Charamba on President’s Singapore health checks

PRESIDENT Mugabe’s physician is a black Zimbabwean practising in the country and the Head of State and Government only flies to Singapore for eye specialists’ attention on the advice of local opticians, a senior official said yesterday.

There is also nothing amiss in President Mugabe or any other Zimbabwean seeking specialists’ treatment abroad, as even Presidents of First World countries get attention in countries like Singapore, Presidential Spokesperson Cde George Charamba said.

He was speaking on Zimpapers’ Capitalk radio during a debate on the recent classification of Zimbabwe as a fragile State at the World Economic Forum on Africa held in South Africa.

Some elements always raise dust each time President Mugabe seeks treatment for his eyes in Singapore.

“Let me address that because I notice it is a narrative which keeps coming back,” said Cde Charamba. “As a matter of fact, and let this be known to all Zimbabweans – the physician of the President is not only Zimbabwean, he is actually black.

“For security reasons I will not tell you the real name. He is very Zimbabwean. He is very, very, very black.”

Cde Charamba explained why President Mugabe goes to Singapore.

“The President goes to Singapore for a very specific problem which has to do with the level of sophistication of medical skills that we have developed,” he said.

“It has to do with his eyes and often I have felt very, very pained. In fact, I feel like a failure when there is this reading that the President is sleeping in conferences, NO.”