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Mugabe âflown to South Africa after collapseâ
Going, going ... President Robert Mugabe collapsed yesterday and was flown to South Africa for emergency medical treatment, sources in Zimbabwe said last night. Funny how the local medical system isnât quite up to taking care of the glorious big guy. Supporters of Mr Mugabe, 79, were setting up barricades in the capital, Harare, manned by well-armed riot police. It was reported that senior members of the "Green Bombers", the notorious youth brigades created by Mr Mugabe and responsible for rape, murder and political thuggery, were being flown to the city. Flown to the city? I thought they didnât have fuel! Any transition of power in Zimbabwe would probably be violent as Mr Mugabeâs successors in the ruling Zanu-PF party would clash with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Ya think? Sources in Zimbabwe said Mr Mugabe was taken ill late on Sunday and vomited throughout the night, then collapsed yesterday. He was flown by military aircraft to the Waterkloof air base, a South African military airport near Pretoria, and driven to a clinic for treatment, they said. If he been treated in Zimbabwe, Perhaps Nelson Mandela can whisper in his ear. Mr Mugabeâs illness is expected to intensify jockeying in the Zanu-PF for the succession. The death last month of Vice-President, Simon Muzenda, 81, a staunch Mugabe supporter, has already sparked attempts by various factions in the party to secure the vice-presidency. 81? Old codger wouldnât have lasted long enough to steal the keys from Grace anyways. Supporters of the regime sought to play down the seriousness of Mr Mugabeâs Just like Arafat. Maybe thereâs been an epidemic of âgallstonesâ. Rumours of ill-health, strokes and death have been part of Mugabeâs regime in recent years. After 23 years in power, he has appeared increasingly frail in recent months, although he has also shown remarkable stamina. That sentence makes no sense. Heâs 79 and he has to step on a banana peel at some point. Why not today? Posted by: Steve White 2003-10-28 |
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