

Mugabe hits the jackpot



Mugabe: "Name drawn from thousands of customers"





Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has won the top prize in a lottery organised by a partly state-owned bank.



The president, who last year awarded himself and his cabinet salary hikes of up to 200%, hit the 100,000 Zimbabwe dollars (about $2,600) jackpot in a promotional draw organised by the Zimbabwe Banking Corporation (Zimbank).



"Master of Ceremonies Fallot Chawawa could hardly believe his eyes when the ticket drawn for the Z$100,000 prize was handed to him and he saw His Excellency RG Mugabe written on it," the bank said in a statement.



The lottery was open to all clients who had kept Z$5,000 or more in their accounts during December.



The bank said Mr Mugabe's name had been drawn from among thousands of eligible customers.



The prize would represent a considerable amount of money to most people in Zimbabwe, where minimum wages start at less than Z$1,000 ($26) a month, and where half the workforce is unemployed.