Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, 88, returned home on Thursday, with officials denying reports that he had suffered a serious health scare while visiting Asia, DPA reported.
"You see the man is fit as a fiddle. Why do we spread rumours? Why do we panic?" said Information Minister Webster Shamu, who was with Mugabe at Harare airport when the long-serving leader returned.
Mugabe has been in charge of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. He has made nearly a dozen trips to Asia in the past year, amid reports he was seeking medical care there.
Mugabe's office said that the latest trip was for his Easter holidays and that he was making arrangement for his daughter's education abroad.
The president was accompanied by his wife Grace, 48. While abroad, media reports had said Mugabe was "on his deathbed."
Leaked diplomatic cables from 2008 indicated that Mugabe had suffered from cancer.