Robert Mugabe will continue as President of Zimbabwe until he is 100, governing from a “special wheelchair”, his wife has said.

Grace Mugabe, herself a cabinet minister, said in a speech over the weekend that while the 91-year-old’s mind might be willing, increasingly his body may not be. But that that isn't going to stop him.

According to reports in the Zimbabwean press, Mr Mugabe has recently had trouble walking, as his advanced years begin to catch up with him.

“We are going to create a special wheelchair for President Mugabe until he rules to 100
years, because that is what we want,” Mrs Mugabe said. “That is the people’s choice. We want a leader that respects us.”

The people will get the chance to voice their opinion in 2018 when Zimbabwe next goes to the polls to decide who rules them. Mr Mugabe, who has suffered a number of embarrassing public stumbles in recent months, has already been declared as the Zanu-PF candidate despite the fact that he will be 94 at the time of the election. Mr Mugabe has been President in Harare since 1980.

Mrs Mugabe did not give details about quite how the wheelchair would be special, but vowed to push it herself.

The 50-year-old Mrs Mugabe has herself been mentioned as a possible successor to her husband, who has insisted he will not retire.