News / National
Mugabe rebukes wife Grace over succession?
29 Jul 2017 at 19:57hrs | Views
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Saturday said he was not stepping down nor dying in what could be interpreted as a rebuke to his wife Grace Mugabe.
Grace had urged 93-year-old Mugabe to name his preferred successor, to end party divisions but the president has said that there is no one with his political stature who could immediately take over from him.
This is likely a rebuke to both Grace and Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa who are apparently leading rival factions within the ruling Zanu-PF party.
Mugabe told supporters at a rally in the town of Chinhoyi, in his home province, that doctors were recently surprised by his "strong bone system."
He has traveled to Singapore three times this year for what officials say is routine medical treatment.
Responding to speculation, Mugabe said: "I am not dying. I will have an ailment here and there but bodywise, all my internal organs ... very firm, very strong."
Grace had urged 93-year-old Mugabe to name his preferred successor, to end party divisions but the president has said that there is no one with his political stature who could immediately take over from him.
This is likely a rebuke to both Grace and Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa who are apparently leading rival factions within the ruling Zanu-PF party.
He has traveled to Singapore three times this year for what officials say is routine medical treatment.
Responding to speculation, Mugabe said: "I am not dying. I will have an ailment here and there but bodywise, all my internal organs ... very firm, very strong."
Source - Reuters
