Zimbabwean officials have dismissed reports that President Robert Mugabe is seriously ill in Singapore, saying he is well, on holiday with his family and will return home this week.
Chief spokesman for Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party Rugare Gumbo told state television the reports were “lies meant to destabilise Zimbabwe”. The 88-year-old president has been the subject of several health scares in recent years, with some reports saying he has prostate cancer, which he denies.
“Some sick and malicious people are spreading false stories about him being seriously ill while others are saying he is dead or dying out there,” one ZANU-PF official said.
Mugabe has made frequent visits to Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, where medical care is far better than in his impoverished state. – (Reuters)