Zimbabwe Information has lampooned alleged “malcontents” in the Zimbabwe media landscape for making a mountain out of a molehill regarding President Robert Mugabe’s near fall at the Harare International Airport on Wednesday
The newly installed African Union chairman had just finished addressing thousands of jubilant party supporters who gathered to welcome him and celebrate his election as AU chairman.
As he descended short step to stride out towards his car, President Mugabe tripped over a poorly laid-out carpet but managed to break the fall before walking to his car, evidently unscathed.
Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Prof Jonathan Moyo who witnessed the incident first hand said “the real news lay in the misrepresentation of the incident by malcontents” in the media.
“The misrepresentations and morbid celebrations of the incident by malcontents is the real news here and not the alleged fall as there was none.
”What happened is that the President tripped over a hump on the carpet on one of the steps of the dais as he was stepping down from the platform but he remarkably managed to break the fall on his own. I repeat that the President managed to break the fall.
”Nobody has shown any evidence of the President having fallen down because that did not happen. The hump on which the President tripped was formed by two pieces of the carpet which apparently had not been laid out properly where they joined.
“And to be honest with you, even Jesus, let alone you, would have also tripped in that kind of situation. In the circumstances, there’s really nothing to write home about the nonsensical celebrations by malcontents who are imagining a fall that never was since it was actually broken by the President himself,” he said.
Speaking off the cuff for slightly over 43 minutes following a four-hour flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he spent a busy week chairing AU plenary meetings in addition to meeting African leaders, President Mugabe turned to leave the podium and was walking down a flight of steps when he tripped over.
Remarkably, the President broke the fall and landed on his knees. Aides helped him to his feet and he walked to his car.
Wednesday night, the incident attracted excited headlines around the world, with many linking it to his age and alleged poor health.
President Mugabe, who will turn 91 in just over two weeks, is reported to be suffering from a host of ailments associated with old age, among them prostate cancer and poor eyesight.
Ironically just seconds earlier, the President had admonished the media for making issues out of non-issues.