Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is incapable of discharging his duties, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said on Monday.

“Zimbabwe’s situation is bad. President Mugabe cannot even control a spade,” he told reporters.

He called members of the ruling Zanu-PF party to be brave. He said he realised he was opening himself up to insults.

“We are not going to be good friends if we don’t tell them that what they are doing is not good for Zimbabwe’s people.”

In 2016, Zanu-PF confirmed Mugabe would be its presidential candidate for the country’s 2018 elections.

Malema said he continued to admire and respect 92-year-old Mugabe for his “decisive action” on land redistribution in Zimbabwe.

He said Mugabe’s continued stay at the helm threatened some of his achievements. Zanu-PF had many young people capable of continuing his work.

Gambia a ‘sad story’

Malema said the fallout from the Gambia’s presidential elections was a "sad story". The winner, Adama Barrow, had to be sworn-in in Senegal, after the incumbent, president Yahya Jammeh did an about-turn and refused to admit defeat following elections in December.

Following the threat of military action from neighbouring countries, including Senegal, Jammeh fled the country over the weekend, allegedly taking millions of dollars in state money with him.

“We were the first to congratulate the former president. We thought this was beginning of ushering in a new era in African politics,” Malema said.

He said the Gambia was a country with a difficult past and its transition needed to be managed carefully.

African leaders attending the AU summit this week needed to focus more on deepening democratic practices and finding ways of avoiding long-term presidencies.