Mugabe 'fighting for his life' in Singapore hospital
2012-04-09 21:15
Special Report
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party has pledged to trim the army and ensure a free society if it wins upcoming general elections.
Cape Town - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is said to be "fighting for
his life" in a Singapore hospital, The
Australian reports.
This
comes amid reports
that he had agreed to hand over power to his defence minister, Emmerson
Mnangagwa.
Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence
from Britain in 1980, visited Singapore eight times last year.
The
New Zimbabwe, however, denied the
claims of his ill health, saying he would be back in the country on Wednesday.
His spokesperson described the trips as
necessitated by cataract surgery, or simply private visits, amid repeated media
reports that he was suffering from cancer.
The Zimbabwe
Mail, quoting a senior official of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, said the
president was undergoing intensive treatment in Singapore and that some members
of his family had joined him after boarding a chartered private jet on
Saturday.
The alarm was raised when
the government postponed a cabinet meeting.
Mugabe, 88, is ostensibly
in Singapore to oversee enrolment in a postgraduate course at Singapore
University for his daughter Bona. University registration starts in September.
A June 2008 US diplomatic
cable released by WikiLeaks last month said Mugabe has prostate cancer that has
spread to other organs. He was urged by his physician to step down in 2008, but
has stayed in the job.
