Mwanawasa 'alive, breathing'

2008-07-03 13:51

Lusaka - Zambia's Information Minister Mike Mulongoti, in an emotional special radio and television broadcast on Thursday, said President Levy Mwanawasa was still alive, despite widespread reports he had died in Paris.

Appealing to the public to ignore what he called false rumours, Mulongoti said: "We spoke with the people at Mwanawasa's bedside a few minutes ago, including his wife, Maureen, who said President Mwanawasa was still alive and breathing."

Doctors at the military hospital in Paris, where Mwanawasa was transferred from Egypt on Tuesday night after suffering a stroke on Sunday on the eve of an African Union summit, had assured him that the president was still alive and receiving treatment, he said.

The nation would be updated at 18:00 on the president's condition, he said. Lusaka was abuzz with reports on Thursday that Mwanawasa had died.

While several senior sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the report was true, and an official at the Zambian High Commission in Pretoria gave the same version of events to South Africa's 702 private radio, no open official confirmation has been given.

Sources also told dpa that vice-president Rupiah Banda had called a cabinet meeting earlier. Mulongoti's voice shook as he delivered his address.

Sapa-dpa

- SAPA