Fears eased as Mugabe appears in public

HARARE: Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe appeared in public for the first time in several weeks yesterday to mourn the death of his sister, ending speculation that he may be bedridden, in declining health or even dead.

The health of Mugabe, who is 89 and has ruled since the former Rhodesia’s independence from Britain in 1980, is the hottest news topic for Zimbabwe’s 13 million people and its ruling Zanu-PF party.

Zanu-PF is struggling to keep the lid on a battle over succession and there are fears it could implode in a bloody factional fight that might even suck in the army if Mugabe dies without resolving the issue.

Mugabe, who has spent two weeks of his annual leave in Singapore, appeared at his official State House residence to accept condolences for his 78-year-old sister Bridget, who died in Harare after three years in a coma.

Mugabe appeared downcast but showed no signs of ill health as he greeted senior party officials and spoke of his sister’s life.

Rumours sparked by his recent absence from the spotlight have been swirling around Harare in the past two weeks, some suggesting the veteran leader was seriously ill and others speculating he had died.

As always, his lieutenants dismissed the rumours as baseless. Mugabe has denied that previous trips to Singapore were for prostate cancer treatment.

Joice Mujuru, Mugabe’s vice-president both in government and in Zanu-PF, is frontrunner in the race to succeed the president. But her main rival, Justice Minister and former defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, has not given up, analysts say.

Mugabe himself says there is no crisis, arguing the party is strong and organised enough to choose his successor at the right time. His critics say he wants to die in office.

In an editorial, the private Daily News called for an end to conjecture.

“Perhaps one way of mitigating the speculation around the president’s health is for the government to be as transparent as possible about his travels and his health, obviously balancing this against his rights as well as the interests of his family.”

Senior government officials said Equatorial Guinea’s President Mbasogo Theodore Nguema had cancelled a visit to Harare yesterday following Bridget Mugabe’s death. – Reuters

PICTURE: AP I’M ALIVE: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe with his wife Grace in Harare on Sunday. It had been rumoured that Mugabe, who turns 90 next month, was ill or dead.