Zimbabwe president gives repeat speech

Robert Mugabe has been leader of Zimbabwe since 1980. On Tuesday, he read again the entire 25-minute speech he had given for his state of the nation address in August.

The veteran leader appeared not to notice the error and completed the speech.

Afterwards, presidential spokesman George Charamba said: "There has been a mix-up of speeches resulting in a situation where... the president delivered the wrong speech."

"The mix-up happened in his secretarial office," Charamba added. "The error is sincerely regretted and corrective measures are being considered."

Opposition lawmakers called on the president to step down. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Morgan Tsvangirai, announced: "The MDC would like to call upon Robert Mugabe to immediately tender his resignation as the President of Zimbabwe."

MDC spokesman Obert Gutu said: "This is a historic blunder. Anyone who is still of a sound mind would have quickly picked it up that the speech was the wrong one."

The speech expressed Mugabe's hopes that China would help revive Zimbabwe's struggling economy.

Warnings sent as text messages

Parliament had suspended live television and radio broadcasting of Mugabe's speech after the MDC threatened to disrupt the event.

Lawmakers had booed and heckled the 91-year-old Mugabe during last month's state of the nation address. For the opening of parliament, legislators said they had been told not to disrupt the president's speech.

MDC chief whip Innocent Gonese said seven opposition lawmakers received SMS text messages on their mobile phones. "It warns the members concerned to know that immunity ends at parliament and once they step out of parliament that parliamentary immunity does not operate," Gonese said.

During the speech, the MDC members sat quietly. Ruling ZANU-PF party supporters clapped at regular intervals.

jm/msh (Reuters, AFP)