China finds Chiwenga poison cure

PRETORIA - Vice President, Rtd General Constantino Chiwenga, is in China to receive an antidote for his poisoning from Chinese military doctors, as a last ditch effort to help him heal, Spotlight Zimbabwe reported.

According to a diplomatic source with close links to a Chinese military attache at their embassy here in Pretoria, Beijing believes it can turn around Chiwenga's troubling health woes as their medical experts in the military have developed a special antidote to administer to him.

Spotlight Zimbabwe, has also been told that Chiwenga is being treated at a top and reputable military hospital called, The General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army (PLAGH) in Beijing.

The institution has provided health and medical care to the leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, the PLA's general headquarters, and to the troops stationed in the Chinese capital.

"China believes they have a cure for the Zimbabwe vice president, and will administer an antidote for his poisoning ailment in a few days at the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army," said the diplomat whose mission is also situated in the South African capital. "The whole operation involves China and Zimbabwe's military intelligence units. After the Indians failed to diagnose him recently, a set of blood and urine tests were done on him by Chinese military doctors when he was back in Zimbabwe from India in June. The doctors actually flew to his private residence in Harare for the tests, and based on the confidential results an antidote has been found."

Chiwenga was left as Acting President by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in late June, when he left for Mozambique to attend the United States-Africa Business Summit. However Chiwenga, was not seen in public and is said to have perfomed his presidential functions via teleconferencing from his home, owing to poor health.

This publication was the first to report about Chiwenga's poisoning in February, after high level sources in the defence ministry disclosed that the VP had been rushed to India aboard a private plane through the Manyame air base in the capital, for urgent treatment, as military intelligence officials suspected that the former Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) boss, could have ingested the deadly polonium-210 poison, possibly administered using food by his political enemies.

The government yesterday, through presidential spokesman, George Charamba, took the unusual and rare step to issue a statement on Chiwenga's health saying that he had left South Africa for China for further medical tests, without revealing that the vice president was actually in China for the cure, as the matter is classified as a state secret.

"Following last week's Presidential statement on Vice President CGDN Chiwenga's health and recovery status, the Office of the President and Cabinet wishes to inform the nation that the Vice President this week left for the People's Republic of China where he is set to undergo further medical tests," Charamba said.

"His relocation to China, which builds on the satisfactory recovery progress he has been making, follows weekend discussions at the highest level between Governments of Zimbabwe and China at which a decision was taken to allow Chinese medical experts to join their counterparts from Zimbabwe, South Africa and India in attending to the Vice President. The Office will keep the nation updated on the progress the Vice President continues to make towards full recovery."

Last week we also reported that Chiwenga is thought to have been allegedly poisoned, during a private lunch meeting with Mnangagwa at a luxury hotel in Harare last year.

Mnangagwa himself is a victim of ice-cream poisoning, which his supporters claim he suffered at the hands of former first lady, Grace Mugabe, at a ruling party rally in Gwanda, in 2017.