Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe spoke for more than an hour on his feet during celebrations marking his 91st birthday on Saturday, delivering a characteristically defiant speech in which he threatened to take over land and animal sanctuaries still in the hands of whites.
Mugabe's robust performance during a lavish party in the resort town of Victoria Falls seemed designed to dispel any speculation that old age was slowing him down following a recent fall at Harare's main airport.
Thousands of people packed the grounds of a hotel to praise the man who has led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, and youth officials who organized the event encouraged Mugabe to rule until he dies.
Mugabe won disputed elections in 2013. He would be 94 during the next elections in 2018.
"They do their own thing and play themselves, kill animals, carry trophies with them. We don't know all of that. There is no supervision, sufficient supervision, but we are now going to invade these forests."
This year, he became chairman of the 54-nation African Union.
He also heads a regional group of 15 southern African nations.
