'Yes, I was dead,' jokes Mugabe on return to Zimbabwe
After an absence that led to intense speculation he was ill, the world's oldest head of state returns home.
File: At 92 years old, Mugabe is the world's oldest head of state [Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters]
Zimbabwe's 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe arrived home after an overseas absence that led to intense speculation about his health and joked that he had come back to life.
"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," the world's oldest head of state said on Saturday after arriving in the capital Harare.
He had left a regional summit on Tuesday, but flight data showed his plane went to Dubai after an original flight path indicated a course toward Asia. Mugabe has received treatment in Singapore in the past.
"I had gone on a family matter to Dubai concerning one of my children," he told reporters, without giving details.
His spokesman had denied reports that Mugabe, the target of near-daily protests in recent weeks, was ill.
The leader was expected to address a youth meeting at his ruling party's headquarters later on Saturday.