Culture

Robert Mugabe Celebrated His Birthday With A $1.3 Million Party And A Terrifying Cake Of His Face

Meanwhile, more than half of his country are living in poverty.

by Meg Watson  1 March 2015

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

This week, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe turned 91 years old, continuing his reign as the oldest living head of state in the world.

Of course, in this time he’s had some great successes. He’s ruled Zimbabwe for a staggering 35 consecutive years. He’s been lucky enough to win the top prize in a lottery organised by a partly state-owned bank! He received an honorary knighthood (before it was revoked due to the leader’s violations of human rights)! He’s been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize (before he launched a series of massacres which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people)!

But yesterday, Mugabe’s ZANU-PF political alliance threw their leader a lavish birthday party which effectively outshone all these incredible accomplishments.

With thousands of supporters descending on the resort town of Victoria Falls, the party cost the organisers US$1 million (around AUS $1.3 million) which reportedly came from “individual and company donations” and, just like your last birthday, it featured balloons, music and lots of dancing.

Unlike your last birthday, it also included a 90-minute speech about the leader’s plan to seize white people’s farms and animal sanctuaries and the sanctions imposed on him by the US; a feast comprised of donated elephants, buffalo and lion which has come under fire from the local community and animal rights groups; and a selection of seven enormous novelty cakes one of which weighed a whopping 91 kilograms.

Oh yeah. And one of them was an absolutely incredible — if not somewhat terrifying — replica of his face.

It’s just… It’s too much.

Despite this being a thing which he actually does every year, Mugabe’s party has understandably come under condemnation from his opposition.

“All the money that has been collected to bankroll this obscene jamboree should be immediately channelled towards rehabilitating the collapsed public hospitals, clinics and rural schools,” Obert Gutu, the spokesperson from the Movement for Democratic Change, told AFP.

Zimbabwe is, after all, a nation ranked number 156 out of 186 countries on the UNDP Human Development Index. In 2011 the UN deduced that 72 percent of the nation were living in poverty and 94 percent of wages were still below the consumption poverty line; it is still heavily serviced by the World Food Programme.

Seemingly unaware of this or the crop shortages which have plagued the nation for the past few years, Mugabe advocated the health benefits of choosing to eat small meals after his feast of multiple five-tonne elephants.

“I eat well, not filling my stomach, eating foodstuffs that I believe sustain one most,” he told a local media outlet. “You must eat well, and really not go for food because it’s attractive and feed yourself until your tummy is full.”

Despite this, many in Zimbabwe continue to support their long-time President.

“President Mugabe is a fascinating, resolute, very mentally sharp, and strong leader,” youth activist Jones Musara told Al Jazeera this week. “I wish him well and more resources and will to do accelerated delivery of the pressing needs of the masses of Zimbabwe and Africa at large.”

Hopefully, a lot more people feel this way. Mugabe, a person who enjoys being compared to Hitler, has already announced his bid for the 2018 election. Chances are, he’ll be ballin’ til he’s 100.

–

Feature image via WikiCommons.