The recently elected chairman of the African Union and president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, gave a speech Wednesday in Harare. Upon descending the podium, the President, seemed to trip down the steps. The press was in an instant panic to capture a photo of the fall.

The 90 year old president of Zimbabwe, who has held the duty since 1987, was in his home country after returning from a recent trip to Ethiopia. The incident occurred while Mugabe was addressing a crowd at the Harare International Airport, who had come together to welcome the president. Mugabe had a short time ago attended an African Union meeting in the country of Ethiopia, where he assumed the place of 54 nation organization chairman.

With power over Zimbabwe, Mugabe can’t show signs of weakness, so the photo session was abruptly halted. Many press photographers in the area claimed to have been forced to delete photos taken by a security detail. The guards could not eliminate all the photos, since one of the pictures has gone viral.

The Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo, stated that there was no evidence that the president fallen down due to the fact that it didn’t happen. He went on to explain that there was a hump in the carpet which caused the tripping.

The president was quickly picked up by his security team and brought to the awaiting limousine. While at the airport the supporters held signs in the air and cheered for him, though this isn’t the common outlook towards Mugabe.

Mugabe has been accused of utilizing widespread brutality to succeed with his numerous debatable elections. The country has also dealt with severe hyperinflation, which changed when Zimbabwe stranded their currency to the US dollar back in 2009.

Despite the concerns in his own country and being on the EU blacklist, him and his wife Grace can still find the time to take annual trips. Some of these trips include going to Asia in January and Singapore, where he paid a visit to an Optometrist for a check up.