Yes, I was dead. It’s true I was dead. I resurrected – Mugabe

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe joked Saturday that he had been resurrected as he returned from a foreign trip, mocking rumours that he had died or is critically ill.

“Yes, I was dead. It’s true I was dead. I resurrected as I always do once I get back to my country. I am real again,” the 92-year-old ruler told reporters at Harare international airport after arriving from Dubai.

His comments came after an online news site reported he had died mid-air on his trip to Dubai. Mugabe’s health has been increasingly under the spotlight in recent years, particularly after he fell down a staircase after addressing supporters last year.

He has denied ill-health reports and vowed to stand for reelection in 2018, but recent weeks have seen a surge of demonstrations against his rule, which stretches back to Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980.

Zimbabwe police announced on Thursday a two-week ban on protests in the capital Harare, after a string of violent demonstrations in recent weeks calling on Mugabe to step down.