HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s president winds up a week of celebrations marking his 88th birthday with advice to his nation’s youth to shun Western values, homosexuality and greed.
President Robert Mugabe, hosting a lavish birthday celebration in the eastern city of Mutare, says some African leaders have become “weak and naive” and think only of material gains when “kneeling” to Westerners.
Mugabe turned 88 on Tuesday. Organizers from his party said 20,000 people gathered at a Mutare sports stadium on Saturday for his annual bash targeted at the country’s youth.
Unacceptable Western values included same-sex marriages, Mugabe said.
“We reject that outright and say to hell with you,” he said in a nationwide broadcast of the event.
