Malawi leader dismisses health rumours after a month away

LILONGWE, Malawi – Malawi’s 76-year-old leader has dismissed rumours of a health crisis after being away from the country for a month, saying doctors told him his vital organs are like those of a 30-year-old.

President Peter Mutharika spoke Friday, a few days after returning. Critics had noted that Mutharika, who usually waves with both hands, only raised his left one.

Mutharika blames that on “slight rheumatism” in his shoulder and injections to treat it.

The president left for the United States last month to address a U.N. gathering. The lack of information after that prompted demands for him to explain what critics called his “absence without leave.”

Mutharika refuses to discuss the money spent on his trip and says he doesn’t have to explain “every minute of what I am doing.”