Lavish birthday party for Mugabe

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s supporters said today they spent around €220,000 to celebrate his 86th birthday.

Delma Lupepe, a leading member of Mugabe’s party, said he helped raise the money from donors.

The Chinese Embassy gave a cake the size of a large TV, which Mugabe’s wife Grace helped slice in the southern city of Bulawayo today.

Lupepe said: “We have to celebrate our leader, who is now 86. How many people reach that age?”

The UN says the average life expectancy is about 44 in the impoverished country, which is beset by hunger and Aids.

Some 25,000 Mugabe supporters were invited to the celebrations a week after his birthday. A concert last night was followed by a meal of beef, chicken and rice today.