A feasting dictactor

Robert Mugabe turned 83 on Saturday. He celebrated in style with the ruling elite while ordinary Zimbabweans faced shops with empty shelves.

Mugabe is now the oldest head of state in the world and has ruled Zimbabwe for 27 years. The starvation of his people and his vice-president plotting against him didn’t seem to bother him much as he dug in to a thickly frosted birthday cake.

A stuffed crocodile was presented by cabinet ministers who said it represented the President's 'maturity and wisdom'. Critics quipped that it more aptly sums up Mugabe's cold-blooded, voracious nature.
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Even people who thought they had become inured to the country's seven-year economic slide are increasingly frightened. Inflation has hit 1,600 per cent and is predicted to soar to 4,000 per cent later this year. Unemployment is at 80 per cent and severe shortages of fuel, staple foods and medicines have caused thousands of deaths.

Somehow this make me think of Emperor Nero who was said to play fiddle while Rome was burning.