HARARE, Zimbabwe, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, 90, fell at a public event Wednesday and set off an Internet frenzy after a bizzarre cover-up attempt.

Mugabe, the recently elected chairman of the African Union, sustained no known injuries as he tripped while stepping away from a podium.


Disregarding ample media coverage of the event, the government tried to deny the fall ever happened. Information Minister Jonathan Moyo gave a convoluted denial of the incident to the state-owned Zimbabwe Herald.

"Nobody has shown any evidence of the president having fallen down because that did not happen. The hump on which the president tripped was formed by two pieces of the carpet which apparently had not been laid out properly where they joined. And to be honest with you, even Jesus, let alone you, would have also tripped in that kind of situation," he said. "In the circumstances, there's really nothing to write home about the nonsensical celebrations by malcontents who are imagining a fall that never was since it was actually broken by the president himself."

The president's security detail demanded that any images or video of the fall be deleted, but unfortunately for Mugabe, the images had already been uploaded.

This summer I shall be vacationing at.... wait for it.... Mugabe Falls! #MugabeFalls pic.twitter.com/1BUWGYWNm0 — Lee Healey (@HealeyCartoons) February 5, 2015

♫ ♬ Mugabe, are you OK? Are you OK, Mugabe? You've been tripped by A smooth CRIMINAL !♬ ♫ #MugabeFalls pic.twitter.com/Rxz4tnq2de — Lee Healey (@HealeyCartoons) February 5, 2015

Can't get enough of #MugabeFalls. New fave: "solid gold" by @malonebarry (though in fairness to Bob, I'm clumsy too) pic.twitter.com/59Mw5TwE6V — Erin Hohlfelder (@Global_ErinH) February 5, 2015

OK, so I just had to make one too: The Neverending Dictatorship #MugabeFalls pic.twitter.com/1VEYjy2bNo — griffin (@watkykjy) February 5, 2015

One Twitter user summed up the situation well.

Falling down is no big deal. Denying it happened is just plain stupid. #MugabeFalls http://t.co/9LZz31GaEZ pic.twitter.com/FgCOstyLLj — Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) February 5, 2015