Opposition parties in Zimbabwe have renewed their calls for President Robert Mugabe, 93, to retire, accusing him of running the country from a hospital bed after he reportedly flew to Singapore for medical treatment.
The privately owned New Zimbabwe newspaper quoted Obert Gutu, a spokesman for the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change, as saying,
“He is no longer a young man and the punishing schedule that he gives himself is not good for his physical, mental and emotional health.These frequent visits to Singapore serve to confirm his health is in need of constant care and monitoring.
Mugabe should immediately step aside and allow Zimbabwe to move forward under a new leader.”
Karauone Chihwayi, a spokesman for an MDC breakaway faction, expressed a similar view, saying:
“This country is stagnant today because the Zanu president is running the show from his hospital bed.”
The ruling Zanu-PF party has nominated Mr Mugabe to run for elections next year, despite the fact that he looks increasingly frail and has been in power since 1980.
In May, Mr Mugabe’s spokesman played down fears about his health, saying he made frequent trips to Singapore to receive specalised treatment for an eye condition.
In February, Mr Mugabe’s wife Grace Mugabe said:
“One day when God decides that Mugabe dies, we will have his corpse appear as a candidate on the ballot paper.”
