* ZANU-PF officials dismiss reports Mugabe ill in Singapore
* They say he on private holiday, expected back this week
* Fears of succession battle surround 88-year-old leader
(Adds ZANU-PF chief spokesman)
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE, April 10 (Reuters) – Zimbabwean officials on Tuesday
dismissed reports President Robert Mugabe was seriously ill in
Singapore, saying he was well, on holiday there with his family
and expected to 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” and the veteran leader would return home this week.
Two other senior officials had also angrily denied reports
by some international media that he was undergoing intensive
treatment in a Singapore hospital and was fighting for his life.
The 88-year-old president has been the subject of several
health scares in recent years, with some reports saying he has
prostate cancer, but in February interviews with state media he
laughed off suggestions that he was seriously ill.
Mugabe is one of Africa’s longest serving leaders and has
ruled the former British colony in southern Africa since 1980.
He is sharing power with political rival Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai in a fragile coalition formed three years ago.
Continued…
