The world’s oldest leader, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, is set to host lavish celebrations to mark his 92nd birthday at a time of severe drought and increasing friction over his succession. Tens of thousands of party loyalists, officials and members of the public are expected to attend a day of concerts, street parades and parties in Masvingo in the south-east of the country on Saturday.
“Organisers have been working flat-out to ensure the celebrations are a success,” Simon Khaya-Moyo, spokesman for the ruling ZANU-PF party told the AFP news agency. “Everything is in place and we are looking forward to tremendous events.”
The main party on Saturday will be held in a large tent at the Great Zimbabwe ruins, a UNESCO world heritage site that was built in the 13th Century as the headquarters of the Munhumutapa empire. Cattle and wild game will be slaughtered for the feast, with organisers claiming that as many as 50,000 guests are expected.
The scale of the celebrations, costing a reported $800,000 this year, attracts annual controversy in Zimbabwe, which recently declared a “state of disaster” due to the drought and widespread food shortages. “There is very little to celebrate for a 92-year-old who has presided over the collapse of the economy, reducing the country to a nation of vendors and beggars,” Takavafira Zhou, a political analyst at Masvingo State University, told AFP.