Mugabe Makes Public Appearance Minus Wife

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is making his first public appearance since the military put him under house arrest earlier this week, attending a graduation ceremony in the capital, Harare.

Amazingly his wife Grace did not accompany him as would be expected.

The appearance comes during an extraordinary series of negotiations with regional leaders over Mugabe’s departure after 37 years in power.

The military is taking pains to show respect for the 93-year-old leader, the world’s oldest head of state, by referring to him as the president and the commander-in-chief.

Friday’s event appears to allow Mugabe to project the image of leadership, even as calls for his departure grow stronger.

– AP