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Mugabe Watch Continues
President Robert Mugabe, did suffer a minor stroke recently but was treated in Zimbabwe and not South Africa, some senior Zimbabwean officials said privately yesterday. They dismissed widespread speculation and media reports yesterday that the 79-year-old leader had been surreptitiously flown to South Africa for emergency treatment. South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said that the South African government had been notified that Mugabe was chairing the regular Tuesday cabinet meeting in Harare yesterday. He said the South African government had no knowledge of Mugabe having been to South Africa for treatment.
"Nope, he ain’t here"
Zimbabwe’s high commissioner to South Africa, Simon Moyo, said the reports were "absolute hogwash" and that Mugabe was chairing cabinet. Independent Newspapers’ correspondent in Harare, Brian Latham, confirmed that Mugabe’s motorcade had arrived at his central Harare presidential offices yesterday, presumably for the cabinet meeting. But Latham did not actually see Mugabe and in Harare his absence from public engagements for some time appears to be fuelling speculation that he is seriously ill.
That’s what we’re hoping for.
And Pahad could not completely rule out the possibility that Mugabe might have entered South Africa without informing the South Africa government and then returned to Harare for the cabinet meeting. He said under the rules of international protocol Mugabe need only have informed the South African government of a visit if he wanted VIP treatment in South Africa.
If he flew into SA, somebody would know
According to some media reports Mugabe was collected in Harare by a South African military aircraft and flown to Pretoria for treatment on Monday. Defence spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said he did not know if Mugabe had been in South Africa but other defence officials denied firmly that he had been treated in any South African military hospital. Independent Newspapers contacted most of the major civilian hospitals in Gauteng and they all denied Mugabe had been treated there.
"Nope"
"Nope. Nobody by that name. We got a Robert Mugblep, and a Bob Mugabe. That's as close as we get..."
Top sources in Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party and his spy agency, the Central Intelligence Organisation, (CIO) said Mugabe had recently popped a vein suffered a minor stroke but was treated by Chinese doctors in Harare and had recovered.
"He’s drooling a little, but he’s fine."
Posted by: Steve 2003-10-29
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=20492