Arriving in Harare on Saturday, Mugabe dismissed reports of his death as premature: "I had gone on a family matter to Dubai concerning one of my children," he told reporters in the local Shona language.

He then joked in response to social media speculation that he had been ill: "Yes, I was dead, it's true I was dead. I resurrected as I always do. Once I get back to my country I am real."

The 92-year-old president arrived back in Zimbabwe after he left on a flight, apparently towards Asia on Tuesday night. In the early hours of Wednesday morning the plane went unexpectedly towards the Middle East. Mugabe has received medical treatment in Singapore and Dubai in the past. Mugabe turned up in Zimbabwe on Saturday.

The president was expected to address a youth meeting at his Zanu-PF ruling party headquarters later Saturday.

In recent months, discussion in Zimbabwe has turned towards his likely successor - with Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Mugabe's wife Grace attracting attention as possible candidates. Mugabe has been in power since 1980 and has said he would run again in elections in 2018.

Protest and pressure

The government is under pressure over accusations of endemic corruption, injustice, mismanagement and poverty. The effects of a drought and falling mineral prices have also added to economic woes. Teachers and medical staff have taken strike action over unpaid wages and the military and police have repeatedly had to wait for their salaries.

Political opponents in the past have taken to the streets in protest and been relatively easy for the regime to undermine - such as the opposition figure Morgan Tsvangirai before the 2008 elections.

In one of the latest incidents on August 24, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a "Mugabe Must Go" protest in the capital. On Thursday, the government announced a two-week restriction on protests.

Social media challenges

In April, pastor Evan Mawarire started a #ThisFlag movement on Facebook but he was arrested and forced to leave the country in July. The same month, a group of war veterans from Zimbabwe's liberation struggle, historically a core support base for Zanu-PF, condemned Mugabe's running of the country.

The ruling party has responded to challenges expressed on social media by drafting new legislation, such as the Computer Crime and Cyber Crime Bill, to control online activism. The cost of internet access has also become more expensive.

The social media protests have addressed issues from socio-economic governance, to the introduction of bond notes which are a cash substitute for the country's currency, corruption, and graduate resentment at a lack of employment opportunities.

Using mobile messaging services such as WhatsApp, Mugabe's opponents are able to mobilize behind a safety wall of end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp accounts for 34 percent of all mobile date in Zimbabwe while its owner Facebook reports 260,000 daily users out of 890,000 Zimbabweans online.

jm/sms (Reuters, AP)