Wanted: Comfy retirement home for insane leader

Mad authoritarian rulers generally do a good line in outrageous claims.

Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire alleged that his wooden walking stick took the strength of eight ‘normal’ men to carry, while Uganda’s Idi Amin awarded himself the title King of Scotland, as has been documented in the new film (which I haven’t had the chance to see yet.)

But the president of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, has topped them all by claiming to be able to cure HIV/Aids within three days.

"I am not a witch-doctor," says Mr Jammeh, who seized power in the tiny West African country in a coup 12 years ago. "In fact, you cannot have witch-doctor. You are either a witch or a doctor."

Er, quite.

Clearly only a couple of nuts short of a fruitcake, he also purports to be able to rid the human body of asthma in five minutes.

So, given his mystical and awesome powers, quite why he felt the need to jail opposition leaders and journalists in the run-up to his election victory last year is anyone’s guess.