Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's President
Robert Mugabe on Saturday said he was not stepping down nor
dying and that there was no one with his political stature who
could immediately take over from him.
The 93-year-old leader has been in charge in the former
British colony since independence in 1980. His health is closely
watched by Zimbabweans, who fear the country could face chaos if
he dies without anointing a successor.
Mugabe told tens of thousands of 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 travelled to Singapore three times this year for what
officials say is routine medical treatment.
"There is the issue that the president is going. I am not
going," Mugabe told supporters on the grounds of a local
university, 100 km west of the capital Harare.
"The president is dying. I am not dying. I will have an
ailment here and there but bodywise, all my internal organs ...
very firm, very strong," Mugabe said as he leant on the lectern.
Mugabe, who looks frail, had walked onto the stage slowly but
without assistance.
The issue of who will succeed Mugabe has deeply divided the
ruling party, with two factions supporting Vice President
Emmerson Mnangagwa and Mugabe's wife Grace.
On Thursday, Grace challenged Mugabe to name his preferred
successor, to end divisions over the future leadership of
Zanu-PF.
She repeated the call on Saturday, adding that Mugabe would
lead the process to choose his eventual successor.
Mugabe said although some party officials wanted to succeed
him, he saw no one among his subordinates with his political
clout to keep the party united and fend off a challenge from the
main opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
"A new man will not have the same stature and the same
acceptance as I have managed to secure for the party over the
years," said Mugabe.
Reuters