New Zimbabwe WikiLeaks: Mugabe has 2 more years to live

[ghanaba]

Robert Mugabe has prostate cancer and was told by doctors in 2008 that the disease could kill him by 2013, leaked US diplomatic cables have revealed.

Mr Mugabe’s battle with the disease was revealed to James McGee, the former US Ambassador to Harare, by Gideon Gono, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, during a private meeting in June 2008.

“According to Gono, Mugabe’s doctor had recommended he cut back on his activities,” Mr McGee wrote in a cable to Washington. “Mugabe had told his doctor, according to Gono, that he would leave office after the election.”

If true, the details confirm previous claims that Mr Mugabe was suffering from prostate cancer and had sought treatment in Malaysia in January this year.

He has returned to the country several times since, although officials insist he simply had a cataract operation and was visiting his daughter, Bona, who is studying in the Far East.

more here - Robert Mugabe is dying of prostate cancer, new WikiLeaks cables show - Telegraph

[Mat]

I'm sure Mugabe has known about this for a while. What concerns me is what will happen once he goes. The power struggle could take Zim deeper into the mires of economic doldrums. These dictators never have a succession plan in place

[Mat]

The guy is almost 90 any way, so this isn'that much of a shock. Besides leaders always routinely lie about their ailments to appear more sprightly and stronger than they are. If an American President does it; it's said to be done in the interest of national security; if the likes of Mugabe as abhorrent as he may be to others does it, it's implied he is being dishonest. Nonsense!