Harare – President Jacob Zuma says his Zimbabwean counterpart has given him assurances that former president Robert Mugabe will be looked after as an “elder”.
This emerged after a meeting between Zuma and the new Zimbabwe president, Emmerson Mnangagwa in Pretoria Thursday.
“I have been assured that the founding father of Zimbabwe, former president Mugabe, will be looked after. There will be no problems at all,” Zuma was quoted as saying by the private NewsDay.
“He (Mugabe) is our father. He grew up in the struggle and we have appreciated that this is what is important that in Africa, we should look after our elders,” Zuma added.
Mugabe was forced to resign November 21 after a military operation that quashed the rise of Grace Mugabe and a faction of loyalists known as G40.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba told the state-run Herald that Mnangagwa had indicated to Zuma that “President Mugabe remains not just safe but revered as the founding father and leader of Zanu-PF and that there is no intention to victimise him or degrade his reputation”.
Mugabe – who was briefly put under house arrest together with his wife during last month’s military operation -left the country earlier this month for routine health check-ups in Singapore. It’s not clear when he is due back.
