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Latest on DPM Khuphe's breast cancer scare
18 Jun 2011 at 21:23hrs | Views
DEPUTY Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe was recently flown to a private hospital in South Africa to receive treatment for what is believed to be advanced breast cancer.
The DPM withdrew from public life soon after the MDC-T congress and her absence has set tongues wagging with reports that by the time she was taken to SA, her condition had deteriorated badly.
Over the past two months, DPM Khupe has been the least visible of the six principals.
However, MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora said Ms Khupe was on leave, adding that he was not aware of her health scare.
"She is on leave. I am sure she is fine. Last week (a fortnight ago) when I talked to her she had gone out of the country," said Mr Mwonzora.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's spokesperson Mr Luke Tamborinyoka said: "I can assure you that she will be in office on Monday discharging her official Government duties."
At her party's congress, DPM Khupe faced stiff opposition from a strong faction which fronted Norman Mabhena, the brother of the late Zapu stalwart Welshman Mabhena. Just before the congress, the DPM had to deal with widespread media reports that she was pregnant and that she was in a relationship with a Harare businessman.
She, however, denied that she was pregnant saying: "My daughter called me recently to ask if I was pregnant and I was shocked. Why would I want to have a baby at my age?
". . . I have a busy schedule and I have no time to have children . . .
"In fact, I do not want to get married and the three children I have are enough."
At the time, she blamed the pregnancy reports on her big stomach adding that she was doing sit-ups every morning to get back in shape.
DPM Khupe is a single mother of three.
DPM Khupe is supposed to supervise the social cluster in Cabinet and before the breast cancer took its toll, she was at the forefront trying to raise US$2 million in a bid to equip all central hospitals with state-of-the-art machinery to mitigate maternal mortality.
Cabinet sources said the MDC-T's silence on the DPM's health is worrying, adding that her absence was beginning to undermine Government work.
The DPM withdrew from public life soon after the MDC-T congress and her absence has set tongues wagging with reports that by the time she was taken to SA, her condition had deteriorated badly.
Over the past two months, DPM Khupe has been the least visible of the six principals.
However, MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora said Ms Khupe was on leave, adding that he was not aware of her health scare.
"She is on leave. I am sure she is fine. Last week (a fortnight ago) when I talked to her she had gone out of the country," said Mr Mwonzora.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's spokesperson Mr Luke Tamborinyoka said: "I can assure you that she will be in office on Monday discharging her official Government duties."
At her party's congress, DPM Khupe faced stiff opposition from a strong faction which fronted Norman Mabhena, the brother of the late Zapu stalwart Welshman Mabhena. Just before the congress, the DPM had to deal with widespread media reports that she was pregnant and that she was in a relationship with a Harare businessman.
She, however, denied that she was pregnant saying: "My daughter called me recently to ask if I was pregnant and I was shocked. Why would I want to have a baby at my age?
". . . I have a busy schedule and I have no time to have children . . .
"In fact, I do not want to get married and the three children I have are enough."
At the time, she blamed the pregnancy reports on her big stomach adding that she was doing sit-ups every morning to get back in shape.
DPM Khupe is a single mother of three.
DPM Khupe is supposed to supervise the social cluster in Cabinet and before the breast cancer took its toll, she was at the forefront trying to raise US$2 million in a bid to equip all central hospitals with state-of-the-art machinery to mitigate maternal mortality.
Cabinet sources said the MDC-T's silence on the DPM's health is worrying, adding that her absence was beginning to undermine Government work.
Source - Sunday Mail
