Zimbabwe: Watch - Video of 'Mugabe Challenger' Goes Viral On Social Media
A video of a Zimbabwean young man
"dramatising" how President Robert Mugabe struggled to walk at the
just-ended 72 nd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New
York has gone viral on social media.
The video clip sent tongues wagging in the southern African
country, with many of the nation's citizens suggesting that the 93-year-old
leader was no longer fit for purpose.
The unidentified "drama king" had since earned
himself the nickname "Mugabe challenger".
Following the nonagenarian's infamous video in which he was
shown struggling to walk to the podium to give his address at UNGA, many in
Zimbabwe questioned Mugabe's ability to continue as leader of the country.
Some of Mugabe's critics took to social media trading jokes
about the nonagenarian's staggering.
Valentine Motsi, a Harare based social commentator said
Mugabe's old age and his frailty had now become a source of entertainment for
many Zimbabweans.
"You can see that there was some creativity in the
video that this young man did imitating how the president struggled to get to
the podium at the UN," said Motsi.
"However it is a serious concern to many Zimbabweans
that we have such an old leader who does not want to hand over power to a young
person," said Motsi.
Prominent Zimbabwean comedian Silvanos Mudzvova currently
based in the United Kingdom said the comic video by "Mugabe
Challenger" was a sign of frustration amongst many Zimbabweans.
"When you see such young people dramatising the way an
old president walks, then it means that they have lost respect for their
leader. It's also a form of resistance to the way they are being governed which
is a feeling among many Zimbabweans," said Mudzvova.
"If that young man was to perform his 30 second skit in
the streets of Zimbabwe he would be arrested because there is a lot of
repression in the country, it doesn't matter that the young man did not say
anything in the video but many Zimbabweans can easily relate it to Mugabe, it
is a video that says a lot in a few seconds."
Mudzvova himself has had a brush with the law for his comic
exploits that exposed the inadequacies of the Mugabe administration and the
collapse of the country's economy.
Mugabe has failed to groom a successor in his 37 years in
office. His ruling Zanu-PF party was sharply divided into two distinct factions
battling to outwit each other in the race to succeed the veteran leader when he
eventually leaves office.
Despite signs of failing health and old age, Mugabe, who
often visited Singapore for medical attention, has vowed to cling to power
saying he would continue as head of state for as long as he was still sane. His
party has already endorsed him as its presidential candidate in general
elections scheduled for next year.
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