill our lions and take safari trophies to America,” he added.
Mugabe’s lavish birthday parties are a subject of annual controversy in the country.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change called Saturday’s festivities “obscene.”
“All the money that has been collected to bankroll this obscene jamboree should be immediately channeled towards rehabilitating the collapsed public hospitals, clinics and rural schools in Matebeleland North province,” MDC spokesman Obert Gutu said, referring to the province where Victoria Falls is located.
Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, is the world’s oldest leader.
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