“I Am Not Dying”, Zimbabwe’s Mugabe Assures Supporters

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President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe on Saturday said he is neither stepping down nor dying.

The 93-year-old told Zimbabweans that there is no one with his political stature who can immediately take over from him.

He has been in charge in the former British colony since independence in 1980 and his health is closely watched by citizens who fear the country might face chaos if Mugabe dies without selecting a successor.

The Zimbabwean leader told tens of thousands of supporters at a rally in the town of Chinhoyi – in his home province – that if he had an ailment he would “go to the doctors like anyone else”, but said his heart and liver were “very firm, very strong”.

He has traveled to Singapore three times this year for what officials say is routine medical treatment.

Reuters