Robert Mugabe, Zimbabweโs octogenarian president, has become a liability and must be replaced urgently because he is unable to stay awake in vital meetings, one of the countryโs senior politicians has said.
Welshman Ncube, leader of the smaller of the MDCโs two factions in uneasy coalition with Mr Mugabeโs Zanu PF since 2009, complained that Mr Mugabeโs penchant for napping was making Zimbabwe a laughing stock.
He claimed that the 88-year-old president, who has led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, had to be woken up by Michael Sata, the Zambian President and his staunch ally, during one session of the recent Southern African Development Community summit in Maputo, Mozambique.
One of the main topics up for discussion at the summit was Zimbabweโs progress towards a referendum on a new constitution and elections expected next year.
โIf you are strong and young, you sleep in a dignified way, but his whole body collapses when he sleeps,โ he told supporters at a rally near the southern city of Bulawayo on Saturday.
โYou sleep to a point that you are woken up by an equally old Sata as early as 9am, who would tell other leaders: โlet us wake Mugabe he is sleepingโ. You think that person can rule Zimbabwe?โ
The outburst by Professor Ncube, who is also Minister of Industry and Commerce, is rare among Zimbabwean politicians who generally maintain a polite silence about Mr Mugabeโs well-known tendency to doze.
But Prof Ncube said the issue was one of national importance and had to be addressed.
โThe question is when we remove Mugabe, who we will replace him with? We need fresh leaders with power and strength who you do not have to look at and check if they are still awake,โ he said.
