Robert Gabriel Mugabe is 84 years old. In Zimbabwean terms, he is into his third life, given that the average life expectancy in that country is less than forty years of age.

He has been the ‘leader’ of Zimbabwe for 29 years - firstly as Prime Minister, then as President. He has made noises about being “President for life” and the way things are going, there is every chance that he will achieve that goal.

I have watched how Mugabe began in a new Zimbabwe, a young rooster, addressing all and sundry, raising clenched fists and encouraging direct confrontation.

As the years have ticked by, so his pronouncements have become more personal, and he now picks his targets carefully, and seldom raises his fist - preferring to instruct others to raise their fists… against other people.

Even his stalwart followers such as the war veterans are beginning to become sparse of hair, grey of beard and tired of heart.

I have a photograph of Mugabe hitching up his trousers at some public event or other some years back and that for me was the beginning of the downhill track for Robert Gabriel Mugabe.

Not that long ago, there was a photograph on the internet that showed evidence of a swollen left foot/ankle. His personal physician, former Health Minister, Timothy Stamps, missed an opportunity to laud up Mugabe’s health at that time, and so the rumour mill began to whip up a frenzy over his longevity.

Today there were two photographs of Mugabe being assisted up a flight of stairs by none other than King Mswati.

Everybody gets older with time, and Mugabe is no exception. The pressures of office will have taken their toll, whilst living in an environment where food is hard to come by and illnesses are on the rise will also have hammered Mugabe.

Not that he has had food problems, but the stigma was attached some years ago to Zimbabwe, and he has had to endure the pressure.

We had Mugabe travelling to the East and South Africa for medical check-ups - and this doesn’t say much for the local service, if the President has got to leave the country to have a simple check-up.

Members of his regime are beginning to flag and drop dead - either from age or illness, or a mixture of both. And every one of them has absorbed the pressure, but not necessarily as well as Mugabe - and even he is showing signs of faltering.

Last year, there was word that Mugabe was ready to throw the towel in and leave the whole mess for Tsvangirai to clean up - but that the security chiefs and Mugabe’s own wife, Amazing (Dis)Grace, made a very public declaration that the m’dala (old man) wasn’t going anywhere.

Every time I see Mugabe, I register that he looks more wizened, more wrinkled and so much older.

Most people of his age have been retired for 20 years - or thereabouts.

Not very many days ago, Mugabe’s party announced that he would be their candidate in the next election - the date of which is still to be decided - and will only happen at the end of the ‘inclusive’ government - which has yet to get started…

Mugabe has told the world that he intends to rule Zimbabwe for the rest of his life and hopefully (he reckons) from beyond the grave.

Far be it for me to wish anything nasty upon anybody, but I will be very interested to see if the threat holds any water.

Robb WJ Ellis
The Bearded Man