Mugabe 'fighting for his life' in Singapore hospital

Cape Town - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is said to be "fighting for his life" in a Singapore hospital, The Australian reports.

This comes amid reports that he had agreed to hand over power to his defence minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, visited Singapore eight times last year.

The New Zimbabwe, however, denied the claims of his ill health, saying he would be back in the country on Wednesday.

His spokesperson described the trips as necessitated by cataract surgery, or simply private visits, amid repeated media reports that he was suffering from cancer.

The Zimbabwe Mail, quoting a senior official of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, said the president was undergoing intensive treatment in Singapore and that some members of his family had joined him after boarding a chartered private jet on Saturday.

The alarm was raised when the government postponed a cabinet meeting.

Mugabe, 88, is ostensibly in Singapore to oversee enrolment in a postgraduate course at Singapore University for his daughter Bona. University registration starts in September.

A June 2008 US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks last month said Mugabe has prostate cancer that has spread to other organs. He was urged by his physician to step down in 2008, but has stayed in the job.


SOURCE : NEWS 24