Zanu PF is battling to portray President Robert Mugabe as fit and energetic to represent the party in the next election by having him appear in public more often as depicted in his schedule last week.
Mugabe, the Zanu PF presidential candidate, had a busy schedule last week that saw him officiating at four different occasions within four consecutive days in Harare, Darwendale and Mutare.
In the four days, Mugabe officiated at the Science Technology and Innovation Policy Launch in Harare on Wednesday before officiating at a police pass-out parade at Morris Depot on Thursday.
The 88-year-old leader was in Darwendale on Friday where he addressed the Zanu PF Womens League before travelling to Mutare to open a Chinese-built hotel.
On Saturday, Mugabe was at the Harare International Conference Centre where he addressed the Day of the African Child commemorations together with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
But analysts yesterday said Zanu PF was overworking Mugabe in a bid to convince the electorate that he could stand the heat, come election time.
Its a desperate attempt to portray him publicly as someone with a lot of energy and they know the biggest handicap is that he is viewed as a frail and old man, hence the strategy to have him appear in public more. The same has been happening to the First Lady as seen in the State media and all is meant to portray the First Family as fit and full of energy, Charles Mangongera said.
Its almost like (Barack) Obama and (John) McCain (during the 2008 United States presidential election campaign) where they realised age was not on McCains side and roped in Sarah Palin as his running mate and what happened was disaster, Mangongera said. Last week, Mugabe told his the Zanu PF Womens League that he was fit and took a swipe at those saying he was dying.
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They are saying Mugabe is going to die in 2013, but why should I die? I am as fit as a fiddle, I am still very far from it, Mugabe said.
Another analyst, Ernest Mudzengi, said: He is now in a campaign mode now that elections are looming. He is trying to market himself as a caring leader. This will not work because the majority of Zimbabweans no longer have confidence in Zanu PF.
