Zimbabwe's Mugabe, turning 91, says he is still in charge

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says he is still in charge of government and party business and dismissed claims that his wife Grace was now the power behind the throne, state media reported Friday.

The veteran president who turned 91 on Feb. 21 said the ascendancy of his wife in the Zanu-PF Politburo, the party's highest decision making body outside congress, did not mean she was now in charge.

Mugabe was speaking in a televised interview with state broadcaster ZBC which was reported by the Herald newspaper Friday.

Mugabe appointed Grace to the post of Zanu-PF Secretary for Women's Affairs in December last year in a move that has been widely interpreted as marking the beginning of her political journey to eventually succeed her husband when he decides to leave office.

The private media has been awash with reports that Grace was now driving state power, basing their reports on claims by some expelled party members who include former secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa.

In the interview, Mugabe said the entrance of Grace in the ruling party politics did not mean she was now in charge, adding the ruling party had vibrant structures that share ideas.

"She is not the power behind my throne, she has come into politics in her own right," Mugabe said.

The president said his wife, who is rumoured to be likely appointed women's affairs minister, had not come yet into the real part of things.

The post of women's affairs minister is still vacant following the reassignment of Oppah Muchinguri to the post of higher and tertiary education minister in a min-cabinet reshuffle conducted by Mugabe last December.

A huge party to celebrate the veteran president's 91st birthday will be held in the resort town of Victoria Falls on Saturday. Endi