The Robert Mugabe Retirement Party Drags On.

Last week I stated that Robert Mugabe had retired from his role as President of Zimbabwe on November 15th (15/11/17).

I went on to state that the Zimbabwean military had held a parade in honour of his retirement. I then stated that the Zimbabwean public also held a parade to honour his retirement.

This was followed by a reception by his The Zimbabwe African National Union -Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party. Also in honour of his retirement.

Strictly speaking none of that is untrue. However it is also not strictly speaking true either. The diplomatic language was to try and save the blushes of a leader who once had possibly the sharpest mind in the business.

If there is one incident that shows just how sharp Mugabe's mind used to be it is his 2005 handshake with British Crown Prince Charles Windsor.

As it has been throughout its entire history Zimbabwe at the time was under economic sanctions by Britain. Due to his refusal to return Zimbabwe to the British Commonwealth the UK had broken off all diplomatic relations with Mugabe and attempted multiple coups to overthrow him.

At Catholic Pope John Paul II funeral Robert Mugabe sidled up to Prince Charles and stuck out his hand offering a handshake. Without thinking Prince Charles took Mugabe's hand and gave him a warm handshake. Appearing to end decades of animosity in front of the World's assembled media.

Although a handshake is only a small thing this one incident really showed how Robert Mugabe could outwit pretty much anyone on any given day.

Sadly those days are now gone. At 93 years old Robert Mugabe now suffers from some form of Dementia.

Britain has long circulated rumours that this dementia is the result of Tertiary Syphilis. Like the British Shadow Interior Minister Diane Abbott.

It could also be the result of Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA's) or "mini-strokes." Like 2016 Democrat Party Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

There are though nearly 100 different recognised types of dementia with my favourite being; "Non-Specific Dementia." Mugabe could be suffering for any one or combination of them.

Although doctors try to preserve a patient's privacy no matter how high profile they are coded references to Mugabe's condition have been doing the rounds in medical circles for a while now.

On October 21st (21/10/17) the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced they were appointing Robert Mugabe as a; "Goodwill Ambassador." This would see him focus on public outreach raising the profile of non-communicable diseases. Like Dementia.

Many doctors focus on specific diseases and medical conditions. Although it might sound perverse they actually get a bit excited when a celebrity gets the disease they are expert in the. The extra attention raises the public profile of the disease boosting public awareness and sometimes increasing funding.

For example here was a British Reality TV star by the name of Jade Goody. In 2009 she died of Cervical Cancer at the extremely young age of 27.

The publicity this generated led to British doctors advising women to get tested for Cervical Cancer at a much younger age and women to seek out regular testing for Cervical Cancer. This reduced death rates from this type of cancer and in British medical circles is still referred to as; "The Jade Goody Effect."

Just the other week I was talking about the US celebrity Selena Gomez. Although she doesn't exactly seem happy with the burden she is fast becoming the face of the disease Lupus. Or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) for those of us with Latin.

On Sunday (19/11/17) Robert Mugabe gave a televised address to the nation. In this speech he was supposed to formally announce his retirement. Although for patient privacy reasons that speech would not give exact details of the reason for his retirement it was intended to contain a number of clues.

The main way that dementia is diagnosed is through what's known as a; "Folstein Test" which is sometimes referred to as a; "Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)." This essentially uses word games to assess someones cognitive function.

Mugabe's speech contained lots of long words which feature in a MMSE as a test of language function. It also featured repetition and complex commands along with other elements of a Folstein test.

Therefore the intention was that people who are familiar with dementia and its symptoms would pick up on the clues. However Robert Mugabe's health problems would remain secret to all those without that specialist knowledge.

Unfortunately Mugabe's condition is more severe then anyone expected. As a result through the giving of the speech he became noticeably confused and disorientated.

Becoming confused and disorientated is obviously very frightening for the patient. So they often react by becoming aggressive. Normally to the person who is trying to care for them the most. I've had dementia patients throw bricks at me and bite me so hard it draws blood.

So in his confusion Mugabe failed to retire. Instead he announced his intention to oversee the upcoming ZANU-PF conference. His hope being to block his Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa from replacing him. At this point Mnangagwa is really Mugabe's main careworker.

All this sadly means that Mugabe's privacy can no longer be protected. Zimbabwe has no choice other than to impeach him.

Impeachment is covered by Section 97 of Zimbabwe's constitution.

It requires that the Senate and National Assembly vote by a 50% majority to begin impeachment proceedings. This leads to the formation of a nine member joint committee to examine the evidence.

Following the report of that joint committee there must be a two thirds majority vote by both the Senate and National Assembly for impeachment to take place.

Today (21/11/17) both the Senate and the National Assembly have passed the initial vote to begin the process. In an effort to further preserve Mr Mugabe's modesty they appear to be pursuing it on the first three listed grounds relating to serious misconduct and violation of the constitution.

I am certainly not an expert on Zimbabwean constitutional law. However from my reading of Section 6 it seems that the President has absolute power to hire and fire Vice Presidents as he wishes. Therefore no matter how bonkers the firing of Mnangagwa is not grounds for impeachment.

I think therefore they should pursue impeachment on the fourth ground; Inability to perform the duty of office through mental incapacity. That is after all the truth.

Impeachment on these grounds would also resolve the succession issue. It means that Mugabe's decision to fire Mnangagwa is evidence of his lack of mental capacity and therefore invalid.

14:45 on 21/11/17 (UK date).