Zimbabwe denies President Robert Mugabe fell down steps as #Mugabefalls pictures go viral

The Zimbabwean government has denied that President Robert Mugabe fell down the stairs at Harare International Airport on Thursday (5 February).

The president was returning home from his trip to Ethiopia when he accidentally fell on a carpet. The incident was caught by press photographers, who were later forced to delete images of Mugabe's fall.

Following the fall, also recorded by AP, Information Minister Jonathan Moyo told the state-owned Herald newspaper that Mugabe simply tripped over on a hump on a carpet and "managed to break the fall".

Moyo added that anybody, "even Jesus", would trip over the carpet.

The incident also caught the attention of several netizens who commented on Twitter and shared photoshopped images of the fall under the hashtag #Mugabefalls.

Mugabe, Africa's oldest president, was recently appointed chairman of the African Union.

The decision sparked outrage with many arguing the Zimbabwean president is guilty of war crimes, including the death of some 20,000 people killed in an ethnic cleansing carried out by Mugabe's Fifth Brigade troops in 1990.