Reports say Mugabe has been alerted to an internal plot to force him to step down at Zanu (PF)’s December congress in Bulawayo. His loyalists retaliated by announcing that the congress will now be a conference and there will be no elections.
It’s being reported that Mugabe initially wanted to use the congress to get rid of senior officials who were recently exposed by WikiLeaks. However, Mugabe was forced into a u-turn when he realised it was actually him who would be the casualty.
The main problem is Mugabe’s health, and with Vice President John Nkomo
clearly unwell and frail, Zanu (PF) is aware their main candidate cannot sustain the rigours of a full election campaign. Mugabe has been to the Far East more than eight times this year to seek medical treatment.
On Friday he left for a week-long state visit to China with his wife, Grace. It’s being reported that Mugabe will use the trip to attend his daughter, Bona’s, graduation in Hong Kong.
In October, political analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya told SW Radio Africa that
Mugabe’s health was a serious election issue for Zanu (PF).
“People will doubt him on the basis that how can someone who is always in hospital be an election candidate. So it has dire consequences for Mugabe’s candidacy,” he said. –
Post published in: News