Mugabe, 93, makes pitch to Zimbabwe’s youth for elections

Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old president is courting the young as he makes a pitch for a fresh five-year term ahead of next year’s election.

Robert Mugabe, accused by critics of human rights abuses and running down this once-prosperous southern African country since taking power in 1980, is on a nationwide drive to woo a younger generation most affected by the economic meltdown.

Mr Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state, has launched a series of wellattended events called “presidential youth interface rallies”. Some opposition members point to his advanced age as the reason why youth should reject him. But Mr Mugabe’s supporters think otherwise.

“Do you want five-yearold whisky or 20-year-old whisky? Mugabe is whisky of the highest quality, that’s the whisky we want. It’s tasty, it gives us wisdom, it’s mature,” said 45-year-old Cabinet minister and businessman Supa Mandiwanzira.

“Here on Earth there is an angel called Robert Gabriel Mugabe. When you people go to Heaven, don’t be surprised to see Robert Gabriel Mugabe standing next to God helping vet those who should enter Heaven,” said Kudzai Chipanga, the ruling Zanu-pf party’s youth leader.

Veterans of the 1970s liberation war who formed the pillar of Mr Mugabe’s rule are aging, and many are now at odds with the president over his long stay in office.

Like much of Africa, Zimbabwe’s young population is growing and a powerful draw for political parties. The majority are unemployed and relying on street vending for survival. Mr Mugabe promised 2.2 million jobs ahead of the disputed 2013 election. Instead more young people are on the streets, including university graduates who sell sweets, fruit and second-hand phones on the pavement. Zimbabwe’s number of formally employed people has fallen from two million in 2000 to 500,000 today, the majority employed in government.

The president has responded by preaching self-reliance.

“Send those asking for jobs to me. I will laugh at them first. Youths should be working for themselves,” Mr Mugabe told a recent rally in the southeastern city of Masvingo.

“Keep chickens, grow mushrooms,” he added, promising farmland, houses and support for “small-scale projects”.

Crowds could not fit into a 15,000-seat stadium in the eastern city of Mutare during a 16 June rally.

The president also has embraced the Jamaican-influenced dancehall music popular with Zimbabwe’s youths, even though he previously expressed dislike for it.