Mnangagwa finally speaks about the health of his deputy amid rumours of poisoning

Harare — Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has spoken for the first time about the health of his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga, amid rumours that the former army general is receiving treatment in India after being poisoned by political rivals within Zanu–PF.

The allegations of poisoning are the latest script in the dog-eat-dog political battles of Zimbabwe’s governing party, in which Chiwenga has been one of the main actors. He masterminded the effective coup that saw former president Robert Mugabe step down under duress in November 2017.

After the coup, Chiwenga was appointed vice-president and has been widely touted as the next in line to succeed Mnangagwa.

A fortnight ago Chiwenga was widely reported to be in SA for treatment, before flying back home and being airlifted to India a few days later.

During his return to Zimbabwe Chiwenga made a brief public appearance on national television “to prove that he was alive and well”, but this only succeeded to show the public that his health had taken a turn for the worse.

Addressing a party rally in Masvingo province on Saturday, Mnangagwa chose his words carefully as he explained that Chiwenga was receiving treatment.

“As you can see, I have only vice-president Kembo Mohadi to assist me... the other vice-president, General Chiwenga, is not feeling well. So that is why he is not with us here. We thought it would be important to officially make this announcement to guard against the spreading of wrong information,” he said.

Last week, deputy information, publicity and broadcasting services minister Energy Mutodi said Chiwenga had been airlifted to India for treatment for a minor abdominal ailment.

“The vice-president is recovering well from some minor abdominal ailment in Delhi, India,” he tweeted without revealing further details. It was not immediately clear why the government would fly someone all the way to India for a “minor” ailment.

After Mutodi’s comments,  media reports  suggested that Chiwenga  maybe suffering from the lethal polonium-201 poisoning, which is very difficult to diagnose without the assistance of nuclear scientists.

The reports stated that Chiwenga was said to have been poisoned during or soon after the November 2017 coup.

Government sources said the poisoning narrative was the most plausible scenario as Chiwenga had created enemies within the Zanu–PF succession hierarchy.

“This is like Game of Thrones; we cannot rule out poisoning. A person cannot go as far as India to be treated for a minor abdominal ailment. It shows that this is something very serious which doctors in SA may have failed to deal with. In fact, everything indicates that the VP was poisoned because the condition that he has been suffering from remains a mystery.

"What we know is that his actual condition is being kept as a closely guarded secret. Only the president and a few other people know the actual condition,” said a source who works in the hierarchy of Zimbabwe’s government.

Not long after the 2017 coup Chiwenga rapidly developed visible health problems, with his hands becoming swollen and discoloured patches appearing on his skin.

His wife developed the same symptoms, prompting some to link the couple's mysterious disease to witchcraft.

Mnangagwa has dismissed reports that there were divisions between him and Chiwenga, saying: “The people who talk about these divisions, what example do they give? I have known Chiwenga and his colleagues in the military since the struggle years. We are comrades and understand each other better than you all think. Somebody actually told me while I was in Eurasia that I would be barred from returning home and I just laughed that off.”

In August 2017 Mnangagwa was poisoned at a rally in Gwanda but survived after he was quickly airlifted to SA for treatment.