Zimbabwe officials on Tuesday dismissed rumours that President Robert Mugabe was seriously ill in Singapore, saying he was well and on holiday with his family, and would be returning this week. Two senior officials from Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, who declined to be named, said a website report about the 88-year-old leader battling for his life in a Singapore hospital, which was widely repeated by some international media, was not true.
"The president is well and away on a private holiday to help his daughter prepare for post-graduate studies, but we are expecting him home this week," said one of the officials.
"But 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," he added.
The two officials confirmed Mugabe was in Singapore but declined to divulge any further details about his trip.
The speculation about Mugabe's state of health flared after a small online newspaper, The Zimbabwe Mail, reported that Mugabe was "battling for his life" in a Singapore hospital.
A terse government statement saying a weekly cabinet meeting set for Tuesday had been postponed to Thursday also fed the speculation about the president's health.
But one of the officials said Mugabe was expected to chair the rescheduled session on Thursday.
Zimbabwe's capital Harare was quiet on Tuesday, with government offices and businesses re-opening after the Easter Holiday.
Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since the southern African state gained independence from Britain in 1980.
No comments:
Post a Comment